The wiring is typically either category 5 Ethernet cabling or coaxial cable like that used for cable TV, or some combination of both, with other technologies mixed in.
But it may also spark renewed price competition between broadband service providers, such as phone companies like Verizon Communications pushing digital subscriber line service, and cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner offering cable modem service.
Cable companies like Time Warner Cable and Comcast have seen pay-TV subscriber growth moderate over the past few years.
Other cable companies like Time Warner Cable are said to be interested in RDK hardware, which could spur the development of new and better set-top boxes -- we can hope, can't we?
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Whatever investors Carl Ichan and SK Telecom, both among the bidders in the bankruptcy proceedings, may have had planned for Blockbuster, its merger with Dish will provide some notable competition to entertainment providers like Netflix and cable services like Time Warner and Comcast.
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For Epix, which has struggled to gain carriage deals from traditional cable operators like Comcast and Time Warner Cable since its launch late last year, it provides both a cash infusion and another (markedly higher profile) distribution platform for an extensive library of flicks from its partners, Paramount, Lionsgate, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Cable channels like HBO are heavily subsidized by the cable television infrastructure, for instance.
Among other things, she does foresee a future in which the top 10 cable networks (think USA, as opposed to niche cable outlets like Oxygen) have developed an intra-cable syndication market for shows they can then sell to smaller networks.
Netflix competes with cable and satellite providers like Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Dish Network and DirecTV, and video rental services like Redbox.
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But big cable channels like Disney's ESPN and Vivendi's USANetwork could be hurt, too.
Microsoft, the cable people like to point out, is not the only game in town.
But cable channels like Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network were beginning to erode some of Fox's strength.
What's impressive is how ratings for heavily serialized cable shows like "Dexter" and "SOA" can continually grow.
Sometime after that they headed to pay cable stations like HBO and Showtime.
The company is rolling out its U-verse digitial TV package to compete with cable companies like Comcast ( CMCSA).
Viacom, which includes cable networks like MTV and the Paramount movie studio, was meant to be a growth stock.
Viacom owns Paramount, the film studio, and cable channels like MTV and Nickelodeon.
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Such channels might directly compete with cable offerings like sports and movie channels.
Advertisers usually make deals with Viacom to buy ads across the entire platform including cable channels like MTV and Spike.
Just ask the networks who are increasingly losing viewers to cable networks like AMC and even The History Channel.
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Bottom line: Cable providers like Comcast could benefit from a scenario in which Netflix is forced to raise its subscription price.
New digital cable services like video-on-demand and high-speed Internet are catching on.
The reason we believe Disney is attractive is because of continued success of its major cable channels like ESPN and Disney Channel.
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Most cable boxes like Motorola and Scientific Atlanta are less than intuitive, so be prepared to download the manual for the STB.
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Subscriber metrics for cable operators like Comcast tend to soften in the second quarter, as college students and seasonal residents relocate for the summer months.
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These telecoms have been rolling out cable-like television service and may take advantage of the improved economics of offering DVR services to cut their prices.
Other cable companies like Cablevision and Time Warner have also inked deals with Sun for using Java OS. Sun's rivals include Microsoft's Windows CE, OpenTV, and Power TV from Scientific Atlanta.
They are annoyed by high-priced premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime, which carry one or two extremely good shows per cycle, but never enough to make the channel completely worth the subscription.
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Among IFC's original shows is a comedy called The Whitest Kids You Know, an example of programs that DeMontreux calls "edgy, " and an equal-opportunity offender among cable networks like Comedy Central, Cartoon Network and FX.
Between YouTube (NASDAQ: GOOG), which has become a music video utopia, and the numerous YouTube competitors (as well as the many on-demand options available through cable providers like Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), Time Warner (NYSE: TWC), etc.), we are covered.
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