Wall Street Journal
By SAM SCHECHNER
More TV shows and movies may be coming to tablet computers like Apple Inc.'s iPad—for those who pay to watch.
At least seven of the ten largest subscription-TV providers in the U.S. are building new tablet-computer applications that offer select TV shows and movies to their existing subscribers, often for little or no additional fee.
The efforts are going head-to-head with a handful of existing video applications from TV networks and online video services such as Netflix Inc. and Hulu LLC, hoping to compete by offering more content and features that integrate with home TV service.
Comcast and other pay-TV providers are planning apps for tablets.
Comcast Corp. is testing a free iPad application that allows existing subscribers to search for and watch some TV shows on the go, and plans to release it by the end of the year. The company says it already has content providers lined up for the service, but declined to specify which ones.
Verizon Communications Inc. plans to release an app for renting movies on devices than run Google Inc.'s Android operating system in the fall. The app will be targeted at its 3.2 million Fios TV subscribers, but it will eventually be available to nonsubscribers, said Shawn Strickland, Verizon's vice president of consumer strategy and planning. He said the company also aims to launch the service for other devices like the iPad.
Time Warner Cable Inc. plans to launch an iPad app that would let subscribers watch TV shows over Wi-Fi in "the not too distant future," according to a spokesman.
The new apps come as pay-TV providers wrestle with how to keep people paying big monthly subscription fees, despite growing traction for Web-video services like Netflix. Some providers have started to offer paying subscribers the ability to watch TV shows over the Internet, a concept dubbed "authentication" or "TV Everywhere." The rise of video-friendly devices like the iPad has made that push more urgent.
"If we can't keep pace with what consumers want, our product is rapidly going to be less and less interesting," said Ira Bahr, chief marketing officer for Dish Network Corp.'s satellite-TV service, which plans to offer video-watching capability for subscribers in iPads and Android tablets around the beginning of the fall. The service requires either a special set-top box or an adapter, which involve an additional cost.
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