Rumor: TWC is dropping its Mediaroom trial in L.A.

A year ago, Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) was rumored to be launching a trial using Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Mediaroom set-top box in Los Angeles as it began to plot its course in the IP video delivery space, but rumors say the MSO is abandoning the trial, deciding that the solution doesn't meet its business needs and objectives for deploying next-gen IP video services.

A Time Warner Cable spokesperson declined to comment on the issue, saying simply, "We don't have a comment on whether or not there ever was a trial scheduled."

The rumored trial was seen as an important one for Microsoft, which was hoping to gain a foothold with the U.S. cable industry, in which it hasn't been a player since 2007 when it lost a deal with Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA).

Mediaroom's big customer, of course, is AT&T (NYSE:T), which uses the box for its U-verse TV service. A number of smaller telcos also use the Microsoft device.

TWC has since aggressively moved into the over-the-top delivery space, launching a live TV to the iPad trial in April that has seen strong uptake from its customers. The trial allows customers who subscribe to a TWC cable package, as well as high-speed Internet service to watch the programming in and around their homes.

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