Cablevision on Saturday released an iPad app that lets consumers access the cable provider's lineup on the Apple tablet.
But despite the licensing issues that rival Time Warner Cable has been experiencing with a similar iPad app, Cablevision insists that its offering is different because content is delivered over its Advanced Digital Cable television network and not over the Internet. Time Warner, however, said its solution is also not delivered over the Web.
The free app, available now in Apple's App Store, includes access to approximately 300 channels of live TV, more than 2,000 video on-demand selections, channel guide data, the ability to program DVRs, parental controls, and closed captioning.
Cablevision said it will add remote control functionality as well as its full video on-demand library by the summer.
Once a user installs the app on their iPad, Cablevision will ask for their Optimum ID and password. Up to three iPads can be registered to a single account, and customers can use two iPads in the home at the same time. Live and on-demand content is only available to watch in the home.
Cablevision said customers do not have to have Internet access to use the Optimum App for iPad. If a customer is not subscribed to Cablevision Internet service, Cablevision will provide that customer with an Internet-disabled modem that can connect to the Cablevision network and access the programming, essentially turning the modem into a set-top box and the iPad into another TV, Cablevision said.
However, a user's iPad does have to be connected to a Wi-Fi network. This might be a battle of semantics and run afoul of licensing agreements, a problem that has prompted Time Warner Cable to remove content from its iPad app. Cablevision declined to say whether it had discussed its iPad app and licensing issues with content providers before its debut.
Time Warner unveiled its iPad app on March 15. It lets Time Warner customers stream live TV to their Apple tablet over a Time Warner Internet connection, so they can watch cable content in multiple rooms. It is done in a similar manner to Cablevision - over its cable plant to a Wi-Fi router, Time Warner said. Content providers like Fox, as well as Discovery and Viacom, however, soon objected to the app because they said it constituted another distribution channel and Time Warner, therefore, should hand over more cash for the rights to stream those TV shows.
As a result, Time Warner removed Viacom, Discovery, and Fox content. The cable provider maintained that it had "every right" to distribute the companies's content via the iPad, but said it would instead focus on "enlightened programmers" that understood the value of streaming to the iPad. Time Warner also set up a Web site to make its case.
The next day, Time Warner added content from 16 national and three local channels to its tablet lineup. On Friday night, it also added five more channels: Bloomberg, Sprout, Hallmark Movie, Current, and TruTV.
For more, see PCMag's hands on with the Time Warner iPad app.
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Monday with additional information from Time Warner.
