As more users become accustomed to viewing cable TV content online -- sometimes the same night it airs in the living room -- cable TV operators are attempting to walk a fine line while trying to figure out how to handle online content.
Executives from major TV cable channels say TV shows on the Internet currently are not a threat to TV companies, but understand that the industry is continuing to evolve at a blistering pace. Some executives believe they don't need the Internet, while others understand they'll need to use the Internet to help expand their audience.
"I think it's a friend not foe," Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said during The Cable Show TV expo. "I don't think we should put our heads in the sand... we want to get that video to customers wherever they want it."
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Although the economy is tough and there have been reports of some cable subscribers dropping their TV service so they can use the Internet to watch content, cable operators aren't overly worried that this will be a trend that evolves into an epidemic.
Unlike the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the cable operators understand they must embrace the Internet and try to use it to complement paid subscription services. For example, some TV episodes are available on Hulu or a cable provider's web site, but not all content is available, which will force many subscribers to keep their TV subscription.
"None of us is dumb enough to imagine that cable cutting on a larger scale isn't lurking around the corner," Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey recently said.
It should be interesting to see how cable operators work with the Internet to try and give subscribers enhanced viewing capability without raising the risk of cord cutting.
