For now, at least, the thought of a viewer using an Internet-connected television to stream an episode of "30 Rock" isn't causing insomnia for Terry Mackin, executive vice president of Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., which owns 26 television stations.
"You might be able to see 'The Office' elsewhere, but people want their local community news and information more than they want anything from us," he said. "We're making that adjustment."
Cable companies say they aren't worried either.
"Cable is a far superior technology when it comes to letting you watch what you want, when you want, on your TV," said Kevin Leddy, senior vice president of the advanced technology group at Time Warner Cable.
Its digital video recorders let viewers record shows and watch them at their leisure. It's also beefing up its video-on-demand service and, later this year, introducing a "start over" feature that lets viewers watch a show they missed up to 48 hours after it airs.
There are a lot of big players jockeying for supremacy, and consumers will no doubt be confused, Richmond said. But they might win in the end.
"Consumers benefit when there's choice, competition and better technology," he said. "We're now getting a perfect storm of all three."
alex.pham@latimes.com
dawn.chmielewski@latimes.com
