TV operators seek silver bullet to fight online rivals

San Francisco

THE empire has not yet figured out how to strike back.

The major legacy television companies are struggling to find the formula to stem the loss of customers to Internet rivals like Netflix, Amazon and others.

Time Warner - one of the mainstays of the industry with its channels including TNT, Cartoon Network, WB and HBO - has seen its stock come under heavy pressure since lowering its outlook in its last quarterly update.

While Time Warner is still a major industry force, the loss of viewers translates to lower advertising revenues, raising the prospect of a downward spiral.

"Similar to the rest of the industry, ratings at our key domestic entertainment networks have declined to a greater degree than we anticipated a…