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Time Warner's TV Everywhere trials to start... sometime
It's been over a month since Comcast and Time Warner announced their TV Everywhere internet video service, and while we've seen some impressive content deals get made since then, there hasn't been much word on how the service will work, or even when it'll launch. That's starting to slowly change today, as Time Warner's announced that 5,000 lucky customers in "select markets" will be involved in a trial that's starting "over the next few months." No word yet on how much this'll cost or what extra shows or movies you might be able to get, but at least it's something -- and if Time Warner or Comcast need any extra help testing this out, we know a few people who'll be more than willing to help.
BBC America HD launches on TWC in NYC
It's taken nearly a month, but finally someone can see BBC America HD, as the channel has launched on Time Warner Cable in New York City, as part of a channel reshuffling that also brought HSN HD, Headline News HD, Outdoor Channel HD and Turner Classic Movies HD to subscribers. We'll have to check the schedule to see if Primeval, Dr. Who and Torchwood re-airs are on deck for the original launch slate, but in the meantime we'll just settle for catching Being Human at its best.[Thanks, Eric]
Time Warner Cable reselling WiMAX later this year in Charlotte, Dallas, and two mystery markets
It's not really that surprising given its investment in Clearwire, but Time Warner Cable is now ready to join in on the WiMAX fun. The company plans to resell the mobile broadband in four US cities by the end of the year, but so far it's only revealed two of them: Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dallas, Texas. Meanwhile, cable competitor Comcast has already opened up its WiMAX shop in Portland, Oregon, and plans to hit Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia by the end of this year. No word on prices, but we don't expect it to stray far from the current $20 to $50 monthly fees. We're also a bit in the dark as to when we can expect the rollout this year, so if you're in one of those two markets and have a strong itch for 4G wireless, better start filling up that piggy bank now, just to be safe.
TiVo coming to Time Warner Cable, potentially lots of other providers
It's been a long, messy road, but now that TiVo's beaten a victory out of EchoStar in that seemingly-endless DVR patent lawsuit it sounds like the company is trying to exert some muscle -- it's already in talks to bring its service to Time Warner Cable, and sources have told Bloomberg the ultimate plan is to eventually collect royalties from every pay-TV provider in the US. That might sound bullying and even a little trollish, but keep in mind these patents have withstood pretty much every legal challenge EchoStar could throw at them, so TiVo's operating from a position of some certainty here -- especially since it's got license agreements with huge players like Comcast and DirecTV to use as leverage in negotiations as well. Of course, none of this solves any of TiVo's actual problems with its products, and the company's topsy-turvy balance sheet has some analysts thinking its ripe for a buyout by one of the bigs, so things could change dramatically at any minute, but for right now it sounds like your chances of getting the TiVo interface on your cable or satellite company DVR just went up, and that's almost certainly a good thing.
HD channel expansion roundup
Once upon a time, a smattering of new HD channels in one major metropolitan area was a huge deal. Nowadays, it's almost expected that one area or another will experience some HD expansion each week. In order to keep things nice and tidy around here, we deliver high-def expansions, market expansions and anything else dealing with HD channel growth right here. If we missed an area that you're familiar with, drop us a line in comments so everyone can catch up. The more the merrier, we say! Read - Time Warner Cable launches Smithsonian Channel in high definition Read - Brighthouse Tampa Bay adds Fox News, MLB Network, SPEED, WGN America, CNBC, AMC, Bio, WZRA (Thanks, Kaylan) Read - Comcast adds Speed/FX/Fox News in New Jersey (Thanks, Sriram) Read - Massive Comcast additions coming to Ann Arbor "Soon" (Thanks, Jordan) Read - Verizon adds 8 new HD channels in Tampa Bay (Thanks, Mike)
Canoe's targeted ads set sail for households with income to spend
The six cable companies involved with Canoe Ventures -- Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House -- will be turning loose the targeted ad technology that has been in the works for a while now. Especially in the midst of the economic crunch, you just know that tax brackets are going to drive the tailoring of the bespoke ads, which go by the friendly name of CAM (community addressable messaging). Fully interactive ads will have to wait for tru2way, so for now CAM 1.0 will swap in one of two versions of a spot, depending on whether the destination is in a zone designated as "over $100,000." We foresee some interesting water cooler discussions ahead as coworkers report seeing different ads at halftime and thus give away some personal info.
