It has been reported that a group of U. S. cable and satellite TV providers is actively working to bring out a free online video service to offer up-to-date cable shows to computers and mobile phones. 

One of the reports says that Comcast, the largest cable television company and the 2nd largest Internet service provider of United States, announced on Friday that it's planning to launch a new online service called "OnDemand Online," by the end of this year. And, Comcast is having talks with programmers like Viacom Inc, Discovery Communications Inc, Time Warner Cable (TWC. N), DirecTV and others regarding its online service. 

According to the reports, Comcast's new online service will "allow the cable and satellite TV subscribers watch up-to-date cable shows on the Web, and possibly on mobile phones, for free possibly as soon as this summer". 

The service will be similar to Hulu, but where Hulu just offers TV shows from broadcast networks, Comcast's online service will dish out content from cable networks, most of which haven't been offered online yet.

Comcast's online service will offer most of the content free to Comcast subscribers, but the company doesn't rule out the possibility of pay-per-view items.

Sam Schwartz, executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media, said, "This is about bringing new amounts of content to the Internet in a business model that continues to support the creation of that content."

However, according to the industry analysts, Comcast's online service could seriously damage the pay-TV's long-standing revenue model.