To: Larry Myers who wrote (27787 ) 12/12/1997 8:50:00 PM From: Glenn D. Rudolph Respond to
Cable company forges future as poor man's Internet
Reuters Story - December 12, 1997 16:34
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(Fixes typo in fifth graf)
By Andrea Orr
ANAHEIM, Calif. (Reuters) - 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 e-mail, 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.
Uncertainty about the ability to reach consumers has
prevented advertising on the Internet from really taking off.
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.
Although some companies have talked of building new TVs
that can perform all the functions of a PC, Malone's idea is to
make it a poor man's PC for people who don't own computers.
"I don't think the things PCs are good at are the things
you want to sit in your living room and do. Maybe there's a 10
to 20 percent overlap," he said.
But to skeptics who have repeatedly seen the cable industry
fail to deliver on its promises for new services, Malone's idea
is problematic.
Asked to pin down a time frame, Malone was evasive, saying
part should be in place by 1999, but the full package would not
be widely available for a few more years.
The problem is that the company wants to line up
advertisers before it takes on the big investment, but
advertisers will likely want to see the service deployed in
mass markets before they commit.
And for this to truly become a household product,
Englewood, Colo.-based Tele-Communications would have to agree
on a standard with all the other big cable operators in the
country.
Many companies are still debating the best way to go
interactive.
"I'm not going to guarantee everything," Malone said. "But
I have a sense this is where we're headed."
