A video streaming craze has swept the nation with an onslaught of smart phones, iPads, and internet connected televisions.  This is to no ones surprise as it is a pretty convenient way for consumers to view television and movie content.  More choices equal better, right?  Like any rapidly growing industry, everyone wants a piece of the pie which is presenting a lot of angst in an industry known to cause big companies to fight with one another.

Time Warner has recently launched an iPad app which would enable its subscribers to stream cable channels to their iPad if the viewer was on their Time Warner home internet connection.  It is obvious the cable distributor is merely adapting to the new realities of video content viewing which is expected to go towards internet streaming more and more over the coming decades.  Without implementing ideas like this, how could Time Warner ensure their longterm survival?  This all makes sense, so what is the problem?

The problem is that Time Warner did not ask the networks’ permission first.  Since it is the home internet connection, the cable distributor considers it to be on their infrastructure and therefore the networks’ permission was irrelevant.

The reason this is even an issue in the industry is because cable networks and production studios were quietly busy counting money they get from offering their shows to download on iTunes at as much as $3 an episode.  In effect, the cable networks were double dipping on consumers, and now this could all end because Time Warner wants to maintain a degree of relevance in the distribution arena.  Even though many people actually purchase the shows for on-the-go viewing, the concern could be that a growing video on demand lineup and an uncontested move for the app to internet anywhere could move Time Warner into a position that will take a significant chunk of the networks’ ‘bonus money.’

A few of the arguments listed by the networks were a lot of nonspecific statements on contracts and the risks of them getting sued.  They have a point to a degree, and that is of course why they say it.  Make no mistake about it though that this is primarily about the Hulu and video-on-demand money that has been added to their pockets in recent years which is now being threatened.  Not by Time Warner, but by the evolving consumer.

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New Cable Fight at Hand