You are correct. Distance from center = leverage. This is really only beneficial for you if the spool you are discussing if really far back from the television though. If the spool is right behind the tv the cable will be pull "in" toward the center more so than "back" toward the wall.
Same principle as when rigging items on a crane. Something like this.
Fear not. Android control is possible once you get the hang of arduino and move over into the sister IDE at processing.org. I made a TV remote control for mine. Come to think of it i will be updating the thread in just a few minutes because i had forgotten to do so. 