Comcast will stream cable shows online by end of year, Time Warner to follow
- From: David <dimlan17@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:50:18 -0400
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ie299eaf99ce3696e38fab603f8000874
Comcast to offer cable shows online this year
Time Warner and others plan to follow suit
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- You'll be able to watch series such as HBO's
"Entourage" and AMC's "Mad Men" on your computer by the end of the
year without paying extra -- as long as you're a Comcast Corp.
subscriber watching at home.
Comcast will be the first cable TV operator to unlock online access to
a slate of valuable cable shows and movies, aiming to replicate what's
available on television through video on demand.
Time Warner Cable and others plan to follow as the pay TV companies
look to satisfy growing consumer appetite for online video while
preserving subscription revenue.
Access will be carefully guarded: Comcast subscribers can initially
watch shows and movies only on their home computers after being
verified by the cable system. And for now, the online viewing will be
restricted to those who also get Internet service through Comcast, not
through competitors like phone companies.
Comcast, wanting to make sure the shows will remain off-limits to
nonsubscribers, still is working on providing access over competing
home broadband systems as well as on the go -- at work, on laptops
and, one day, over cell phones.
At a briefing at Comcast's Philadelphia headquarters this week,
executives said cable networks such as HBO will decide how much to put
online. Some will include the current season's episodes only, while
others could include archives of past seasons.
The offerings expand on what cable networks now make available online.
Broadcast networks have been running full episodes of many shows for
free on sites like Hulu, but cable networks have typically resisted.
AMC's Web site, for instance, has the season premiere of "Mad Men" in
its entirety but only video summaries of subsequent episodes.
Comcast's national rollout of "On Demand Online" -- the company
promises to replace that with a hipper, more contemporary moniker --
comes months after the cable operator announced partnerships with 24
cable TV networks and broadcasters.
The company's talks for a controlling stake in NBC Universal, which
owns a third of rival site Hulu.com, is not expected to affect its
online video aspirations.
Similar plans are in the works at other pay TV operators, including
Time Warner Cable Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and DirecTV Group
Inc.
Viewers can access the cable shows and movies through Comcast-owned
Comcast.net and Fancast.com and eventually on the Web site of cable
networks such as AMC, which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corp.
After users log in, the cable system will perform such checks as
whether a Comcast cable modem is being used.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts showed off the new service at the Web 2.0
Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday, likening it to "video on demand on
steroids."
Comcast has no plans to offer an online-only subscription for cable
channels, a move that could cannibalize its own cable TV offerings.
However, it will expand ways in which viewers can rent and buy shows
and movies through an integrated store on Fancast.com.
Premium cable channels that currently don't have any commercials, such
as those from Time Warner Inc.'s HBO, CBS Corp.'s Showtime and Liberty
Media Corp.'s Starz, will not have any ads online, either in the video
or on the Web page. Ad-supported networks have typically shown ads
online as well.
Comcast executives said the company plans to generate revenue by
adding more and different types of ads on the sites. But the company's
goal is not necessarily to profit from it but to keep subscribers
happy enough so they don't cut the cord or defect to a competitor.
Comcast declined to comment about any type of revenue-sharing
arrangements with cable networks. But it said current contracts give
them digital rights to content.
Google Inc. has struggled to make YouTube profitable and Hulu.com, a
popular free online video site, has been losing money as well.
In May, NBC CEO Jeff Zucker said Hulu will be profitable soon. Hulu is
owned by NBC Universal, News Corp., Disney and Providence Equity
Partners.
Roberts wouldn't comment at the Web 2.0 Summit on discussions
regarding a potential purchase of most of NBC Universal, but did
outline the advantages of combining a subscription business for
content and an advertising business -- something he said has long
worked for Comcast and he expects will keep working in the future.
He added that it's "prudent" for the company to explore potential
content deals.
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