Comcast today is set to enter the growing field of companies offering online streams of TV shows online with the launch of Fancast.
Like AOL’s two-year-old In2TV, Fancast is offering a host of old programs like “Hill Street Blues” and “Remington Steele.” The site also has a slate of current programs including “Bones” and “The Office” from NBC/Fox’s Hulu.com, CBS and Viacom.
The new Fancast site also will let users program their DVRs online — a service that Yahoo has offered to TiVo users for more than two years.
The move seems to position Comcast as a direct competitor to the portals, which offer TV shows online, and niche services like Joost, not to mention file-sharing sites like BitTorrent. For that reason, the decision to start streaming video also calls into question the motives of Comcast — which also is an Internet service provider — in slowing traffic to BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer sites.
After the Associated Press reported last year that Comcast was impeding traffic to peer-to-peer sites, the company said it was just taking steps to manage its own network. Apparently, however, Comcast also has a vested interest in giving people reason to watch video at Fancast as opposed to BitTorrent or any other sites. And that should concern legislators and regulator who are facing questions of net neutrality and whether companies like Comcast should be able to block traffic at will.
In a market soon to be flooded with new ways to get movies fast and cheap over the Internet, companies that deliver films over cable and satellite systems risk getting nudged aside. Not so with Comcast (CMCSA). In a move designed to keep its subscribers away from the "download" button on their favorite new site, the cable industry's largest company on Jan. 8 announced a massive upgrade of its video-on-demand offerings. Project Infinity, unveiled by Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, boosts the number of on-demand movies to 6,000, from 1,300 a month.
The move comes days before Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs is due to announce a new video-rental component to help boost the fortunes of Apple's video business (BusinessWeek.com, 12/28/07). Comcast executives hope the enhanced on-demand service will Apple-proof an already hefty movie offering. The cable operator says its video-on-demand services account for roughly 275 million viewings a month.
To bolster Project Infinity, Comcast is making the most of existing deals with movie services including Time Warner's (TWX) HBO, CBS's (CBS) Showtime, and Liberty Media Corp.'s (LCAPA) Starz. That gives it a leg up on Jobs, who is currently out trying to add content on a deal-by-deal basis. He's making headway, but has a long way to go (BusinessWeek.com, 1/7/08). "We're already here," says Derek Harrar, Comcast's senior vice-president of video. "If anyone else wants to enter the video-on-demand business they'll have to follow us."
Fan Base
Indeed, while Comcast executives won't talk about it, it is clear that as Jobs and others work to launch their own services, the cable giant enjoys the kind of influence with movie services like HBO that will let it cut deals that are as good, or better, than those Apple can sign. Jobs is said to be trying to get studios to give him their movies for release at the same time they are available at video retail stores like Wal-Mart (WMT). Studios like to hold off on other releases in hopes of securing more lucrative DVD sales. But Comcast is already testing so-called "day and date" releases with Warner Brothers; if Jobs gets them, the cable operator would surely muscle its way into getting them as well, according to well-placed cable executives.
Comcast's Project Infinity announcement comes during a busy day for the cable operator. Comcast also announced the formal launch of Fancast, an online service that would give its subscribers the ability to go online to fancast.com to watch more than 3,000 hours of streaming videos of TV shows from the likes of CBS and Fox (NWS) while using the site to order videos, get iTunes downloads, and even manage their digital video recorders to record TV shows at home while they're at work.
Comcast says it expects to cut deals with other cable operators to offer the same service to them, and would make much of its money from free advertising, or affiliate fees in the case of DVDs or download sales. Some of the DVR functions won't be available until later this year, although the Fancast site is available now.
According to this Reuters story, Comcast said it has licensing deals for more than 50,000 TV shows, 80,000 movies and information on 1.2 million actors, directors, and others for Fancast (which it is licensing from Baseline, owned by NYT, AMG and others).
The key, it hopes though, is that the site isn’t just about hosted video, but points and aggregates other sites/video services. Also, Comcast plans to move some Fancast features to the set-top box so users check up-to-date information about actors etc. This is more interesting in light of the portable and inter-operable DVR service that it announced yesterday along with Panasonic.
This is among the most ambitious online service Comcast has launched till date out of its interactive division. It of course has the Comcast.net portal for its broadband subscribers (even though it is open to anyone), and has launched couple of smaller sites including online video site Ziddio.com and GameInvasion.net, and it bought movie tickets site Fandango last year. But it would be tough to make Fancast a destination, what with tough competition from everyone including portals and the TV networks themselves.
Site Enables Consumers To Create a Personalized Entertainment Experience
Comcast Interactive Media (CIM) today launched www.Fancast.com, the first online destination that enables users to watch, manage and find entertainment content wherever it is available – on Fancast, on television, online, on DVD or in theaters. On Fancast, users can view an expanding free library of full episodes and clips from top networks and movie partners, find the content they are looking for across multiple platforms and create a personalized entertainment experience.
Watch It
• Want to watch a previous episode of your favorite series that you missed? On Fancast consumers have instant access to over 3,000 hours of streaming free, full-length content from networks - including CBS, NBC and Fox (provided by Hulu), MTV Networks and BET Networks - movie trailers, short videos and interviews.
• Can’t find what you want to watch on Fancast? The site’s “Watch it” tool will tell users where they can get it, on Fancast, on television, online, On Demand, on DVD or in the theater.
• Fancast shows you what is on the TV line-up in your area no matter who your provider is.
Find It
• Need to decide what to watch tonight? On Fancast users can search for video content and entertainment information they’re looking for on over 11 million web pages including information on more than 50,000 television shows, 80,000 movies and 1.2 million people combining multiple sources of entertainment information.
• If users don’t know exactly what content they’re looking for, they can visit Fancast and discover new content through the site’s personalized recommendations based on what they have chosen in the past.
• Want to know who your favorite movie actor married or what TV show he appeared in before he made it big? Explore the connections between TV shows, movies, cast and crew on “Six Degrees.”
Manage It
• Want to control your DVR from the road? Coming soon in 2008, Fancast will enable users to program their DVR recordings in advance, from their computers, ensuring that they will never miss a show again.
• Want a more personalized viewing experience? Fancast’s “Watch List,” will organize and catalog upcoming programming, set a personalized play list and send reminders to users about what they should watch in the future based on previous preferences.
• In 2009, users will be able to mark and add content to a folder in their video on demand menu, directly from their computers.
• If a movie is playing in the theaters, Fancast will link users to Fandango one of the Web’s top movie destinations to purchase tickets online.
“Our goal with Fancast is to make entertainment consumption amazingly simple,” said Amy Banse, President of Comcast Interactive Media. “In this new age of interactive media where entertainment is available everywhere, Fancast helps consumers find what they are looking for and manage their entertainment experience across multiple platforms. For people who want their content and information immediate and easy to find, Fancast is the ultimate one-stop shop.”
Fancast will continue to add new features and additional content throughout 2008 and beyond.
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