twc
Latest
ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN Buzzer Beater now available online for Time Warner & Brighthouse
Time Warner and Brighthouse customers have had access to the main ESPN channel on their PCs for a few months now and today it's been announced ESPN2, ESPNU and the new ESPN Buzzer Beater (think RedZone or GoalLine, but for college basketball) channel have been added to the mix. All are available on ESPNNetworks.com just like the main ESPN feed, with access from mobile devices still touted as "coming soon." Sure, most of us have ESPN3 access already (and, unlike Time Warner and Brighthouse subs can get it on our Xbox 360 already) but being able to pull in the linear channels from anywhere could have its advantages (as seen in the ad below,) is anyone calling up their provider and asking for ESPNNetworks yet?
Time Warner, Disney and News Corp. bigwigs speak up against FCC stipulations in Comcast-NBC deal
Hello, inevitable. It simply had to happen, and now, it is. As Comcast, NBC and the FCC attempt to work out stipulations over Comcast's proposed 51 percent buyout of NBC Universal, a smattering of major media companies are paying close attention to the play-by-play. Naturally, the precedents that are set from this deal will affect future agreements of this caliber, and lobbyists for both Disney and News Corp. (as well as Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes) aren't standing over on the sidelines any longer. All three outfits have reportedly been "voicing their concerns this week with the FCC, worried that such conditions could undermine their own efforts to profit from the nascent online video industry." We're told that the media mega-corps are worried that the rules -- if hammered down -- could interfere with ongoing negotiations with online video providers, and in turn, give them less leverage to monetize and control their content on the world wide web. In other words, if NBC Universal is forced to provide content fluidly to all ISPs (and not just Comcast), what's to say other content makers and internet providers wouldn't also be forced into similar deals, regardless of whether or not they're involved in takeover negotiations? Needless to say, we're nowhere near the end of this journey, and while the nuts and bolts are pretty dry to think about, the outcomes could have a serious impact on our future viewing habits.
Could this be the year we get to ditch the cable box?
We've been coming to CES for years looking at demos of technologies that will let us watch HDTV without a set-top box, and yet here we are years later with little choice but to find a place to put that box. The big failures have been CableCARD and then tru2way, both of which have had little impact to mainstream America. But despite all of our disappointment over the years, we came away from CES this year with the feeling that this might actually be the year. Of course, the allure of Vegas has yet to wear off, but when Time Warner Cable, Comcast, DirecTV and Verizon FiOS TV are at the same show sending almost the same message and showing demos, we have a hard time not taking our skeptical shield down a little. Sadly it wasn't exactly the same message, and if you click on through you might discover the true future of how TV will be delivered. %Gallery-113471%
Samsung will offer access to TV, VOD from Time Warner & Comcast on its Galaxy Tab, TVs
Samsung is following Sony's lead by enabling owners of its tablets and TVs to control their cable boxes and access content directly via IP from Comcast and Time Warner Cable. For Comcast users, a new Xfinity TV app on the Smart TVs brings an all new "web-like GUI" (that looks a lot like the new set-top box interface it's currently testing) for accessing live TV, DVR recordings and VOD.Plans for the Galaxy Tab sounds just like the Xfinity Remote for iPad, with control and access to streaming TV and movies, with plans to add the ability to pause and resume across different devices in the future. Time Warner Cable followed up its partnership with Sony by announcing it's streaming live TV over IP directly to Samsung TVs and tablets, as well streaming from a DVR to TV or tablet in another room. Both services are expect "later this year," check the press releases after the break or our live blog from the event for more details.
Time Warner Cable VOD coming to Sony Bravia HDTVs, sans the cable box
In a revelation that still has us in shock, Sony announced at CES tonight that its new Bravia HDTVs would give consumers direct access to Time Warner Cable video-on-demand. The details are very lacking at the moment but we can't think of another example of when a cable company has allowed its on demand content to be delivered on a 3rd party device. Of course this doesn't solve all our problems as the TVs don't have built in DVRs so that wonderful Time Warner set-top-box will still be tethered to your stunning HDTV, but it is a step in the right direction. Now we just wait to see how well it actually works when it finally actually gets rolled out.
Time Warner launches Primetime HD On Demand tomorrow
Beyond launching its Look Back network DVR service in several new markets, Time Warner is giving its traditional video on-demand setup a boost with a few hundred hours of new content. The same deal that's brought live streaming ESPN to PCs means 300 hours of content from the sports network, ABC and Disney, while a new Primetime HD On Demand slot launching November 10 will pull together shows from ABC, NBC and CBS. While we doubt that will be enough to get Josh's DVR working, at least it's all at no extra cost, check the press release after the break for all the channels included.
