In the era of TV Everywhere, Cablevision Systems wants the TV in its place, bringing Web content to every subscriber’s set to keep seats planted on the couch. While rivals like Comcast and Time Warner Cable are rolling out Web platforms that mirror TV offerings, Cablevision plans to launch a new service that puts Web offerings directly on the TV with no new cords or connections.
Cablevision subscribers who have both broadband Internet and pay-TV subscriptions will soon be piped their own channel in which software installed on a PC will bring video content on that machine directly to the subscriber’s TV. Content will flow from the PC to a Cablevision service over the Net connection, and then from Cablevision to the TV set through the existing STB.
Cablevision said its plan, which it calls “PC to TV Media Relay,” will encompass whatever video or media the PC can display, so YouTube, Vevo and locally-stored content are all fair game. This means movies bought on iTunes and those family photos from the last vacation can all wind up on the home’s biggest screen. Services like TV.com and Hulu are supposed to be supported as well, but their vehement refusal to allow other services access makes them a 50-50 shot.
Cablevision will, however, have a better shot at getting these services on board since its offering requires a pay-TV subscription. Through its Rainbow Media subsidiary, Cablevision owns and operates the cable TV networks AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE TV. These networks could easily be leveraged by the company to guarantee some Web service compatibility as well as give Cablevision some extra, exclusive content offerings. It would be easy for the company to put its AMC and IFC movie broadcast channels’ library on the Web and allow for PC-to-TV streaming for its customers only.
“With our PC to TV Media Relay service, we are putting an end to the need for families to huddle around their laptops or PCs to watch content together,” Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge told The Wall Street Journal. “This new service will make it easy for our television customers to take broadband services including Internet video, as well as family photos or anything else displayed on a computer screen, and move it to the television with the click of the mouse.”
The company, which passes more than five million businesses and homes in its network, said it will roll out a trial of the service in June.
This is the latest attempt by the cablecos to keep the fear of users “cutting the cord” at bay and could almost be more appealing than its TV Everywhere counterparts from other service providers.
Web videos are being produced with increasingly better quality, and the surge in video usage on the Web is rising dramatically. This may very well mean that Web content will end up being more appealing than pay TV content to some consumers. The idea is especially relevant regarding the selective nature of Web content – say paying for a season pass of a TV show via Amazon.com or Apple’s iTunes versus paying a $30 monthly fee for cable that includes shopping channels, religious channels that aren’t tailored to the subscriber’s belief and all those other channels that subscribers skip on the TV guide.
Consumers are in no way jumping ship ‘en masse,’ but rumors like a TV show subscription service for the iPad or Apple TV; more devices supporting streaming services like Netflix; and upcoming devices that give access to existing Web-based TV content (Hulu and TV.com) are giving cablecos plenty to worry about even without any solid numbers.
The trend is the big concern for others in the pay TV industry, and it’s a main reason many cite for Comcast’s current attempt to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal.
If there’s any need to clarify the importance of online video, a comparison of yearly numbers from comScore provides a clear illustration. According to comScore’s numbers, the January-to-December growth for 2007 (39%) and 2008 (46%) were huge gains, but the climb in 2009 of 18.4 billion views (124%) completely knocks them out of the water.
This is a sign for most to dive into the Web video world head first, but it’s also keeping some people out of the pool. The reason for being skittish is simple: No one so far has been able to keenly pinpoint exactly where the surge came from.
We’re inclined to say it has a lot to do with new systems hitting the market, new TVs allowing Web content and the further proliferation of CE like the Roku box that place a huge emphasis on streaming content, especially Netflix. Another key player here is Facebook, which Nielsen said last month had the third-largest- and second-fastest-growing audience in the US.
YouTube also recently made big gains in the space, picking up content distribution deals with Disney, Univision and a series of very popular live events.
Few expect 2010 to see such a massive growth from January to December, but it will likely see high numbers throughout the year – much higher than 2007 and 2008.
As the tests of Cablevision’s service begin, there will be a lot of interested parties watching closely to see exactly what and how much is streamed. If accessible, Hulu’s numbers will be likely be most scrutinized because the company, reportedly, is planning on offering some pay-for versions of its service. YouTube will be a key barometer, just to see if there’s interest in the service overall.
Netflix probably won’t be that closely monitored, but it’ll likely see some significant usage. Right now, consumers either need a set-top box or a brand-new Web-enabled TV set to stream Netflix to their TVs. Making this as easy as clicking the mouse on a PC and getting the content onto the TV will make the streaming service that much more appealing.
Cablevision isn’t yet saying what technology it’s using to power the service, but an existing platform from ActiveVideo Networks is a good bet. ActiveVideo has a suite designed to bring Web content to the TV set through existing cable infrastructure, and NBC Universal is said to be using it for part of the 2010 Winter Olympics coverage.
Cablevision did say that the technology powering the TV to PC Media Relay can be extended to other CE devices, including mobiles, home Wi-Fi networks and other computing devices. This means that eventually the TV will serve as the universal screen while a pay-TVcompany serves as an extension of the home network.