Incumbent service providers like Cox and Comcast are expected to launch their own cable content via third-party, "over-the-top" set-top boxes sometime in 2012, Roku's chief executive said Tuesday.

Incumbent service providers like Cox and Comcast are expected to launch their own cable content via third-party, "over-the-top" set-top boxes sometime in 2012, Roku's chief executive said Tuesday.

Those companies are likely to compete with virtual MSOs like Intel, which is , according to reports.

For years, consumers have begged to be able to sign up for ESPN, for example, without the need to pay part of their subscription fee for Lifetime. But cable providers have doggedly forced subscribers to pay for a bundle. Offloading the subscription without the need for the subsidized set-top hardware would cut some of that cost, a step of sorts towards a la carte.

For its part, Roku plans to begin promoting content like TV shows and movies on its set-top boxes, said Anthony Wood, currently the chief executive of Roku and the founder of ReplayTV, which, alongside TiVo, introduced the DVR to the world. Currently, Roku displays a carousel of apps, or channels, on its home page, rather than shows like The Walking Dead.

Roku also plans to enhance its recently announced mobile apps with the ability to display "second screen" content like profiles of the actors playing roles on the TV show that the user is watching, Wood said. Wood was the keynote speaker at the Over-the-Top industry conference in Santa Clara, which kicked off Tuesday.

A "play on Roku" feature is also in the works, Wood said.

"Over-the-top" is the name given to services like Netflix, Roku, Google TV, and others, who provide content outside of the normal walls of broadcast TV. The emergence of the Internet and streaming content deals has meant that a Netflix more directly competes with a cable provider like Comcast.

Roku has launched a series of inexpensive Internet boxes, like the , that deliver OTT content for a low price. Wood said that Roku spends the bulk if its development budget on optimizing content for the slow, cheap processors Roku uses, part of the reason it doesn't plan to use HTML5 versions in its set-tops.

So far, companies like Comcast have only made live streaming, plus on-demand content, available on the Apple iPhone and the iPad. To view it, however, viewers must have an existing cable TV subscription. Wood said rumors have circulated that that business model will crack in 2012, allowing customers to sign up for over-the-top rights to the content - cable service, essentially, but without a set-top box.

"I think that's going to happen this year," Wood said. "But there's going to be a lot of hesitancy about who will be the first company to go."

The most likely candidates, Wood said, would be an incumbent like Cox or Comcast. But, Wood said, he didn't have any hard information.

A deal like that, however, could benefit Roku. Rival Boxee has already marketed a USB dongle offering live TV content. Partnerships like that, one industry source said, are a likely sign that the rumors were true.

The five most popular channels on Roku are Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Amazon, and Crackle, with HBO Go coming in sixth, Wood said. Once added, HBO Go - which requires authentication via a cable or satellite provider - shot up to become a top-10 app, Wood said.

The two questions Wood said he receives most often are "When can I get HBO, and when can I get ESPN?" HBO Go, which provides access to HBO series and the movies the channel shows, is already available. And later this year, Comcast will begin streaming authenticated ESPN content to Xbox game consoles and other devices.

But Wood said that he didn't see a so-called a la carte version of ESPN, where customers could pay $9.99 or another fee per month for just access to ESPN content, coming any time soon.

"Bundling is intrinsic to the business, and I don't see it changing any time soon," Wood said. But, he said, the bundles may "fray," with content and service providers experimenting over the next few years.

Roku is developing a new user interface that will promote content as much as the channels themselves, possibly giving a show like HBO's Game of Thrones rather than the channel itself. With over 500 channels on Roku, an adjustment like that may be necessary to highlight the interesting content those channels offer, he said.

Roku is also working with emerging standards like , which will enable customers to beam a photo, for example, from a mobile device to their TV. "Play on Roku" would push content from another page to the Roku device.

Finally, Wood said that Roku is also working to enhance its mobile apps with the "second screen" content. A Roku spokeswoman confirmed that the projects were under active development, but would not comment on when they could arrive in the market.