If you're a consumer lucky enough to get Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) FiOS TV, you could soon be watching TV right on your Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad or other tablet computing devices.
Although it did not give a specific timeline for launch, Verizon's CIO Shaygan Kheradpir said during a demonstration this week of the new application that they are talking with major content providers including Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N) on how they could extend their programming agreements from the living room TV screen to tablet devices.
Dubbing the new application as "cloud TV," Kheradpir explained that because the new application leverages the same software consumers Verizon uses for its set top boxes (STBs), consumers will get a similar TV watching experience with the new tablet application.
Since many of the largest programmers like Time Warner and CNN want to also get their content in front of more eyeballs outside of the home, Verizon thinks that they won't have to pay more to extend that content to mobile devices.
What's obviously driving Verizon to make this move is to one-up cable competitors such as Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), Cablevision (NYSE: CVC) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC-WI), who have all launched iPad service prototypes. However, these applications, as pointed out in a NewTeeVee post, mainly consist of allowing users to remotely control their program guides and DVRs.
For more:
- Reuters has this story
- NewTeeVee has this post
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