Time Warner Cable to axe DOCSIS 3.0 trials without tiered billing?
If you're following the Time Warner Cable capping drama (and we know that you are), then you'll be interested in a short post published on GigaOm today. From the looks of things, TWC isn't just backing off of the tiered pricing plans that they'd proposed recently -- it also looks like they're fully prepared to take their ball and go home when it comes to DOCSIS 3.0 trials. Originally the broadband provider had been hatching plans to roll out the ultra-fast internet service in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, Greensboro, N.C., and Rochester, NY -- but attitudes seem to have changed now that they might not get the new cash infusion that pricey metered usage would provide. In a flurry of tweets from the company's cocky VP of PR, Alex Dudley, there seems to be an indication that with the consumption based billing (CBB to us industry types), so potentially goes the DOCSIS 3.0 trials. In his own, understanding words -- responding to Stacey Higginbotham's query about whether or not the company will pull the high-speed without tiers: @gigastacey it was scheduled as part of cbb trial, but we all know how you feel about that. Frankly, we're still not sure if the facts on this story are totally straight, since much of it is based on 140 character tweets, which -- believe it or not -- aren't that helpful when you need details. We can however, communicate this to Time Warner Cable: you are fools and bastards if you pull this testing because you can't make your tiered billing work. Read - TWC to Customers: You Don't Want Tiers, You Don't Get Super-fast Broadband Read - Alex Dudley's tweet
Time Warner backs down on metered broadband pricing
After considerable consumer outrage, Time Warner Cable has stopped its plans to test a novel -- some might say evil -- broadband pricing structure that would charge customers based on their internet usage. The pricing structure, which strayed from traditional flat fees, could have had a serious impact on consumers with high internet usage, namely gamers (and bloggers, for that matter).In a statement, Time Warner chief executive Glenn Britt said, "It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans." We're not exactly sure what that misunderstanding might be; the rates charged for each tier of Gigabyte usage were made quite clear.Still, don't jump for joy just yet. While Time Warner has put a hold on the plans for now, it seems the company still plans to move on them eventually. According to Britt, plans for any additional tests will have to wait until more relevant parties are consulted. In the meantime, the company plans to provide customers with bandwidth measurement tools "as quickly as possible" so they can understand their own consumption levels.So, grab all the internet you can, Time Warner customers, because the company is down, not out. Just like the dude from Die Hard, it'll be back.
Time Warner Cable scraps broadband capping plan in Rochester, NY
It's already delayed its controversial broadband capping plan in a number of markets, and it looks like Time Warner Cable has now gone one big step further in Rochester, New York (one of the initial test markets), where it has reportedly scrapped the new tiered pricing plan altogether. As you no doubt recall, the plan was more or less modeled on cellphone pricing plans, and had intended to cap customers' data usage at a certain level and charge upwards of $1 per GB for any overages (eventually maxing out at $150 per month). That, naturally, didn't go over so well with folks, and even New York Senator Charles Schumer eventually got in on the act and complained directly to Time Warner Cable. Of course, this still doesn't officially mark the end of the pricing plan in other markets, but it certainly seems to be getting increasingly difficult for Time Warner Cable to move ahead with it.[Thanks, Phil]Update: As a few of you have helpfully pointed out in comments, Time Warner Cable has now put out a statement of its own that confirms in not-at-all Orwellian terms that it is shelving all of its consumption-based billing trials "while the customer education process continues." The company also says that it'll soon be making bandwidth measurement tools available to customers, which it hopes will "aid in the dialog going forward."
