Comcast Ups Ante in Network TV VoD

Building on its deal to provide customers with CBS Corp. TV shows free on its video-on-demand (VoD) service, Comcast Corp. plans to add programming from NBC and ABC to the menu, the company has confirmed.

The cable colossus already offers NBC programming in some of its markets and plans soon to add ABC network TV shows to the mix, noted Comcast chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts, at the NCTA conference in Las Vegas last week. Roberts did not give a specific date for when it would add ABC network programming to its VoD service.

The CBS deal alone has been a boon for Comcast as it enables subscribers to watch an array of hit shows, such as CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, Jericho, Numbers, NCIS and Survivor Fiji the day after they air on network TV.

While some telcos are struggling to cost-justify the infrastructure needed to deploy VoD with their IPTV services, cablecos are working hard to find ways to make the service more engaging and compelling, a top topic at last week’s show.

Some cable operators have expressed concern that staple VoD elements – pay-per-view movies and a limited lineup of older flicks, is not quite enough to keep customers coming back for more.

And when it comes to monetizing the free network content on VoD, some believe disabling the viewers’ ability to fast-forward over ads is part of the answer, though others note network TV VoD has far fewer ads, which markedly lessen ad skipping.

None of the cableco executives said whether network programming beyond CBS, NBC and ABC, would be available as part of their VoD services.

ABC www.abc.com
CBS Corp. www.cbs.com
Comcast Corp. www.comcast.com
NBC Corp. www.nbc.com

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