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TV content providers are looking to dip their toes in the waters of new Internet-based TV services.
Walt Disney and 21st Century Fox are in discussions for deals with Sony Entertainment for its
new cloud-based Internet TV service, according to a report in Bloomberg News. Another report in The New York Times said Discovery Communications, Time Warner and Starz were also
in discussions with Sony.
Earlier in the week, Viacom announced a deal that will make it the first big TV company to work with Sony, supplying the new service with 22 of its networks.
Recently, Dish Network said it would launch a similar Internet-based TV service; it has a deal with some Disney-ABC networks including ABC, ESPN and Disney Channel.
In addition, Verizon
Communications recently bought up backbone TV Internet service technology from Intel Media -- after Intel said it would abandon plans in that business.
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Verizon said it will launch its service
by mid-2015, said Lowell McAdam, chief executive officer of Verizon, at a Goldman Sachs media conference on Thursday. The service could offer live TV/video as well as on-demand programming.
Some executives such as Jeff Bewkes, chairman/chief executive officer of Time Warner, believe these new TV services -- if priced well -- would do well to encourage millennials to sign up -- young
consumers who typically look to avoid traditional pay TV services, such as those provided by cable, satellite and telco companies.