“The tablet computer may have found its killer app: television,” John R. Quain reports for FoxNews. “The question, however, is: What’s it going to kill?”
Cable companies and TV networks have watched ratings decline and endured a barrage of stories about ‘cutting the cord’–subscribers dropping cable TV service in favor of Internet video,” Quain reports. “Most of that has been hype, but cable companies are worried about the future.”
Quain reports, “Sales of Apple’s iPad tablet continue to rocket. According to some analysts, Apple has sold 30 million iPads. And other tablet entrants, from Samsung, Motorola, HP and RIM, hope to ride those coattails. What are those millions of tablet owners doing? Increasingly, they’re watching video. They’re enjoying ‘Weeds’ on Netflix and downloading movies like ‘The Tourist.’ And some of them may be wondering why they need cable TV service at all.”
“So Cablevision, Time Warner and Comcast have jumped on the magic tablet ride, producing apps to deliver their programming, control their DVRs and conduct sundry other tasks,” Quain reports. “The apps are all free, too — the catch is that viewers still have to pay a traditional cable TV subscription to gain access to the wireless streaming feeds. Why are cable companies doing this? By accommodating a second screen, they hope to stay relevant — and retain their customers.”
Quain reports, “It’s ironic, actually: Apple failed to get traction out of its Apple TV box, but the iPad has found a way in the back door, although not via Apple’s iTunes store. Rather, competing services like Netflix have opened the door, and now by offering free tablet apps the cable companies may be inadvertently propping it wide open.”
Read more in the full article here.