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Cox Communications brings live TV to the iPad

Cable provider Cox Communications has a new app available for subscribers that makes it possible to watch live TV shows and movies in your home -- on an iPad.

The Cox TV Connect app (free, requires cable subscription) brings live shows from 35 different popular channels to the iPad. While that's just a fraction of the channel lineup carried by Cox, it's a start. A similar iPad app from Cablevision allows viewers to watch all channels available to them, but Cox VP of Video Strategy Steve Necessary told GigaOM that they're in the process of negotiating rights with TV networks to add more content to Cox TV Connect.

Some cable carriers such as Comcast only provide on-demand content to subscribers, while other operators like Cablevision and Time Warner Cable are also providing subscribers with live TV. Necessary noted that "A screen is a screen is a screen" in terms of allowing consumers to watch their favorite shows regardless of what device they're looking at. Cox expects to eventually blend the functionality of Cox TV Connect and another app (Cox Mobile Connect) that lets users browse content and program their DVRs from their iPads or iPhones.