Time Warner Cable rolling out Look Back service to the masses
Time Warner has been running trials of its Look Back service for a year or so in various markets, but it's finally ready to bring it to the Real America. The feature lets good, honest folk go back and watch shows they've missed for up to three days after they've aired, with no need to set a DVR -- it's basically on demand content with a better name and no charge. Shows will be available to watch immediately after they've aired. Look for it to hit a coax cable near you very soon.
Select Time Warner Cable customers gain remote DVR services not-so-fashionably late
If ever there was a moment Time Warner Cable deserved to be honored with an inspirational slow clap, let it be now. That's because it finally announced remote DVR service support -- a feature both Verizon FiOS and Dish Network subscribers have enjoyed for over a year. Intuitively dubbed Remote DVR Manager, it only works now via the web -- TWC iOS app teasers be damned -- and provides expected services like recording one-offs or scheduling entire series. Canceling previously scheduled recordings is also available, though deleting old content to clear more space for Glee isn't. There are plenty of other dubious caveats, like some services not being available to CableCARD users or on all TWC equipment, and remote DVR services not working on all mobile phones through its mobile optimized site. Furthermore, the service has only officially launched in five markets including: the Carolinas region, northeast region, New York city region, San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego / Desert Cities. Come October 29th, the service will expand to include five more regions, with national coverage dragging until who knows when. For full Time Warner pat ourselves-on-the-back details and a PDF user guide, hit the source link below.
Up to 30 minutes of free WiFi a month coming to NYC parks, New Yorkers scoff at the idea of spending 30 minutes outside
Free WiFi is one of those things that can only improve a location, so we're sure everyone will be pleased to hear that Time Warner Cable and Cablevision have teamed up and agreed to put $10 million into providing free WiFi in 32 New York City parks (as part of the city's 10-year renewal deal with the cable providers). The deal isn't without severe limits, though, as it will offer anyone up to three, 10-minute sessions of access per month, for a total of 30 minutes. After that limit is reached, there will be a charge of 99 cents per day to use the WiFi -- which sounds pretty reasonable to us. The plan is coming under a lot of scrutiny already, including some questions as to how the city (and the cable providers) plan to track each citizen using the WiFi, but we have a feeling they'll figure it out by the time the scheme officially launches, and we still don't know when that will be.
New Time Warner Cable deal brings ESPN to mobile devices and PCs
Here you were worried that you wouldn't be able to watch ESPN this weekend when the current agreement expires, only to find out that not only did the deal get done, but it brings lots of cool new ESPN products to Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks customers. The most notable is that, in addition to ESPN3.com, customers will be able to stream linear programing from the most well known ESPN networks to your PC and other mobile devices. The deal also includes the addition of ESPN 3D, the new Disney Junior, more ESPN VOD content than we can cover, and a new channel called ESPN Goal Line (essentially The RedZone channel for college football). No hard dates on when any of this will go live, but certainly a great deal for sports fans, and for everyone else, thanks for paying extra so we can get our fix.
Time Warner claims it's the HD king of New York with 150 channels, StartOver
Time Warner's thrown down the HD gauntlet on Verizon FiOS in New York City, adding 25 HD channels and claiming that it's got the juice now, with all the HD games of the nine sports teams and NY1 in HD. Beyond the new additions -- including but not limited to good ones like Fox Soccer Channel, CSPAN networks, HBO and Showtime throw-ins, a few Viacom networks like Nick HD, CMT HD and VH1 HD, and the rather dubious four additional Big Ten HD feeds alongside Gol TV HD on the sports tier -- it also mentions Start Over is enabled on "more than 25 HD channels in the New York area" although it's not immediately clear which ones. Multichannel News reports Verizon's fired back that despite having a mere 133 HD channels, qualities like picture quality, widgets and VOD tilt things back its way. While they continue to do battle over the crown and those MSG sports networks, we're pretty sure plenty of New York watchers are just sitting back and enjoying some soccer, movies and routine government meetings in HD right now.
