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Why the Cable Companies You Hate May Be Forced to Compete Online

A DISH Network field service specialist installs a satellite television system at a home in Denver, CO on August 6, 2013.

A DISH Network field service specialist installs a satellite television system at a home in Denver, CO on August 6, 2013.

Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
By
Alex Sherman

The largest U.S. cable companies may be approaching a cliff they’ve long tried to avoid -- competition with each other.

As a slew of companies, from Dish Network Corp.’s Sling TV to Sony Corp., begin to offer online television viewing, cable providers may be forced to respond with their own nationwide live streaming packages, or lose even more subscribers, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG LLC in New York.