TWC Tests Broadband TV

Time Warner Cable has begun a six-month trial to determine whether cable customers are interested in accessing cable content on their PC.

The trial kicked off Friday in San Diego, with 9,000 Time Warner Cable subscribers able to watch the San Diego division’s expanded basic tier of cable channels live on their PC.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Mark Harrod says that the goal is to get first-hand research rather than to simply rely on market research that indicates consumers are interested in being able to watch programs on their PC.

“We have no commitments to do anything beyond the trial in the future,” says Harrod.

For now it will be a value-added, letting subscribers of both the RoadRunner broadband service and TWC turn on their PC, open up a media streaming player, and watch content.