• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 2, 2011

Phil Kent, chairman/CEO of Turner Broadcasting Co., says TV networks have their own bucket list.

To that end, networks and entertainment companies are already doing well in two "buckets" where they derive big revenues:

1) consumer consumption of shows on a live basis;

2) consumer purchases of shows in boxed DVD sets.

Where networks muddle about is the area where consumers watch shows on a time-shifted basis -- via DVRs or some other digital platform like video on demand, downloading or streaming.

That is where "TV Everywhere" comes in -- where media companies and producers work hand in hand with cable, satellite or telco operators to make sure anyone time-shifting a show is already a paying customer. Now around three years old, TV Everywhere has yet to really take hold.

Consumers are wary about "TV Everywhere," thinking it could cost them more money one day. But Kent says part of the problem is that networks and distributors haven't aggressively marketed TV Everywhere correctly.

Maybe there is a marketing trick that networks can work out with consumers. But as happened with Netflix, any media company's goodwill may now come into question. So consumers wonder if big TV media will dramatically change the current paying formula.

Why would this come into question? Consumers have long memories of the cable industry subjecting them to countless monthly subscription price increases through the last few decades.

Now with a chance to pull away from their $80 to $100 monthly TV bills -- through streaming video services or other low-cost digital TV and video platforms -- consumers believe they are "due" for some payback, even if it's short term.

There's little doubt the first two buckets where networks count on revenues -- live viewing and DVD purchases -- are slipping. Consumers increasingly want convenience and they not sure whether some big media entity needs to be fully paid for it.

The trouble is that the TV networks' bucket list may not be the consumer's bucket list.