HD Day Conspiracy Theory - Update

The set-top box, a necessary appendage for millions of cable television customers for decades, is moving toward extinction.A leading television manufacturer, Sony Electronics Inc., and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association said Tuesday they signed an agreement that will allow viewers to rid themselves of set-top boxes, yet still receive advanced "two-way" cable services, such as pay-per-view movies.In most cases, cable viewers also could dispose of another remote control since they could use their TV's control rather than one tied to the set-top box.

Wired News - AP News

So the cable companies are okay with letting us jettison our horrible set-top boxes. Nice. And once the functionality of receiving, recording, storing and retrieving our favorite programming is encased in the idiot box itself, then we can also receive, record, store and retrive over-the-air HD programs on demand. Cable remains valuable insomuch as it delivers dozens more channels through its pipe. But Xbox Live and Apple TV bring me everything through the Net. Tough call.

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Bloomberg.com: TIME WARNER sells Cable Unit

`Time Warner is a company in the midst of a sweeping transformation,'' said Matt Kaufler, a portfolio manager at Clover Capital Management in Rochester, New York, which owns 1.7 million shares. ``There will be more steps before year-end. This is headed toward being a pure content company.''

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

Okay ... here's another entry in my ongoing "HD Day conspiracy theory" of Feb 17, 2009. Just start connecting the dots and you start to see a pattern. Viacom diversifies and becomes a "content company." Now Time Warner hedges against being a "cable company" and plans to "transform itself" into a "content company." Once all media become digital, the business model or models will shift; and the big players are positioning themselves for what's next.

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