TWC TV, the regional cable television network of
Time Warner Cable Inc.
(
TWC
) is now available on Roku player and Roku streaming devices in
the U.S. This is the first time that Time Warner Cable has
allowed its TV application for streaming to go on a consumer
device connected to a television. Earlier in Jan 2013, Time
Warner Cable and Roku Inc. announced their collaboration to bring
TWC TV to the Roku platform.
Time Warner Cable's video, who already owns Roku boxes, will now
enjoy 300 television channels including the very popular Animal
Planet, Food Network and HGTV. Customers also get the option of
checking out recently viewed channels and can also create their
own favorite channel list. However, channel availability will
depend upon the typical market and subscription package selected
by the customer.
Additionally, the deal will allow Time Warner Cable's customers
to access live TV and Internet-based video from streaming sites
such as
Netflix Inc.
(
NFLX
) and
Google Inc.
's (
GOOG
) YouTube using the same set top box.
Online video streaming service providers like Netflix Inc.
Hulu.com, YouTube,
Amazon.com Inc.
(
AMZN
) etc. have become sources of potential threat to the traditional
cable TV operators as they offer an extremely cheaper source of
TV programming.
We view this agreement as a win-win for both the companies.
This is going to be a milestone deal for Roku as it is expected
to increase the sales of its set top Roku player. Simultaneously
it will allow Time Warner to popularize its TV application and
capitalize on the popularity gains of streaming services.
However, it had been noted earlier that about 30% Roku
users do not use any other Pay-TV service. We believe
availability of this latest streaming service could significantly
impact Time Warner Cable's falling residential video business,
which has lost 129,000 video customers in the recently concluded
quarter.
Moreover, the demand for streaming service through over-the-top
('OTT') set top box market has been growing for quite some time
and has been mostly dominated by Apple TV and Roku. The space is
expected to get more competitive as Google TV and Intel
Corporation are expected to enter the OTT set top box market.
Currently, Time Warner Cable carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong
Sell).
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