The news: With millions of cable and satellite subscribers purchasing mobile phones and tablets capable of receiving video, cable operators, satellite TV providers and programmers raced to develop mobile applications.
Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Comcast developed apps for Apple's iPad that allow subscribers to watch live TV channels on their tablets when they are within reach of a WiFi transmitter attached to a set-top in their homes. But contracts distributors have with programmers such as Disney and Viacom prevent them from delivering live TV channels to subscribers outside their home. Some programmers and distributors couldn't agree on whether an operator should be allowed to deliver live TV channels to an iPad within a subscriber's home. Viacom sued Cablevision to block it from delivering MTV and other channels via its iPad app, but the companies settled the dispute in June.
Mobile video was the hottest topic of debate at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in November. Cable CTOs told attendees that the industry was ready to deliver live video to subscribers wherever they go, but complained that their hands were tied by programmers.
While cable and satellite providers rolled out applications for Apple iOS and Android devices that let subscribers set remote DVR recordings, search program listings and watch live video, premium networks such as HBO and Starz developed their own mobile video applications that can be accessed by authenticated premium subscribers. The mobile applications could help networks increase the license fees they collect from affiliates, and the apps also create another point of negotiation in carriage deals. Time Warner Cable and Cablevision didn't get access to HBO Go until December, seven months after its debut.
Why it's significant: Booming sales of tablets and mobile phones bode well for cable operators that can not only deliver subscription video to mobile viewers, but can also profit by providing broadband Internet connections to viewers using mobile devices. WiFi connections that cable operators provide through home networks and WiFi hotspots are helping drive the popularity of applications such as HBO Go.
While most programmers have resisted the idea of distributing live video to mobile devices, that could change as networks renew distribution deals with cable and satellite affiliates. With Nielsen and other measurement firms beginning to track viewing on mobile devices, more programmers may be willing to distribute ad-supported content to viewers using devices like the iPad or an Android phone.