Time Warner Cable entering the iPhone app game
I've been a Verizon FiOS subscriber since the day it rolled out in my neighborhood, and I couldn't be happier (my bank account's demeanor is another story). Actually, I take that back, because I got a tad bit happier when the cable company released an official iPhone app that allows for DVR scheduling and management. Joy! If you're a Comcast subscriber, there's a similar app available. And, coming soon, Time Warner Cable will be rolling out their own answer to the iOS app scheduling game. Just as with the Verizon and Comcast apps, you'll reportedly be able to manage your DVR recordings, view TV schedules and setup recordings from afar. What the Verizon and Comcast apps do not have is the ability to view your recordings on your device, which, reportedly, could be a possibility with the TWC app. Imagine watching part of a recorded program on your iPad, then pick up later where you left off at home. Check out the YouTube video after the jump, which shows off a glimpse of a prototype of the app.
AT&T likes Google & Verizon's wired-only net neutrality stance, Time Warner Cable doesn't
Network neutrality is the battle to keep companies from filtering your access to whatever you want on those great, united internets. But, as we explored in depth last week, Google and Verizon think they should only have to play nice when it comes to wired broadband -- that wireless should be exempt from neutrality-related FCC regulation. The FCC wasn't too pleased with that sentiment, but we found someone who is: AT&T VP Joan Marsh, who posted a lengthy statement entitled: "Wireless is Different." In it she continues the theme of explaining how meeting demand on a wireless network is much more difficult than on wired, even going so far as to place some of the blame on local communities: We are constantly striving to increase the efficiency of our spectrum resources, but the amount of available spectrum in any given market is finite. And while we regularly split cell sectors and add additional cell towers, there are very real limits placed on cell site construction by zoning and local approval boards. This is surely a real problem, but what we haven't heard yet is just how letting companies like Verizon and AT&T create premium tiers for wireless content will do anything other than allow them to make more money while still complaining about the same 'ol problems. Meanwhile, a company that has virtually no skin in the wireless game, Time Warner Cable, isn't so keen on this stance regarding traditional, wired broadband. CEO Glenn Britt says his company would never throttle content in a way that would violate net neutrality, but still doesn't want more rules put in place that would prevent them from doing so. Funny how everyone likes net neutrality until it threatens to cramp their style, isn't it?
Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable might lose ESPN in time for football season
ESPN is the content creator that cable and satellite providers love to hate. On one hand ESPN and, its sister networks, are the only reason some people even subscribe to pay TV, and on the other it is also the most expensive -- those who don't like sports are obviously caught in the middle, paying for some of the most expensive programming, whether they like it or not. Well today we noticed an ad on our site -- no, the contributors of the site have no clue or connection of what ads show up -- by ESPN that notify Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable customers that the current contract ends on September 2nd (although separate companies, the two negotiate carriage deals together to gain leverage). The banner ad leads customers to I Have Choices.com to tell them the alternative providers they can use to ensure they continue to receive ESPN and displays a short video explaining ESPN's position. Without a new deal this would of course mean the channels could go dark just in time to miss the 2010 college football kickoff on September 4th on ABC (one of the networks involved in the dipute). This is old news to those in the industry, in fact you might even remember the when Time Warner launched its own site Roll Over or Get Tough when it looked like Fox might get pulled from said companies just in time to miss the BCS Bowl Games earlier this year. We feel sorry for all of those who might be affected, but at the same time have no lost love for neither cable company.
TWC rebadges Sprint Overdrive, offers it as IntelliGo mobile 3G / 4G hotspot
And then, there were three. Three ways to snag an Overdrive, that is. Months after Sprint issued the original 3G / 4G mobile hotspot, Clear came along and introduced a rebadged version of the same thing. Now, Time Warner Cable (who is also in cahoots with Sprint and Clear) is following suit by tossing its logo on the all-too-familiar device and christening it the IntelliGo. Functionally, it's the same as ever -- there's a built-in battery that'll provide 3G / 4G mobile internet to a smattering (read: five) of nearby devices via WiFi, a microSD slot and USB connectivity. The difference here, though, is that it'll run you $49.99 on a two-year contract, and the fee will "vary by region." Speaking of regions, it'll be available wherever Road Runner Mobile is offered, which means Texas, North Carolina, Hawaii and Kansas City for now.
