• Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, May 12, 2010 11:56 PM

Fearful they'll suffer the same fate as the music business, given iTunes popularity, television firms are racing to come up with services which would let paying customers view shows on any device. The goal is to hold Apple at bay. As consumers increasingly expect to watch TV on their computers and mobiles, the future of online television is up for grabs. One solution: TV Everywhere, which is intended to address changing viewer habits while preserving the profitable status quo for program producers and the networks that carry the shows. The idea, presented by Time Warner Inc. CEO Jeff Bewkes, met with resistance: Three of the most powerful players in cable -- Disney, NBC and Fox parent News Corp. -- have championed another alternative, Hulu, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Earlier in the year, public interest groups were also critical of the TV Everywhere, but plan for different reasons.Free Press and other public advocacy groups sent letters to the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, calling for an investigation of the "TV Everywhere'' plan by cable, satellite, and phone companies. It brings television shows and movies to computers and devices, but only for those who subscribe to both television and high-speed Internet services.

The plan, the groups say, would allow Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Verizon and Direct TV to maintain dominance unfairly over the burgeoning online video industry by elbowing out online video competitors, such as Apple, Hulu, and Vuze, reported Boston.com.

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