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ALWAYS LOOKING OUT FOR its customers, particularly when it could generate new fees, the cable TV industry unveiled two initiatives this week to help viewers catch up with shows they missed. Its efforts highlight the gap between what technology can do and what the TV industry is prepared to try.

Time Warner Cable, the nation’s second-largest cable TV operator, said it is negotiating with the four major broadcast networks to let customers watch hit shows on demand shortly after they are broadcast. The service, which would cost about $10 a month, would include only 20 of the hundreds of shows on the air. Meanwhile, Cablevision Systems Corp. announced plans for a service that uses what looks a lot like a digital video recorder. For a small monthly fee, users could go to their on-screen program guide and pick shows to record or play back with a few clicks of the remote. But the recordings would be stored in Cablevision’s offices, not inside a set-top box.

These are, at best, halfway steps toward the nirvana of complete viewer control. The spread of digital video recorders, high-speed Internet connections and entertainment-oriented computers with massive hard drives has laid the foundation for viewers to watch whatever shows they want to watch, whenever and wherever they wish. Video jukebox services could store umpteen hours of TV and deliver it on demand, either through a coaxial cable or the Internet.

The music industry has already headed down that path. But there is no comparable service in the television industry, at least not a legal one. The holdup isn’t technological, it’s economic. TV executives know how much money they can make from advertising during the initial broadcasts and reruns, sales to syndication and DVD box sets. They have no such clarity about video on demand, and they’re not sure how it will affect existing revenue.

Time Warner’s plan isn’t a bad starting point, but getting the rights to even a few shows will be a negotiating challenge. Not only do the networks have to agree on a formula for splitting the monthly fee, they have to satisfy the unions representing writers, directors and actors. Cablevision didn’t even try to get the industry’s permission for its service; instead, it argues that viewers have the right to make recordings for personal use. But the ideal service wouldn’t rely on people scheduling their own recordings; instead, the cable operator would record everything and let viewers play whatever they pleased.

That’s what Time Warner proposed to do a few years back, but TV networks and programmers weren’t ready to provide the rights. Given the industry’s complex economics, networks may spend years positioning themselves to compete in the emerging world of on-demand entertainment. Still, the ultimate destination is clear: Viewers will control when and where they watch their favorite shows. The only question is how long it will take to get there.