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The cease-and-desist letters have piled up high enough for Time Warner Cable to pull a bunch of major networks from its recently released iPad app, which allowed subscribers of the nation’s second-largest cable company to stream programming inside their homes. News Corp, which sent its letter yesterday, has been pulled from the service, as have all channels from Viacom and Discovery Communications — a total of 12 channels. From Time Warner Cable’s statement today:
We believe we have every right to carry the programming on our iPad app. But, for the time being, we have decided to focus our iPad efforts on those enlightened programmers who understand the benefit and importance of allowing our subscribers — and their viewers — to watch their programming on any screen in their homes. In the meantime, we will pursue all of our legal rights against the programmers who don’t share our vision.
Networks have been critical from the get-go about the TWCCableTV app, the first to stream live content, saying the tablet platform isn’t accounted for or authorized in current contracts with the cabler. In other words, networks want to be compensated for their content on each screen it’s played on. The app debuted March 15, and more than 300,000 people have downloaded it, according to Bloomberg.
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Networks who think we watch their programs on a TV set at the time they broadcast it are terribly foolish. It’s 2011.
Good for TW Cable. At least they’re trying shit! Keep up the fight.
Hear that, networks … it’s the sound of a paradigm shifting. Yes, I used to watch a program on a television set at the time you broadcast it. Back in 1990! Now I watch you on my computer, my iPad, my iPhone and my television set whenever I want. Thank you, Internet! Thank you, TiVo! Thank you, Time Warner Cable!
As a TW Subscriber, I found the ability to discover new programming thru the TW iPad app much easier than channel surfing using a remote. Media conglomerates once again don’t “get it”. The programs are being streamed to a device that allows one only to view- not to store and save for a future use. Granted, TW in the future may want to charge for this type of service- but for the time being- it’s not and the content provided should be looked at a promotional vehicle to get viewers to watch the product on Regular TV.
JZ
Jesus, what a greedy bunch of b*tches!! Hey, dimwits, as a TW Cable Subscriber, I’m ALREADY paying you for your f*cking content! It’s like if I subscribe to the paper version of the NY Times or the WSJ, I’m given access to their online sites.
F*ck them. I’m glad TW Cable dropped them. Here’s hoping they stick to their guns.
See this is the bonfire of the formats. Distribution is currently king – how ever many times you can re sell the self same thing to the same people – that’s the game. But the truth is for the longest time that has just annoyed the audience – hey I already paid for this – hey why can’t I just… Lawyer says no no no – you have to do it our way buddy… Well you wonder why people illegally download – this is why – basically the industry needs to understand that you can’t keep reselling the same thing in various formats – the thing is the thing is the thing – people will buy it once – once is fair – you want them to buy it more than once – probably they will just steal it and eventually you will starve.
These idiots really need to catch up. Locking content into “cable TV” is only prolonging the inevitable and hurting the potential for business. The fact that they still can’t figure out how to appropriately distribute in an “all digital” age is getting old.
Who do these networks think they are? As a Time Warner subscriber, I’ve already paid for a license to watch this content at home. Networks don’t get to tell me which screen in my own home I wish to watch it with. A TV, laptop, tablet, phone, computer monitor, are all the same, they’re all screens, just different sizes.
Time Warner isn’t even offering consumers what we really want, which is to watch the content we’ve already subscribed to anytime anywhere we are.
These networks and studios are so behind the times, clinging to out dated business models, that they’d rather get in the way of what their own customers want, instead of actually innovating to deliver it.
If anyone in charge ever reads this thread, I have some free advice for you. Instead of whining about overinflated piracy fears (already disproved by the GAO), complaining about declining revenues, and pouring millions into lobbying for legislation to protect the old business models, you need to invest in the future and give people what they want. If you don’t, someone with a clue like Apple or Amazon will.
Well, since both Apple and Amazon rely on the same content providers TW Cable does I doubt that anything will change. Besides, companies like Apple and Amazon have a vested interest in the status quo.
I’d trade in the freedom to watch TW on my iPad for a non-shitty alternative to TWCable in LA. It astonishes me that they have a monopoly in large swaths of the entertainment capital of the country and their grid is so shoddy, their prices are so high, and their system is so slow and spotty and crash-prone. I’d give my left nut to live in a part of the city serviced by AT&T Uverse.
Going to disagree with everyone here – separate rights have to be legally granted by the companies who own this content, to say a Time Warner, to show the content on any other platform besides television. The laws that protect the content don’t all the sudden go away because Time Warner feels it should be able to show the same content it purchased for TV rights on a completely separate platform, in this case digitally. And to rebuff – you the user have paid for the right to view this content for television viewing. You have to pay separately to view say Netflix content that is streamed digitally, as they have gone through the appropriate channels to acquire the digital streaming rights.
Especially considering Time Warner is doing this to make money. This is not a charity.
But with Netflix you pay one fee and can do whatever you want with the content. You don’t pay separately to watch on your TV, iPad, Laptop and your XBOX. It’s all inclusive.
If you buy a CD, are you saying you should have to pay for “separate rights” paying multiple times to listen to the same CD songs on your iPod, your iPad/netbook, your Mac, your PC, in your car CD player, your home CD player, your work computer, and streaming on Amazon’s Cloud Player? Because their different “platforms”.
Fair use law says different.
Foolish move on the part of the networks. Given that I can’t time-shift the shows on my TWC app, that meant if I felt like watching TV in bed or something there was a small chance I’d watch the ads. Remove your channel from the app, and the chance that I’ll see ads during your shows is near zero (thanks TiVo!)
that’s right networks — piss and moan about Time Warner adding some innovation to the way people who are already paying the subscription can watch their tv. did you hear what happened to the record companies? they thought they’d perfected the model with vinyl, tape and then finally CDs. and they were gonna be god damned if anyone told them otherwise. well, guess what. they told them otherwise. they came WAY late to the digital party and taught an entire generation how to rip the music from wherever they wanted — how you didn’t have to pay for it. we see the carnage…have you walked into Tower or Virgin lately?
we all grew up watching television (I’m 49). it’s ingrained in our brains. but my friends’ kids can’t be bothered. their parents tell me that they watch hardly anything. they’re on their computers and their smartphones and their iPads. so, by all means, do whatever you can do to make it MORE difficult to access your content (once again, here in a setting with real subscribers) with the latest technology and turn off yet another generation to what you’re selling.
let’s see how that plays out for you over the next 10 years! not.
At this pace in 10 years a lot of these TV content providers will be just like Blockbuster. Stuck in quicksand, buried and left wondering how on earth they ended up so far from where they started. It’s about the number of eyes on your product. ALL eyes. Subscribers are already paying for content into their house/apartment so why on earth limit what they can do with it in their house. It’s 2011!!!
It doesn’t matter to the stations whether you watch or not. Since Nielsen doesn’t count this, they get no additional ratings. No additional ratings means they can’t sell their ad space for higher rates. Extra viewers mean nothing in our system of Nielsen ratings, because if you aren’t a Nielsen family than it doesn’t matter
I don’t get it. Time Warner is worried that they will become obsolete as people start watching through netflix, itunes, hulu and online. So they are basically saying we won’t charge you for the Apple App, like we would if you were to get another cable box for another room in your house. The content providers benefit because Nielsen will eventually be counting those viewers who are watching on their ipads in the ratings, and they’ll be able to charge more for advertising….If TW were to sell me another box for a room I don’t have a TV in, they would get the $5.99 per month, not the networks. So they are the ones losing out on revenue. Don’t get it. This is either just a legal breach of contract thing or the efforts of the networks to assert their influence during the honeymoon of new technology.