Time Warner, Comcast talk ‘net TV

Time Warner and Comcast are stepping up the hype for their ventures into online video.

The two cable companies have announced a set of "principles" to guide their experiments, respectively called "TV Everywhere" and "OnDemand Online." While there isn’t much hard news in the companies’ joint press release, it’s possible to get a glimpse of their thinking as they try to save their industry from deteriorating.

A couple of the principles jump out in my mind, most importantly the one that says programmers "should make their best and highest-rated programming available online." This could be a misstep, as one of online’s advantages is limitless content. Granted, content providers may be skittish about moving all their programming online, but offering just a portion cheapens the whole concept.

Then, there’s the main sticking point, known about for some time, that the services will only be available to cable television subscribers. What this does is turn TV Everywhere into a promotional tool for cable rather than a worthwhile service in its own right. I’ve already expressed my doubts about this.

It’s also worth noting that only TBS and TNT were mentioned as participants in OnDemand online. Both channels already host online video, though the announcement says more content will be available through the cable service.

Comcast will begin a national trial of OnDemand Online for 5,000 subscribers in July. No matter what the result, the real test will be whether the service will attract new subscribers and hang on to existing ones. We’ll find out when OnDemand Online expands to all subscribers — at a date unknown.