Time Warner Cable recently announced that they will fully subsidize (via rebate) the $300 cost of a Slingbox for new customers of their Wideband Internet service. The set-top box allows users to stream what plays on their home television to other televisions, computers, mobile devices and tablets–a good deal for the consumer, but sure to rankle certain cable programmers with whom TWC has been feuding.
The beef started back in March, when TWC offered customers an iPad app that allowed cable television to be played on the tablet. Programmers, led by Viacom, which owns MTV and VH1, among other channels, accused TWC of “unlicensed distribution” of their content; the cable and internet service provider countered that their current carriage contracts cover all the screens in a customer’s home–tablets included. Of course, once a tablet leaves the place of residence, the “screens in the home” description gets a bit muddled.
It should be noted that Time Warner Cable did not respond to a request for comment from Ars Technica as to “whether the Slingboxes’ slinging capabilities will be restricted.”
The Slingbox promotion comes as Time Warner Cable looks to promote its Wideband Internet service, which is both faster and more expensive than typical broadband. As a standalone service, Wideband provides 50Mbps downloads and 5Mbps uploads for $99.95 per month.
Read more at The New York Times.
