NEW YORK Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to log in to watch the linear ESPN channel online -- and access additional programming on ESPN3.com -- as early as Oct. 25, while the MSO separately has launched a service to let subs remotely manage their DVRs over the Web.
Time Warner Cable customers must sign in for each of the services through the cable operator's "My Services" portal at http://myservices.timewarnercable.com.
The "TV Everywhere" services with ESPN are part of the larger agreement among TWC, Disney/ABC Television Group and ESPN struck last month.
Under the deal, the authenticated service will provide Time Warner Cable customers who subscribe to a video package containing ESPN online access to the linear channel, according to ESPN spokeswoman Amy Phillips. TWC customers who subscribe to both broadband and a cable TV package with ESPN also will have access to ESPN3.com, the sports programmer's live sports portal that carries 3,500 events annually.
Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable has launched the Remote DVR manager in five markets, director of digital communications Jeff Simmermon wrote in a blog post Monday.
As of Oct. 18, the service is available in TWC's Carolinas region, Northeast region, New York City region, San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego/Desert Cities. On Oct. 29, customers in El Paso, Austin, Corpus Christi and Laredo, Texas., and the Midwest (excluding Northeast Ohio and Green Bay) will also be able to use the Remote DVR Manager. In addition, the feature should launch in Dallas in the fourth quarter of 2010, Simmermon wrote.
On the TWC My Services portal, subscribers can use the "MyTV" tab to see scheduled recordings. The mobile version is available at mdvr.timewarnercable.com, and may not be available to all mobile devices, Simmermon noted. "The full site doesn't render too well on mobile browsers, and we want you to have the best possible experience," he wrote.
The Remote DVR Scheduler allows users to search TV listings and schedule a recording, as well as edit recording options or cancel a recording altogether. The service does not yet delete past recordings but that is expected to be available in a future release, according to Simmermon. -- Multichannel News
