Cable TV providers Comcast and Time Warner Cable are reportedly in talks with a number of major cable TV networks about launching online video on demand (VoD) services.
The cable operators have recently met with programme owners including Time Warner, NBC Universal and Viacom, reports the Wall Street Journal.
NBCU says it is "intrigued" by the proposals, while MTV Networks, which is owned by Viacom, says trialling the services would be a "great testing ground for us". Time Warner-owned Turner Broadcasting, confirms it has held talks.
Under separate schemes, the cable operators are discussing ways to give cable subscribers online access to a large selection of cable-aired programmes. The operators hope to stream content that users cannot currently view online for free.
The talks come at time when traditional cable companies are under financial strain.
Time Warner recently reported a huge USD16bn loss for Q4 2008, after writing down the value of Time Warner Cable, AOL and its publishing division by a total of USD24.2bn.
The company is due to spin off Time Warner Cable, after being granted approval by the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month. Time Warner first announced the spin off in May 2008 as part of a restructuring drive aimed at turning the group into a content-driven company and boosting profits.
Speaking this week, Time Warner's EVP of communications, Ed Adler, said: "This separation provides significant benefits to consumers by enabling each company to focus on its core businesses: content creation and distribution at Time Warner and telecommunications services at Time Warner Cable,"
Meanwhile, Comcast, the largest cable operator in the US, posted a 32% year-on-year drop in Q4 this week.
The firm reported a bigger than expected downturn in subscription growth and lost 233,000 basic video subscribers during the quarter. Comcast says losses were due to competition from phone companies such as AT&T and Verizon and predicts more video losses for 2009.
Comcast's net profit for the quarter came to just USD412m, after the firm wrote down the value of its wireless firm Clearwire by USD600m. However, Comcast predicts gains in its digital and high-speed internet divisions in the coming year.
In December US web users watched 14.3bn videos online, a 13% increase on November's figures. Google's sites, which include YouTube,lead the US market with 5.9bn videos viewed – a 41% market share. Online TV platform Hulu enjoyed 6% growth in December and served 241m video views.
StrategyEye's related categories: TV Channels - General TV, Broadcaster Solutions - VoD, Broadcasters - Cable
StrategyEye's related companies: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AOL, Time Warner, Viacom, NBC Universal