Google, Verizon, Comcast, and more band together to form tech (and policy) advisory group
BITAG doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, as far as spoken acronyms go, but the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (also goes by TAG, for short) is looking to make (radio) waves. Facilitated by former FCC Chief Technologist (and University of Colorado at Boulder Adjunct Professor) Dale Hatfield, the group aims to "develop consensus on broadband network management practices and other related technical issues that can affect users' experience," which largely leads to addressing technical issues and making suggestions to policymakers. The group runs the gamut of major players in the broadband industry, including AT&T, Cisco, Comcast, DISH, EchoStar, Google, Intel, Level 3, Microsoft, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon. Naturally, the aforementioned companies already on board are lauding the move, and for its part the NCTA is happy to see a forum for tech and engineering experts to openly discuss issues and policies. Providing the counterargument would be the folks at DSL Reports, who show reserve that this may end up being nothing more than "policy dog and pony show" to avoid stricter government regulations on network neutrality. At this point that remains to be seen, as this organization doesn't seem to have even hit infancy yet. Expect more in the coming weeks as it continues to form and attempts to organize. We submit for your perusal the press release, just after the break.
NAD to Time Warner Cable and Cox: stop lying about your so-called 'fiber' networks
Ouch. For the past few months, both Time Warner Cable and Cox had been airing advertisements that slipped the word "fiber" in there in some form or fashion, and while that's partially true, it's completely bogus according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The watchdog group is now asking both of these cable carriers to drop claims that they each run fiber-optic networks, noting that the accusations could indeed fool consumers into believing that hybrid-fiber networks are the same as a full-fiber one, like -- you know -- Verizon's FiOS footprint. Among the claims being disputed is this gem from TWC -- "Road Runner Turbo is zooming across the advanced fiber network." -- and Cox calling its service the "New Face of Fiber." Needless to say, both TWC and Cox were peeved, and while the former is exercising its right to appeal, Cox is cowering and taking the advice to heart. As you'd expect, Verizon was utterly elated to hear the news, with spokesman Jim Smith stating that the ruling is "great news for consumers, who've been misled for too long by Cox and Time Warner [Cable]'s false and deliberately misleading ads." Ah, nothing like a little drama between a trifecta of carriers who should probably focus their attention on things like Hulu, market slippage and creeping irrelevance. [Image courtesy of Lafayette Pro Fiber]
Comcast, TWC and Cablevision make friendly, team up for NYC-wide WiFi
And Comcast makes three. Two years after Cablevision started rolling out hotspots in the Big Apple and less than a month after Time Warner joined it, Comcast has gotten buddy-buddy with the pair in their efforts to blanket New York City with WiFi. If you subscribe to any one of their data services, you now get free access to all three, and can use your existing login at any Optimum, Time Warner or Xfinity hotspot across the city. In a press release, Cablevision executive John Bickham said the agreement might be "the first of many." We wonder if by banding together, cable might one day compete with the telcos on wireless connectivity, the way they now do with home internet and television services. Still, the best laid plans... Full press release after the break.
Time Warner Cable enables city-wide WiFi for NYC subscribers
If you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber in the greater NYC area, your life just got a little bit better this morning. TWC has come to an agreement with Cablevision, allowing the former's subscribers to tap in to the city-wide WiFi the latter started rolling out way back in 2008. No, we're not talking unbroken coverage from the Hudson to the East Rivers, but there are thousands of Optimum-branded hotspots all over the boroughs that cover plenty of parks and rail stations across the city. Unfortunately TWC isn't opening this up to all of its subscribers, just NYC-based ones, but if you have the requisite @nyc.rr.com suffix on your e-mail address hit that source link and find yourself a hotspot. [Photo credit: David Corby]
Time Warner Cable offering its tubes to AT&T, Verizon
Wired broadband is all well and good, but significantly more high-speed internet access is going to come via wireless over the next several years, and everyone involved -- the carriers, the CTIA, and the FCC -- knows that it's going to be a technical challenge to meet that reality. Spectrum is one thing, but the bytes need somewhere to go once they hit the towers; that's where backhaul comes into play. AT&T and T-Mobile have both recently pimped fiber upgrades that should significantly widen the tubes connecting cell sites to the backbone, but they aren't going it alone: cable companies see the writing on the wall, too, and are looking to backhaul for a profitable new line of business. It turns out that Time Warner Cable tripled its backhaul revenue last year alone and is said to be making a heavy push to sign new deals with both AT&T and Verizon; AT&T, of course, has famously had trouble keeping its 3G network humming smoothly in Manhattan over the last 18 months as an endless barrage of iPhones slam it, so TWC probably sees this as a clutch opportunity since they basically own the cable market in New York. For its part, AT&T won't discuss its backhaul deals -- but it's told us in recent months that it has a backhaul advantage over some of its competitors since it operates a huge DSL business, so it's hard to gauge exactly how much benefit AT&T could reap by taking TWC up on its offer. Now, if Time Warner had some spectrum it wanted to offload, that'd be another matter altogether.
