Time Warner Cable: Don't Go 'Willy Nilly' Putting Stuff Online Because I'll eventually be out of a job. Ok? Thanks. The Wall Street Journal explores the challenges that face Time Warner Cable as it's spun off into its own entity, separate from the Time Warner mothership. While the company will be immediately saddled with $10.9 billion in debt, they'll be free to pursue objects of their affection (perhaps the Time Warner Cablevision rumor finally materializes?). The WSJ discusses the move with Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable. I found this particular comment by Britt mildly entertaining: "On the Internet, there seems to be only one source of revenue, and that's advertising. If all of the programming goes to the Internet, and it's free, then there is a whole source of revenue that the entertainment business is not going to have anymore. I think we will have to have a new formula for financing television programming, or else we just aren't going to get the same quality and quantity that we are used to today. That's just pure economics. People should think things through before they just go willy-nilly putting things on the Internet." In one paragraph, Britt seems to understand where the TV industry's slowly headed (broadband powered content outside the traditional broadcast model, frequently free and ad driven), then fails to understand he doesn't have much say in the matter. Also see this video interview the WSJ did with Mr. Glenn "don't be puttin' stuff on the interwebs" Britt, and this NY Times blog report on Britt not much liking Viacom's move to put episodes of The Daily Show online for free.
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  DrModemPremium
join:2006-10-19
USA
kudos:1 | Die. Die! | |
|  | | | | Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
| Re: Die. said by caco:You plan on watching Youtube videos forever? I think some younger people might - when my 20 yr old son went the school for a year in canada, he and his roommate didn't even bother to get cable TV (over the air seems to suk). all they did was watch stuff from the internet.
the traditional, over the air media is in danger of losing at least part of the next generation of TV viewers. Although my son is perfectly happy to watch TV while at home, he shows no inclination to spending money for cable when he's the one paying. | |
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|  gaforcesUnited We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | They want to get ad revenue AND charge premium subscription rates ... DIE! | |
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 MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12
1 edit |  Good Move
There is already massive consolidation occurring where regional offices are rolled into larger, sometimes statewide, management divisions. This should allow TWC to make more cohesive movements, so when upgrades are planned, it's not disjointed. | |
|  PhoenixDown-- Wants FIOSPremium
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY
kudos:1 | Advertisement Revenue Just because the distribution platform from the traditional broadcast model to an online platform doesn't necessarily mean that its unprofitable.
a) There is nothing that stops a studio from placing ads either prior to a show or in the middle (ala commericals) like they do today. Yeah some guy can rip the movie and take them out but who would really bother going through the trouble of downloading it off of torrent when you can get it faster and easier with the commericials from the official site?
b) I seem to recall hearing something to the affect that the revenue stream obtained via commercials has either been decreasing or stagnant in growth and that was a big reason why they started doing product placements in the movie itself. Now im not sure if that flows downstream to the cable companies but maybe they need to have some discussions over that.
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You have the right to protect your life, liberty, and property.
-- Ron Paul
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| |  BoogeymanDrive it like you stole itPremium
join:2002-12-17
Panama City, FL | Re: Advertisement Revenue I think you mean they are using more product placement in movies/tv shows. Thats been an advertising tool for as long as I can remember. Remember ET and Reeces? | |
| | |  RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | Re: Advertisement Revenue said by Boogeyman:I think you mean they are using more product placement in movies/tv shows. Thats been an advertising tool for as long as I can remember. Remember ET and Reeces? After someone at M&M (I forget the corporate name) turned down the request for M&Ms Placement so the producers fell back to using Reeces. | |
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|  Anonymous_AnonymousPremium
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1
kudos:2
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Comcast
 ·Time Warner VOIP
1 edit | said by PhoenixDown:Just because the distribution platform from the traditional broadcast model to an online platform doesn't necessarily mean that its unprofitable. a) There is nothing that stops a studio from placing ads either prior to a show or in the middle (ala commericals) like they do today. Yeah some guy can rip the movie and take them out but who would really bother going through the trouble of downloading it off of torrent when you can get it faster and easier with the commericials from the official site? how much is slower when i am downloading at 1.22megabyte/s ?
(10mbps)
when the site *might* show it at that speed | |
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| | Price Hike Time! With almost 11 Billion in debt I would expect a MASSIVE restructure of there services & new price hikes to go along with it. | |
| |  tiger72SexaT duorPPremium
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:1
 ·T-Mobile US
| Re: Price Hike Time! Just like taxes, every time rates are increased, the amount of people willing to pay those rates decreases.
Not to mention it'll be hard for TWC to reign in their fairly independent divisions around the country to follow TWC's corporate office. TWC has been successful using its current business model where the divisions are free to set pricing and services as they see fit for their particular market.
I don't see TWC just mimicking Comcast (raising rates and losing customers to FIOS and U-Verse for everyone that has the ability to switch)
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"What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? ...If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning."
