• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, July 13, 2010 11:16 PM

Looks like the cable industry is finally responding to the threat of cut-rate online alternatives such as YouTube and Hulu. "It would be a good thing if we could all figure out a way to have one or more smaller packages that would be attractive to people who can't afford bigger ones, especially if we could do it in a way that the entertainment companies are still able to finance the product," Glenn Britt, chief executive of Time Warner Cable, said at a media conference.

Brian Dietz, a spokesman for the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn., an industry group, notes that consumers "have a multitude of options to watch video." For instance, Google-owned YouTube last week unveiled a free service called Leanback. It streams HD videos based on viewers' preferences. The idea is to create a more TV-like experience, prompting people to kick back and stare at the screen for hours on end. Hulu is offering a premium service for $9.99 a month that allows subscribers to watch every episode of the current season of top shows, along with multiple seasons of other shows.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times »