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Cox unveils app that makes its content mobile [Las Vegas Sun]
[January 08, 2013]

Cox unveils app that makes its content mobile [Las Vegas Sun]


(Las Vegas Sun (NV) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 08--Cox Communications, the dominant cable television provider in Las Vegas, used the big stage of the International Consumer Electronics Show Monday to unveil its next-generation mobile app that will enable customers to transport video entertainment to their smartphones and tablets.



Using the backdrop of Monday's Bowl Championship Series college football game, Cox President Pat Esser and Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers unveiled the technology to analysts, media and industry leaders in a private demonstration at Wynn Las Vegas.

Cox and Cisco collaborated as partners on the system.


Chambers is an old hand at CES and has delivered some of the event's keynote speeches in previous years.

But it was the first time that Cox presented one of its technological advancements at CES, the city's largest convention, which opens its four-day run Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center and is expected to draw 155,000 people to the city.

Cox officials invited the mayors of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas and the former chairwoman of the Clark County Commission to the unveiling.

By the end of March, Cox will roll out its newly engineered mobile application that will give users access to 90 live television channels, access to on-demand content and personalized video content recommendations on portable devices. Cox demonstrated the system on iPads, but by the end of the year, customers will be able to access their content on iPhones and Android devices as well.

The new technology is a competitive leap for Cox against CenturyLink, Southern Nevada's dominant landline telephone provider, which has branched into entertainment content via its fiber-optic network.

Late last year, Cox enhanced its video product offering when it launched its Trio Program Guide, a DVR network system that serves up to eight users in a household. Using a controller device, the system "learns" what entertainment genres users like and will offer programming suggestions that can be viewed or captured in a 2-terabyte hard drive. The system has a capacity for 1,000 hours of recording and can record six different shows simultaneously.

"We are delivering a viewing experience that is more personal by putting customers in command of the content they most enjoy," Esser said.

There will be no additional charge for the mobile app for customers, who will be able to watch their cable television package on mobile devices wherever they have an Internet signal.

Most of the 90 channels will be viewable, although some premium stations will require special licensing agreements. Cox's on-demand library has more than 40,000 titles.

"I think this is fantastic that Cox chose to make this announcement right here in Las Vegas at one of our most important conventions," said Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman. "I just got my husband (former Mayor Oscar Goodman) an iPhone and he's so passionate about sports. Now, he'll be able to watch games on his phone." ___ (c)2013 the Las Vegas Sun (Las Vegas, Nev.) Visit the Las Vegas Sun (Las Vegas, Nev.) at www.lasvegassun.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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