Time Warner Cable takes baby step toward more affordable pay-TV service

[Commentary] Time Warner will test an online service that gets rid of the cable box and could pave the way for introduction of smaller, more affordable programming packages. "Where we're headed," Chief Executive Rob Marcus said, "is the ability of customers to access the complete video product without having to rent a set-top box from us." That doesn't mean paying only for the channels you want, rather than the dozens you never watch. But it's a baby step toward a kinder, gentler Time Warner Cable and indicative of moves the entire pay-TV industry is making to try to keep people from cutting the cord.

The no-box test is expected to begin in New York, a Time Warner spokesman said. People with a Roku streaming-video device will be able to access Time Warner's programming via an app similar to Netflix's or Hulu's. If things go well in Gotham, Time Warner expects to expand the test to other cities and to other devices, such as video players from Apple, Amazon or Google. No information on pricing has been released.