Time Warner Cable reached a deal with Viacom to provide
full-length TV episodes from six networks -- Nick, MTV, Comedy Central, BET,
Spike and VH1 -- to the cable operator's TV customers over the Internet
anywhere in the U.S. on their computers.
Viacom also has TV Everywhere deals with Verizon
Communications' FiOS TV and Suddenlink Communications to provide video to their
subscribers via its networks' TVE sites, for no additional fee. In addition,
Comcast provides Viacom programming to subs through its XfinityTV.com and
mobile services. A Viacom spokesman said the Comcast and Suddenlink deals are
still in a "trial stage."
"Time Warner Cable continues to bring great
entertainment to its customers in every corner of their lives, and Viacom
networks are a powerful part of that comprehensive experience that Time Warner Cable
customers can count on to enjoy on every screen," Denise Denson, Viacom
Media Networks executive vice president of content distribution and marketing,
said in a statement.
Terms of the deal between TWC and Viacom were not disclosed.
Last year, Viacom and the cable operator came to legal blows
over Time Warner Cable's iPad app for in-home live streaming of the
programmer's networks. Viacom sued TWC, arguing that what is now called TWC TV
represented unauthorized distribution of its content. The two sides resolved their differences in May 2012.
Currently, Viacom's TV Everywhere sites are available on
desktop and laptop computers, not mobile devices. The media programmer is using
Adobe Systems' Flash Player to deliver the authenticated video content.
TWC customers can watch episodes from the Viacom networks
from any PC in the U.S., after verifying their subscription by using their Time
Warner Cable ID to log in to the following Viacom authenticated websites: BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick,
Spike and VH1.
Episodes currently available on Viacom's TVE sites include
those from: Nick's Dora the Explorer, Power Rangers Samurai, iCarly and Victorious;
MTV's Teen Mom and Real World: St. Thomas; Comedy Central's The
Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, Tosh.0 and South Park;
BET's Baldwin Hills and College and Socially Offensive; VH1's Basketball
Wives LA, Mob Wives Chicago and Why Am I Still Single?!; and Spike's
1000 Ways to Die and Deadliest Warrior.
