US cable firms plot TV cloud gaming push

US cable firms are plotting a push on the games industry by streaming titles directly to televisions, according to a report.

People “with knowledge of the matter” told Bloomberg that Time Warner Cable and Verizon Communications were looking to take on the home console market through cloud technology.

Trials for web-based game streaming will allegedly start later this year to allow carriers time to test the tech before deployment in early 2013.

Other firms meanwhile are said to be aiming for a 2014 rollout of cloud gaming services direct to televisions.

If true, the move would mean carriers could offer the service to their almost 50 million digital TV subscribers.

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Atul Bagga said that cable and phone companies were looking for new ways to monetise their consumers, and that gaming could be “pretty compelling”.

The sources also claimed that Time Warner Cable, Comcast Corp and Cox Communications were looking to deliver triple-A titles from publishers such as EA as well as web-based and casual titles.

Whilst cloud streaming firms such as Agawi, Playcast Media Systems and CiiNow admitted they were in talks with US carriers, they refused to such which firms they were in discussions with.