Cable operators could be poised to change their position on...
Cable operators could be poised to change their position on offering Slingbox-like technology to their subscribers, Credit Suisse analyst Stefan Anninger wrote in a note to investors. So far, most providers have avoided using Sling-branded technology because of the copyright…
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issues associated with letting subscribers watch programming outside of their homes and because it’s an EchoStar subsidiary, he said. Furthermore, the cable operators’ upstream broadband capacity has been viewed as too constrained to handle widespread Sling use, he said. But, “over the last year, several developments have led us to believe that the MSOs may be closer to using Sling technology (or at least threatening to use Sling technology) than before,” he said. For one, Sling Media has licensed its technology to Broadcom, which will offer a chip that lets set-top boxes and other CE devices use the technology, he said. And Credit Suisse research suggests that new set-top boxes made by Motorola for Comcast could offer such technology, though Comcast has not indicated it is interested in letting subscribers watch live TV outside the home, he said. Moreover, cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 deployments are increasing the amount of upstream bandwidth they can offer, he said. Adding Sling-like features would give cable operators more leverage in affiliation talks with programming networks, he said. “The simple threat of enabling cable subs to Sling live (and DVR'ed) video beyond the home, without the consent of programmers and without paying for it -- something the programmers would likely find abhorrent, might give cable operators a ‘chit’ in their heated negotiations over content rights and costs,” he said.