Cable industry seeks out Silicon Valley pizzazz

The US cable industry, hoping to revive innovation and beat back the emergence of online video, is turning for ideas to Silicon Valley.

Leading players from Time Warner Cable to Comcast will next year set up a showpiece research center in the heart of a region that has spawned recent momentous trends, from social networking to the mobile revolution. Spearheaded by Louisville, Colorado-based CableLabs, a nonprofit research and development consortium established by the industry, the center hopes to work on projects with startups and established firms; hire engineers; and engage leading universities such as Stanford in experimenting on new tech. The cable industry is grappling with a persistently poor service reputation while fending off stiff competition from Internet-based services like Netflix Inc and Hulu.