The satellite television, telecommunications and cable industries - longtime rivals - agree on one issue: The need to put TV shows that are available online, most of which are now free, behind a pay wall. The rare agreement among the normal combatants reflect their strong concern that allowing free access to such content could lead to problems similar to those faced by the music and news industries, now struggling to establish subscription-based business models. No barriers to Internet content also could push subscribers to cancel their TV service and rely solely on the Web. Cable companies have been out-front on this issue, but satellite and telcos are joining the fight. The different companies have had informal talks, but any agreement will be difficult and likely years away, if they ever come. Hurdles include logistical and technical issues as well as getting cooperation from many companies in different industries that generally don't play nicely with other. The basic idea is for subscribers of any satellite, telco or cable TV service to get an identification number or password, which they can use to access restricted online content offered by media companies. A wide-ranging authentication system, however, would be difficult to set up when factoring the different service providers.
