Cablevision has launched its own live TV app for iPad. Called Optimum for iPad the new app gives the cable company’s millions of subscribers access to the full channel listing of the network. It comes with support for almost 300 linear TV channels, access to 2,000-plus video-on-demand (VoD) titles, and a DVR control feature to boot.
The free app, which also features a new searchable guide and is accessible only within reach of a customer’s home Wi-Fi connection, “allows the iPad to function as a television,” said the MSO, which views the tablets as another outlet in the home.
In addition to approximately 300 live channels and access to VOD , the Optimum App for iPad integrates enhanced guide information that makes it easier than ever before for customers to find the content they already receive as part of their cable television subscription. Programming is fully searchable, including by genre, and the application includes the ability to schedule DVR recordings and manage previously-recorded content.
In its press release, Cablevision also takes content providers head-on with its argument that the functionality is permissible under current licensing agreements. Cablevision’s key argument hinges on the fact that the content is not delivered over the Internet, and instead comes directly through the its digital cable network before being transmitted to the iPad via Optimum modem.
Cablevision uses its secure and proprietary Advanced Digital Cable television network to deliver cable programming to customers for viewing on the Optimum App for iPad, and content is not delivered over the Internet. The application turns the iPad into an additional television, enabling Cablevision customers to view the same live programming and VOD content already being delivered to other TVs in the home as part of the service they have paid for. Cablevision has the right to distribute programming over its cable system to iPads configured in this way under its existing distribution agreements with programming providers.
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I think it’s great that Cablevision has come out with an app that will give it’s customers so much more value but I still think that DISH Network’s DISH Remote Access gives so much more value. I work and subscribe to DISH Network and with the help of my Sling Adapter, I can watch live and pre-recorded shows. The Cablevision app only allows you to watch TV on the iPad inside of your home but the DISH Network app doesn’t have those restrictions. The app is available for download on Apple and Android Mobile Devices and you can download it from the App Store or Android Market at no additional fee. No matter if I’m at the gym or in an airport, I can enjoy my TV the way I want to. I am always recommending that people check out DISH Network and experience a value that no other company can offer you!
*Danielle