Cable CTOs: Rights issues thwart mobile video distribution

ATLANTA -- Cable operators already have the technology that would allow them to deliver live pay TV channels to subscribers with tablets and mobile phones outside the home, but rights issues are preventing mobile expansion, top cable executives said here Tuesday.

Left to right: Moderator Paul Kagan, Comcast's Tony Werner, TWC's Mike LaJoie, Bright House's Nomi Bergman, and Cox's Kevin Hart.

"That's really not a technology issue. That's a business rights issue. The only thing preventing my customer from taking their iPad out of the house to view it where they want is an access control list," Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) executive VP and CTO Mike LaJoie said on a panel session at the opening of the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo.

But Bright House Networks president Nomi Bergman said cable operators are talking to programmers are obtaining mobile video rights. She also touted the Ultraviolet digital rights locker that has being pushed by consumer electronics manufacturers, movie studios and cable providers, which would allow subscribers that buy movies or TV shows to access the content on any platform or device.

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) CTO Tony Werner downplayed the challenges cable operators face in obtaining mobile video rights, noting that his company already offers 160,000 "video assets" through its TV Everywhere site, Fancast Xfinity TV.

Also worth noting from the CTO panel:

• Asked if cable operators would expand channel capacity, LaJoie said Time Warner Cable is more focused on helping subscribers find existing content. "I think what we want to do is offer more and more choice all of the time through advanced presentation and search capability," LaJoie said.
• Comcast hopes to boost revenue by offering home monitoring and security services to subscribers, Werner said.
• By the end of 2012, Comcast won't distribute any analog TV channels, Werner said.
• Bergman said cable MSOs are poised to grow revenue from commercial services, which she said may represent 10 percent to 20 percent of revenue for cable operators. "It's a much larger piece of the revenue puzzle for our competitors. We have a wonderful opportunity there," she added.

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