Comcast Swells Web-TV Roster [Multichannel News]
Comcast's On Demand Online trial has expanded in the past week to include a total of 23 networks that are participating in delivering content to a select test group of Comcast's cable customers via an online portal. In addition to Time Warner's TNT and TBS and Starz Entertainment's offerings, Comcast has signed on CBS, HBO and Cinemax, Scripps Networks, Rainbow Media, A&E Television Networks, Comcast Networks, Hallmark Channel, MGM Impact and BBC America to On Demand Online.
Assuming the trial goes as planned, Comcast plans to launch On Demand Online nationwide to customers that are cable television and broadband subscribers by the end of this year. Comcast is the first cable operator to trial an authentication system for video content. Users log in to a web portal to verify their status as a current customer, and then are provided access to the online video library. Plans are in the works to allow users to get the same content on their mobile devices, and while it isn't part of the On Demand Online trial, Comcast announced a new iPhone application last week.
There are still several major cable and broadcast programmers that have yet to join the On Demand Online cast, including the three partner networks of Hulu - NBC Universal, News Corp (FOX), and Disney/ABC Television Group. Discovery Networks and Viacom's MTV Networks, which are cable programming staples are also not yet available on On Demand Online.
According to this article, independent polling by the Solutions Research Group indicates that cable customers think the idea of streaming programming via the web is a winner, with 73 percent of Comcast and Time Warner Cable customers polled rating the idea as "excellent" or "good."
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