JANUARY 2006 :: MEDIA

How to Watch TV
Navigating the New Options for Tuning In to Shows

By Peter Grant and Dionne Searcey
Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal

Watching TV used to be a mindless pastime.

But now, deciding how and what to view is a surprisingly complex task, as a series of industry-transforming deals presents consumers with a host of new viewing options. Each approach requires a different device, and each charges viewers in a different way. The upshot: It is easier than ever before to watch any show you want anytime you want, instead of watching scheduled shows.

This changing landscape means viewers can often avoid commercials. But they may have to prepare for a future of paying fees for specific shows. Here's a viewer's guide to the latest ways to watch TV.

Video on Demand: Cable companies now make movies and other programs available to subscribers who buy a higher "digital" tier of service, which costs roughly $10 to $15 a month extra. To start watching, all viewers have to do is press a few buttons on their remotes, tapping into thousands of hours of content stored in central offices. Viewers usually can reverse, pause or fast-forward the action so they can speed through commercials.

On-demand services have one notable plus: They usually include programs that aren't available on regularly scheduled TV. Operators offer everything from local high-school football games to clips of available singles in the area. Also, many cable operators give a special on-demand benefit to subscribers to premium channels.

But the content is limited by the cable company. Often, operators charge a fee to view recently released movies, prime-time programming or other popular content.

Comcast, the country's largest cable company, offers 3,800 movies and programs-most of them free. It charges about $4 apiece for the most recently released movies and 99 cents each for CBS prime-time shows. More than 90% of Comcast's 9.4 million digital subscribers can get on-demand service.

But other cable companies have been slower to offer on demand. Cox Communications, for example, which has put a higher priority on rolling out phone service, offers on-demand service to about 50% of its subscribers. Cox also has less free content and charges $1.95 to $3.95 for movies.

Time Warner's cable division, meanwhile, is heading off in a different direction. It offers a standard on-demand service that includes hundreds of movies for a fee and 350 hours of free content from Cartoon Network, Court TV and other channels. But Time Warner Cable also has just introduced a new on-demand service, known as "Start Over," that enables viewers to watch a show from the beginning even if they tune in while it's in progress. That service only works if the viewer tunes in during the show's scheduled time. Also, while pausing and rewinding is available, consumers can't fast-forward, so they have to watch commercials.

DVRs: TiVo's introduction of DVRs, which can record shows without tapes and can pause and reverse live TV, was a major improvement over VCRs. Today, DVRs are offered by most major cable and satellite companies as well. The best aspect of DVRs is that once consumers acquire the equipment, they can record any show they want for no additional fee.

Consumers can either buy a DVR from TiVo or another manufacturer such as ReplayTV or lease one from a satellite or cable company. Most viewers have preferred to lease, which costs roughly $10 to $15 a month over the price of digital cable service. TiVo recently reached for more market share by dropping the prices of its least expensive unit to $49.99. TiVo subscribers also have to pay a monthly fee, but many consumers prefer TiVo service because it is easier to use and can do things that other DVRs can't do, like recommend shows on the basis of viewing habits.

One drawback of DVRs: The storage capacity is limited, so at some point consumers have to delete programs to make room for others.

Cellphones: People who want to watch TV on the small screen are getting a lot more choices. A new deal involving Sprint enables viewers to watch shows that they've stored on their home DVR, along with more live TV and on-demand offerings. Sprint and Cingular Wireless both offer MobiTV, which has 25 live TV programs, including MSNBC, Fox Sports and two C-SPAN channels. Sprint also has a video-on-demand service called Sprint TV that offers frequently updated short video clips of news, entertainment and weather forecasts and live TV.

Meanwhile, Verizon's Vcast features shorts from NBC, CNN and Dow Jones & Co.'s MarketWatch, along with music videos and clips of "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and other TV comedy and entertainment programs.

To watch cellphone TV, consumers have to buy video-ready phones, which start at $99. The TV service also usually costs an extra fee. While the mobility may be enticing, allowing you to watch TV anywhere you get cellphone service, the quality of the picture is not as good as on traditional TV sets. Also, content is limited to what the cellphone companies make available.

IPods, etc.: IPod viewing has pros and cons similar to those of cellphones: It's portable, but the content is limited.

Under the recent deal between Apple Computer and Walt Disney, viewers can download episodes of ABC shows to their iPods and tune in on the go. Episodes cost $1.99 each. New episodes are available the day after they are broadcast, and older ones are available immediately. The cost of the video iPod starts at $299.

NBC Universal has worked out a similar deal with Apple to provide shows on the video iPod. Apple also has a deal with Pixar Animation Studios to distribute short animated features for $1.99 each. And Apple is offering 2,000 music videos licensed from major recording companies.

New Content Providers: Other technology companies are looking for ways to put on TV content stored on the Internet. Computers using Microsoft's Media Center operating system can connect directly with TVs, enabling users to watch Internet content. Users can either view things they've downloaded from the Internet or, using a Media Center application called Online Spotlight, they can watch content from services like MovieLink and CinemaNow.