Time to drop cable television? Not so fast

By Kenneth Li

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Couch potatoes love television, but some simply have no interest in watching sports or kids shows. So why should they pay for it?

More U.S. TV watchers are asking the same question as cable and satellite TV bills creep higher. The government wants to know why consumers can't just pay for the channels they want and many technology and media companies are dreaming up new alternatives for delivering only the TV programs viewers want.

A fresh batch of options from Sony Corp (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Netflix Inc (NFLX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Roku, as well as Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) video game console Xbox 360 launched over the past few weeks promise to do away with cable all together.

The latest push into the living room aims to solve what has stymied earlier products, including the complexity of hooking up these devices, lack of content and relatively high prices, with some devices costing well past $500.

About 8 million Netflix customers, accustomed to renting DVDs by mail, can now purchase a $99 set top box from Roku and watch some 12,000 films and shows on television for no additional fees.

Sony Bravia TV owners who buy a $300 device that connects to the back of TVs and to the Internet can already watch YouTube videos. Soon, Bravia customers will be able to order from Amazon movies and shows streamed directly to TVs.

But even the experts don't think cable will be replaced anytime soon and point to a string of high profile failures, including Walt Disney Co-backed (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) MovieBeam and privately held Akimbo.

"The content deals are starting to come together, but the library is still pretty narrow," said Mark Kirstein of Scottsdale, Arizona-based market research firm MultiMedia Intelligence.  Continued...