The array of programming is a smallish subset of 225 sources already available from Hulu, the web-based video service whose backers include NBC Universal, News Corp (Fox) and The Walt Disney Company (ABC), even though Hulu serves up much of the programming on Fancast. But unlike Hulu, Fancast includes programming from CBS.

The move comes at an interesting time: Google TV went on sale last week with ABC, CBS and NBC blocking access to their programs online — a tough situation for the service which aims to be a portal to programming, whatever its source.

Fox and Cablevision are loggerheads about a contract renewal that is keeping the network’s shows off the cable company’s service — with no end in sight. Notable in that face-off was a brief and ill-considered decision to block Cablevision customers from watching Fox shows online which Fox dropped after it realized it could not distinguish between people who pay Cablevision only for internet access, and not for TV.

Cable and satellite operations still have a bit of a stranglehold on the living room but realize that TV is going mobile at a viral pace — not, ironically, because over-the-air signals are available everywhere, but because the internet is everywhere and connected, multi-purpose devices like smartphones and tablets are proliferating.

The competition isn’t just with other companies but with their customers: Slingbox, which allows you to stream your own cable/dish service to computers and mobile devices, accounts for more downstream traffic on mobile than even Netflix, according to Sandvine, which manages network traffic for internet service providers.

But these middlemen are loathe to cede mobile to other middlemen. So expediting “TV Everywhere” is a big part of the cable/satellite strategy to control — on their terms — the disruption internet delivery would otherwise be to an industry that depends on high ad rates and affiliate fees.

Their terms include little or no live programming, ads which cannot be zoomed past, and embargoed availability of prime-time programs. And this one: Fancast.com programs are unavailable on Apple devices because the site uses Flash. To get the even the identical Hulu-hosted programs on an iPhone or iPad you need to subscribe to Hulu Plus (if you can — it’s still in beta) for $10 a month.

Still: look for more, albeit compromised ways to cut the cord, along with pushback on the Boxees and Googles of the world as the forces of nature dictate how to economically give the audience anywhere/anytime access to programming on the devices of their choice. It’s not personal. It’s business, because technically, there is nothing to prevent this even now.

Follow us for disruptive tech news: John C. Abell and Epicenter on Twitter.

See Also:

• Behold, the Next Media Titans: Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon
• Apple Goes Where the Portals Failed: It’s the Hardware, Stupid
• Google TV Revealed: One Screen to Rule Them All
• Google TV Growing Pains: Networks Block Web TV Shows
• Jobs: Convergence May Not Be What Consumers Want
• ABC’s Ingenious App Uses Sound to Sync iPad, TV
• Boxee CEO: Google TV Could Boost or Crush Us
• Hey ABC: Take the High Road and Simul-Stream the Oscars

Authors: John C Abell

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