TV as "an App"

If you take a look at this sample Internet TV interface, you will almost immediately sense something important: entertainment video, with some important advances in content availability, could someday become an "application" accessed from an icon on a mobile or fixed device. 


That doesn't mean "application" in the sense of a program, but as a gateway or portal to an entire menu of streaming services. 


You can figure out why a cable operator wouldn't like that. 

Are "Smart TVs" a Threat to Cable TV?

Internet-connected TVs pose some problems for cable TV operators, satellite and telco TV providers. Obviously, in making direct access to Internet video a lot easier, Internet-capable TVs create more danger for linear video providers in a strategic sense, allowing people to view video on their home TVs without a lot of work.

To the extent that cable operators always have seen the set-top decoder as a gateway device, the widespread availability of TVs and third-party devices that make it easier to watch Internet video on a home TV also threaten to weaken the hold linear video providers have over their customers.

Netflix streaming looks to be emerging as a primary case in point.

"Smart TVs" Add The Best Of The Internet To Your TV - PCWorld

Will The Internet Displace TV?

Turner Broadcasting's Jack Wakshlag cites numbers saying the average American watches 32 hours of television a week while spending only 20 minutes on the web.

Meanwhile, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar has this opposing view. "If you talk to most human beings, they'll give up food and shelter before they'll give up their high-speed Internet connection," he says.

DEBATE: Will The Internet Kill Off The TV Set?