Time Warner Inc. plans to open up some of its TV shows to cable customers online in an effort unlike that of Hulu.com, the popular Web site to watch TV shows and movies for free. Time Warner’s trial, which begins next month, targets Comcast Corp. customers.

Called TV Everywhere, the service would offer Comcast customers access to Time Warner networks, such as TNT and TBS, online. This is Time Warner, the media empire by the way, and not Time Warner Cable, which spun off from Time Warner earlier this year. Time Warner also said more trials are planned with other TV services, which presumably means TV Everywhere could someday come to the two cable services here in Orange County.

TV Everywhere, which Time Warner’s CEO Jeff Bewkes has been talking about for months, is a way TV networks can offer paying customers TV shows online. Bewkes didn’t  want to just give popular TV shows away for free online, as is the case with Hulu, which is ad supported.
For now, viewers who are paid TV subscribers of Comcast will be the only ones who can tune in to TV Everywhere.

This morning’s announcement was that the two have developed a plan to distribute TV content online. They want a “consumer-friendly, pro-competitive and non-exclusive” service, according to a statement from both companies. Some of the rules:

• Video subscribers can watch programming from their favorite TV networks online for no additional charge.
• Video subscribers can access this content using any broadband connection.
• Programmers should make their best and highest-rated programming available online.
• Both networks and video distributors should provide high-quality, consumer-friendly sites for viewing broadband content with easy authentication.
• A new process should be created to measure ratings for online viewing. The goal should be to extend the current viewer measurement system to include advertiser ratings for TV content viewed on all platforms.
• TV Everywhere is open and non-exclusive; cable, satellite or telco video distributors can enter into similar agreements with other programmers.

Comcast, which is not available here in Orange County, plans to begin with a trial of its “On Demand Online” service next month with 5,000 customers. Comcast TV customers will be able to access TNT shows like “The Closer” and “Saving Grace,” plus TBS’ “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” and “My Boys.” Viewers can tune in at Comcast.net, Fancast.com and soon on TNT.tv and TBS.com. 

Time Warner, which also owns the HBO and Warner Bros. Entertainment networks,  plans to announce more trials with other TV services in the future.

More on the web:

• Time Warner, Comcast Pair Up To Distribute TV Shows Online (Dow Jones News service)
• Comcast, Time Warner Hope To Tame Internet Video (Broadband Reports)
• Cable TV’s Big Worry: Taming the Web (New York Times)

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