Public rage stalls Time Warner trials of consumption-based internet
Time Warner's new data capping broadband scheme was never expected to win any popularity contests, and the details of its plans are so frustrating, that this probably should not come as a surprise. Regardless, it looks like the company's plan to further roll out testing of the consumption-based billing method has been foiled, or at least stalled, because it couldn't find enough customers to participate in the testing. TWC had planned to test in several locations, including San Antonio and Austin, Texas, but the response has apparently been so negative, and there were so many complaints, that the company has "delayed" the trials until October. So... maybe if we keep moaning about it the plan will be abandoned altogether? Here's to hoping, anyway. [Via The Register]
Time Warner Cable creates $150 unlimited broadband tier
Amid complaints of price gouging over the new broadband pricing structure its been testing out in select U.S. cities, Time Warner Cable has announced two new tiers for users with varying internet consumption habits. First, for just $15, you can sign yourself up for a 1GB per month contract, which will ... oh, come on. None of you use under 1GB a month. That's ridiculous. It takes more than 1GB to view our front page, due to our extreme high-def JPEGs.The other tier of interest is the 100GB plan, which runs users $75 dollars a month. Each additional gigglebyte over that will cost $1, though Time Warner plans on placing a $75 cap on overage fees. Basically, for $150, you get unlimited high-speed internet. A hundy-and-a-half? Man, that's pocket change for us media maven types. We make $150 for every sentence in our posts. Which is good. Money, we mean. We like it. It's great. (Ka-ching!)
A look at Time Warner's broadband pricing structure
OK, we need to get serious for a few paragraphs about new bandwidth rates being tested by Time Warner Cable, something that could seriously affect gamers' wallets. Gamers with Jobs has posted an excellent analysis of Time Warner Cable's new metered pricing structure, currently being tested in Greensboro, NC; Austin and San Antonio, TX; and Rochester, NY.The price structure: 5GB: $29.99/month 10GB: $39.99/month 20GB: $49.99/month 40GB: $54.90/month 100GB: No information yet Source: Democrat & Chronicle In the piece, Lara Crigger breaks down her internet consumption to surprising results. She lives with her husband (also a gamer), they have no kids, and their consumption doesn't seem out of place for a young couple -- their Xbox Netflix usage apparently hides some serious bandwidth usage. In the end, she estimates they'd pay out roughly $67 a month under the new rates, instead of the $40 she currently offers the cable company. We strongly recommend reading her piece, because this is an issue that could be coming to a neighborhood near you. [Image]
Time Warner spills details on TWC spinoff
This won't affect the most of you one single bit, but for those that have a vested interested in either Time Warner, Inc. or Time Warner Cable, the details of the spinoff are now public. The tax-free separation of TWC from Time Warner will involve a dividend distribution of all of the Time Warner Cable common stock held by Time Warner to Time Warner stockholders; said distribution will be made on March 27th to Time Warner stockholders of record at 8PM on March 12th. Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes noted that he was "confident that this separation would benefit Time Warner and Time Warner Cable stockholders," suggesting that the move would enable each entity to be "better positioned to compete, with capital structures more suited to their respective needs as well as greater operational, financial and strategic flexibility." Maybe TWC will get around to adding a few more HD channels now that daddy isn't looking over its shoulder 24/7, but we wouldn't bet the farm on it.
Time Warner to finalize TWC spinoff this quarter
Wait, what? Time Warner Cable is still a part of Time Warner, Inc.? Weren't they supposed to split, like, almost a year ago? We've always heard that old flames are hard to extinguish, so we guess we shouldn't be too shocked to hear that this drawn-out separation is still being, well, drawn out. According to a fresh release from parent company Time Warner, it has "elected to complete the separation of the two companies through a spin-off distribution involving a pro rata dividend of all of the Time Warner Cable common stock held by Time Warner to Time Warner stockholders." If you're hungry for details beyond that, we're afraid you'll have to wait -- all we're told is that the two "continue to expect that the separation will be completed by the end of the current quarter." Cute how "continue" was thrown in there, yeah?
