Expanding its multiscreen reach, Cablevision Systems in late July released a version of its Optimum App for the Kindle Fire that provides live TV and video-on-demand on the tablet.
The MSO said customers have downloaded the Optimum App, also available on Apple iOS devices (iPad, iPhone and iPod touch), Mac and PC laptop computers, more than 1 million times so far.
A previous version of the app for Kindle Fire, released in February 2012, included guide information and DVR scheduling, but not the ability to watch live or VOD programming.
Cablevision's Optimum App provides virtually the entire linear and VOD lineup available to customers on non-TV devices in the home. Meanwhile, Dish Network's SlingLoaded DVRs provide similar features but unlike Cablevision's app enable access from any Internet connection and let users watch recorded content.
"When we launched the Optimum App on the iPad a year ago, we said we planned to bring it to every screen in the home capable of functioning as a television, and now the Kindle Fire has joined that expanding list, our first Android deployment," Cablevision vice president of video product management Bradley Feldman said in a statement.
Cablevision lets customers register up to eight devices for the Optimum App but only watch live TV on two devices at the same time.
As with the other apps, the Optimum App for Kindle provides parental controls as well as closed captioning. However, DVR content, interactive channels, Music Choice, pay-per-view and public, education and government (PEG) channels are currently not available.
To use the apps, a customer must have a subscription to iO TV and a Cablevision-supplied modem. If a customer is not an Optimum Online customer, Cablevision will provide a specialized modem that allows access to the streaming TV apps but not the Internet.
