Audio Video News

Whose video on demand service has content from all four of the major commercial broadcast TV networks: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC? The answer is Comcast.

With the addition of more than 20 series from ABC and Fox on April 27, Comcast is the only player who can make that claim for its VOD operation. The shows include Fox's Glee and The Simpsons and ABC's Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. Fox's Masterchef will be added on June 7 and Hell's Kitchen on July 19. Additional NBC shows on the way include America's Got Talent on June 1, Love in the Wild on June 2, and The Marriage Ref on June 27.

Here's your PR quote from Marien Jenckes, Comcast's general manager of video services: "Our goal is to deliver customers the best and most-current entertainment choices anytime, anywhere so they can catch up and keep up with their favorite TV shows. By nearly doubling the number of current TV series from broadcast networks, Xfinity TV On Demand offers our customers a one-of-a-kind experience that can’t be found elsewhere."

Jenckes goes further in a blog: "The TV series category On Demand has exploded in viewership—in fact, three years ago it wasn't even a top-rated category on our platform, and today it is our top-viewed category On Demand...and with our On Demand service generating 350 million views a month, nearly 20 BILLION views since we launched the service, that's catching Hollywood's eye....

"Some of the new initiatives and trials we've been working on include allowing for Nielsen to rate TV content viewed On Demand; disabling the fast forward feature so advertisements can be viewed and counted in the ratings mix, which also enables us to bring customers even more of the best content around; dynamic ad insertion; addressability in advertising; Interactive TV applications, and many others. All of this experimentation will lead to new and interesting outcomes for us and our TV partners, as we continue to see an increased desire from the entertainment industry to leverage VOD."

It should be interesting to see how Comcast subscribers react to "disabling the fast forward feature."

See Comcast press release and blog.