Cable as poor man's Net?
By Reuters
December 12, 1997, 5:25 p.m. PT
news.com
ANAHEIM, California--Cable companies can bring Internet services to the television screen if they make themselves the Buicks of the information industry and offer a no-frills product for people who can't afford Cadillacs.
That is the vision offered by John Malone, chairman of Tele-Communications Inc., one of the country's biggest cable companies, which for years has been trying with little success to make interactive television a reality.
In an address this week at the Western Show, the cable industry's annual trade event, Malone said he had refined his vision.
The idea is to throw out obscure Internet features that only interest hard-core Webheads and offer a scaled-down package of basic information that even the computer illiterate can use.
That would include things such as email, local weather and traffic reports, program listings, and home shopping that is made even easier than it is now.
The key, Malone said, is to make these services available from a remote control so a viewer can use them all from the comfort of his couch, never knowing he has entered the information superhighway.
"You could order a cubic zirconia with the click of a button," he said.
Malone hopes such services would bring something that still eludes most online businesses--profits.
"When you have 10 percent market penetration, it is of some interest to advertisers, but a universally deployed platform of services should be of huge economic interest to every merchant," Malone said. "I really think this will be a bombshell on Madison Avenue."
If advertisers commit, their investment would offset the cost of the technology investment to the cable companies and bring these additional services to customers at just a few dollars over the basic service rate.
Although the popularity of the Internet has surged over the past few years, it is still used by only a minority of Americans. A recent survey said more than one in four adults use the Internet, but not all are regular users.
Malone's promise that certain Internet ads would be seen by all cable subscribers could be enticing. It also could solve the debate over where cable's new high-tech offerings fit into a world already equipped with PCs and other gadgets.
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