FCC's Martin fines nine carriers on his way out the door
On the eve of his resignation, now-former FCC chairman Kevin Martin got in one last shot against nine of the biggest cable companies -- including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox and Charter -- to the tune of $25,000 each. Citing the MSOs (Multiple System Operators) for failing to respond to the FCC's investigation of how they moved channels from analog to digital tiers, additional fines were then added on, bringing the total damages to all nine companies to a cool $510,000. Top honors go to Time Warner, which racked up a $137,000 bill. Wielding his poisoned pen, Martin wrote that the actions of the MSOs "... exhibits contempt for the FCC's authority," and by forcing customers to pay for digital set-top boxes, "... customers have been receiving less from the cable companies but paying the same price." Strong words, but would we wouldn't expect anything less from the FCC chairman who oversaw some of the biggest changes in telco this country's seen.[Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Cable companies following DISH's place-shifting lead?
Word from Multichannel News is that -- particularly in light of DISH's SlingLoaded DVR -- Comcast, Time Warner and Cox are all looking to include place-shifting rights in their latest carriage negotiations, promising subscriber access to their TV content even away from home. Unfortunately it appears their idea is to provide the TV feed over the Internet -- think Fancast and Starz Play -- instead of direct (and likely bandwidth consuming) DVR access. No word on which, if any, networks have agreed to such an arrangement but it does raise the question: would streaming access via PC or cellphone be enough to keep you from switching to satellite?
Eidos in early buyout talks
Even though she's more busted than a meth-addicted lady of the night, Eidos is ready to work the street corner again for some johns (we're guessing two brothers with the last name Warner). MCV acquired a statement from the publisher, indicating that the board has received a "preliminary approach" from a company, which "may or may not lead" to a buyout.Although plenty of corporations with the means have pulled up to offer the troubled company a ride, Warner Bros. is the only one to invest and control 20% of the publisher. Further speculation pointed to Warner Bros. after Time Warner's CFO recently made comments about getting more involved in the games industry. We'll have to wait and see if it's Warner that tells Eidos it's OK to turn off the red light.
Time Warner intrigued by games industry, says CFO
Time Warner Chief Financial Officer John Martin said that the company's water-testing acquisition of Traveller's Tales has been "wildly successful" and it wants more. In a call with investors, Martin expressed that the gaming industry "intrigues" Time Warner, but that there's nothing "right now of any scale" that it's going to acquire.Time Warner may not be doing any game company acquisitions at the moment, but it has made some maneuvers in the space. Most recently, it's invested in Turbine (Lord of the Rings Online) and Eidos. We'll have to wait and see if the siren call of gaming turns Time Warner's intrigue into lustful desire.[Disclosure: Time Warner owns AOL which, in turn, owns Joystiq ... which means Time Warner also owns our wildly successful publishing arm, Joystiq Games. Well ... soon-to-be wildly successful, as soon as our debut title, Imagine Vin Diesel Kart Racerz: The Fast and the Curious, hits the market.][Via GameDaily]
Time Warner, Viacom reach agreement; Bromance crisis averted
Put down the bubbly and nearest willing stranger for a moment, if you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber, you may have noticed that your MTV Networks channels -- including everyone's favorite Palladia / MHD -- are still there, even after a very public squabble threatened to turn them dark around the same time everyone's Zune started working again. Both sides have confirmed the cable giant reached an agreement in principle with Viacom, without revealing how it happened. How much did Viacom end up getting? We may have to wait for the next TWC rate hike to know for sure. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Time Warner slides another channel into Buffalo's HD lineup
That will be number 57, according to the Observer, as Time Warner Cable follows up on last months additions with Fox News HD on channel 720. Jumping on the free HD tier just in time for the run up to the election, the high definition simulcast of standard Fox News coverage should please all those tuning in. It may have taken time for Buffalo to catch up on HD, but it looks like the streak will go on. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