-United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara | |
| | | MattAll noise, no signal.Premium
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC
kudos:12 | Re: Price Hike Time! said by tiger72:Not to mention it'll be hard for TWC to reign in their fairly independent divisions around the country to follow TWC's corporate office. TWC has been successful using its current business model where the divisions are free to set pricing and services as they see fit for their particular market. They are addressing this problem by consolidating smaller divisions into larger ones. | |
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 MacLeechThe one and onlyPremium
join:2001-07-14
SoCal
kudos:3
4 edits | Time Warner Cable to Bring Internet Video Content on TVs Maybe that's why TWC is doing this:
Time Warner Cable to offer web to TV link
said by article on 5/30/08 :
Time Warner Cable Inc plans to offer subscribers an easier way to bring Internet video to their television screens as part of an overall home networking system, Chief Executive Glenn Britt said on Friday.
"Right now it's pretty hard to get Internet stuff on your TV," Britt said at the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York.
"We're actually going to have equipment we make available to subscribers," he said. "It's actually going to be a new wireless cable modem that will allow you to network everything in your house."
I wonder why this didn't make front page of BBR on Friday... 
[edit]Changed link for less pop-up filled one.
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Don't mind me, I'm just trying to help...
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| | | | Re: Time Warner Cable to Bring Internet Video Content on TVs Cuz nobody wants to hear good news about ANYBODY.
Doesn't sell period | |
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1 edit | There goes the neighborhood. "While the company will be immediately saddled with $10.9 billion in debt, they'll be free to pursue objects of their affection (perhaps the Time Warner Cablevision rumor finally materializes?)."
Am I missing something? Once Time Warner Cable goes it alone, all that debt will prevent it from exploring new technologies, let alone maintaining the system they currently have. Next will be employee layoffs, no funds to buy needed equipment, and service that goes down the toilet, along with rate increases to try and stay afloat. How is this supposed to help subscribers??? | |
| | RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | Re: There goes the neighborhood. said by burgerwars:"While the company will be immediately saddled with $10.9 billion in debt, they'll be free to pursue objects of their affection (perhaps the Time Warner Cablevision rumor finally materializes?)." As a Cablevision user, I hope those rumors are for TWC to try to sell itself to CV not for it to try to buy CV. I do not want my Internet Connectivity to get reduced to the higher cost/lower speed levels that TWC offers just north of me (I'm in Rockland County NY) where they cap you at 5/.768 and charge more than CV's BASE Tier 15/2. Then there is CV's BOOST for an extra $15/Month ($10/month for VoIP users) which delivers 30/5. | |
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 maartenaElmoPremium
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA
kudos:1
·AT&T U-Verse
 ·DIRECTV
1 edit | Satellite companies will have more problems.... Cable systems already offer a pretty decent "on demand" system, which is very user friendly, works on any TV with the digital tv cable box, and can be expanded a lot more then it is now. It also does not suffer from typical network problems, as TCP/IP was really never designed for video.
I can see a future for Cable by putting a lot more stuff "on demand" and forcing ads in the on-demand program, by not having the ability to fast forward through it. Personally, I MUCH rather sit on my lazy arse in the livingroom and watch TV on a big screen with a few ads, then behind my desk or watch it on a laptop screen....
Satellite companies will have bigger problems, as they do not have "on demand" capabilities.... not unless we start storing a full datacenter inside a IIS-sized satellite up there.... and we all get satellite dishes that are twice the size so we can send a return signal. :P
My Cable DVR now responds almost immediately, and if i decide halfway through the program to quickly do a CNN news check, or a sports score check, I can then just resume the program and it picks up almost instantly from where it left of. Internet streaming will want you to rebuffer, often having to restart from scratch etc....
If I can watch it on my TV screen, I will do it. Only when i forgot to record it, it is not available as an on-demand program, and isn't repeated anytime soon I will revert to an online source.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -
Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father. | |
| rayePremium
join:2000-08-14
Orange, CA | Does the ATDN network go to TWC? While a crapy name (ATDN stands for AOL Transit Data Network) is is one of only 9 Tier One Backbone networks. It would be interesting to know if it is staying with TW/AOL or moving to TWC. | |
| | EPS
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA | Re: Does the ATDN network go to TWC? I believe it would come down to whether the ATDN belongs to AOL, LLC or if it was transfered to Time Warner Cable, Inc. at some point along the line, since the divestment only applies to the second entity. I can find substantial evidence stating that Time Warner Cable uses the ATDN, but the network's website (last updated 2003) says it is still an AOL property. From this I'd guess that it'll stay with AOL, but I'm not entirely sure. | |
| | | | | Re: Does the ATDN network go to TWC? The ATDN network was discontinued in February of this year and is no longer part of the TWC network. | |
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