Today's Cable Companies are Becoming Tomorrow's Tech Firms

On Monday, Cox Communications launched a brand-new video companion app for iPad and iPhone called Contour. Debuted as a “Personal Video Experience,” Contour aggregates live TV, on-demand programming, and DVR recordings in a single program. It also features an advanced recommendation engine built by ThinkAnalytics that provides customized TV and movie picks for up to eight unique users. Cox’s goal was to build an app designed to answer demand for a more flexible, individualized video experience.

Cox’s Chief Marketing & Sales Officer Mark Greatrex explained, “Contour brings to life all the features our customers tell us they want…all accessible on multiple devices via an effortless guide.”

Research reveals that 60 percent of all video viewing happens through on-demand and DVR recordings. Contour is a direct way to deliver Cox customers a time-flexible viewing experience that reflects this change in viewing patterns. With Contour, Cox is taking a page from the playbook of tech companies like Apple and Google by focusing on rapid development and deployment of rich, user-centric interfaces and taking advantage of the latest in algorithm design. Intuitive, customizable, easily updatable platforms like Contour allow customers to seamlessly watch what they want, when they want, on any device they want. With apps like Contour, Cox is showing how cable companies are rapidly transforming into your local, neighborhood tech firm.

See the video Cox produced showing off the all-new Contour app.