Meantime a billboard and radio campaign urges customers to lobby cable operators to carry the channel.
And the cable operators aren t required to get local phone franchise agreements themselves.
Comcast was also one of the cable operators -- along with Time Warner Cable Inc.
The effect of the two cable operators, NTL and Telewest, can also not be under-estimated.
"It is often overlooked how the cable operators have driven broadband, " said Mr Walker.
Today EchoStar and 942 cable operators, mostly in rural and suburban markets, carry the network.
Previously, such a deal might have foundered theoretically on the fact that AOL owns cable operators.
Cable operators could spur competition only by investing in two parallel networks, a wasteful excess of bandwidth.
It isn't clear precisely what wireless services the cable operators intend to offer via the WiMax venture.
Cable operators could say there wasn't room for niche channels with the addition of bandwidth-clogging analog signals.
Even Mr Kertzmann says he can see why cable operators might still want to plump for Microsoft.
If the telephone companies do not provide broadband, the cable operators, with 700, 000 subscribers already, certainly will.
Comcast, Time Warner and Cox are the No. 1, 2 and 3 cable operators in the U.S., respectively.
Cable operators combined these channels into bundles to try to achieve the highest average revenue per subscriber possible.
And cable operators, particularly in Europe, where competition from satellite operators is fiercest, are keen to push ahead.
Programmers usually charge cable operators for their material, but America's new cable news networks are paying to appear.
TiVo has preferential deals with cable operators that reach 10 million homes, and that barely scratches the international market.
This is a terrific cost-effective solution for cable operators looking to deliver broadband content and over-the-top television to subscribers.
In addition, video revenues declined for several cable operators in the latest quarter.
Cable operators want to be able to offer the "quadruple play" of communication bundles--Internet, television, voice-over-IP and wireless telephony.
The company is also negotiating with global cable operators to charge subscription fees.
Comcast and other cable operators have also mulled acquiring a major wireless carrier.
Releasing the movie online has political dangers, risking the ire of cable operators.
As a result, cable operators are no longer paying premiums for cable-only programming.
MSOs are carrying the cost of upgrading the networks, sometimes including the last mile, which the cable operators usually control.
In fact, despite perceptions that BT dominates the broadband market it is actually the cable operators that have the lead.
Sprint will also work with the cable operators to develop new wireless hardware that uses both cable and cellular services.
Evidently the problem is that access to new movies via a subscription model is already spoken for by cable operators.
ENGADGET: Netflix CFO talks Watch Now selection, competition HD
She said the FCC has found that "virtually all cable operators" ultimately will have all-digital systems, which would free up bandwidth.
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