thePlatform CEO sees cable content moving online soon

After Hulu content was removed from boxee this week, online video industry analysts speculated that cable companies may have been behind the abrupt takedown and planning to launch online video content soon. Well, thePlatform CEO Ian Blaine gave credence to rumors that thePlatform's parent company, Comcast, and other cable operators will soon be getting into the online video space with a blog post this afternoon entitled "We've been waiting for this." Blaine predicted such moves by the cablecos in a previous blog post, and he all but admits that Comcast will soon be offering popular cable programming online in this post.

Referring to cable companies finally putting their content online, Blaine writes, "It is good for consumers because they get access to more content in more places. It is also good for cable programmers because it doesn't put subscription fees at risk, and gives them the ability to give their audiences the experience they want and expect. The content belongs online and it's exciting to see that there's now a push to do it in a way that works."

Blaine goes on to say that he expects satellite providers, telcos, and carriers could work this model, which he feels would benefit consumers. He said it's a natural evolution of subscription video, and said he's excited to be working on the technological side of bringing the cable providers' content online.

"You can probably guess that thePlatform is involved in building out the capabilities to enable this kind of service," Blaine wites. "We have a long history of working with both operators and programmers and have always taken the view that our customers needed more than a simple unauthenticated video with advertising model."

Obviously cable companies won't be offering their content in online video format tomorrow, and Blaine doesn't make any predictions about timelines for adoption or what these offerings would look like. But it's an exciting and industry-shaking revelation that cable content will soon be available in some context online. 

For more:
- see Blaine's blog post here 

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