iPad TV? Not Quite Yet.

The tablet computer is what’s popularly known as a “disruptive” technology: namely, that it messes with the current business models and ideas of various companies. Nobody thought back in the ’80s that Apple would break the music industry, just like Nintendo didn’t think it was paving the way for advanced consoles to inspire people to stop watching cable (including yours truly, but we’ll get to that later).

The latest battleground? Cable providers streaming content to iPads. And it’s already getting ugly.

In a recent legal battle, Time Warner blinked and took several networks off of its iPad app, including channels like the Food Network. At root is, of course, money: Time Warner doesn’t want to pay more to stream, and the networks want more money.

Meanwhile, Cablevision debuted its app, with no legal noise yet apparent.

There’s no denying that these are crappy apps: you need both Time Warner broadband and Time Warner TV to stream shows to your iPad with Time Warner’s app, and you can’t leave your house with it or use your iPad as a Tivo. You know, the kind of functionality people actually want. But there’s a possibility that could happen in the future…and the networks want their cut.