Starting Thursday, Comcast will add TV shows from ABC and Fox to its video on-demand library, making it the only provider that offers shows from all four broadcast networks (including NBC and CBS) as soon as the day after they air. There’s a list of all the TV shows Comcast will be offering in the press release after the break — no Modern Family or House? weak — so the next time you forget to DVR Cops, you’re covered. Also, now that DirecTV has broken the seal on premium VOD early release movies, Comcast also mentioned it is still in negotiations to provide similar access to flicks. With no specifics to announce it’s possible the pricing or windows could differ from what we’ve seen so far, so we’ll just advise Senior Vice President and General Manager of Comcast Video Services Marcien Jenkes to take a long look at our poll results before signing anything.

Continue reading Comcast is first with VOD from all four major networks, still negotiating for early release movies

Comcast is first with VOD from all four major networks, still negotiating for early release movies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With today’s engineering, you should hardly be seeing anymore of those televisions with only 50 local or cable stations and low specifications in the programming quality of the media. Breaking signals and so many other TV disturbances are usually now a issue of the past. With the arrival of the FTA satellite TV your television experience should never be the same again.

What exactly is FTA? This stands for FREE TO AIR television broadcasting. By using an FTA device for broadcasting the signals of Television and radio, it will be possible to acquire hundreds and thousands of channels all at the comfort and ease of your very own home. But on top of that, this is all for free!

Through satellite tv, FTA is sent in many parts of the world. These FTA television stations use unencrypted VHF or even UHF bands. In a lot of countries where you can discover the availability of FTA, it is normally cost-free, however for certain areas, it costs a small fee. Sometimes, particular channels have to have a license fee and some would just encourage contributions. Now the question is, how do FTA stations generate income when they are mainly free of charge?

Other stations generate income through commercials and sponsorships, similar to the major networks. But Free To Air (FTA) is generally used in worldwide televison broadcasting, which renders it as the video equal of shortwave radio. In case you decide to invest in FTA, you should ask with FTA authorized retailers who will give you the list of stations you can choose from that are accessible in your country. Each country will have various channel contents and channel guides so you will need to make inquiries with the FTA retailer for details in your local area.

A major aspect you must know about Free To Air (FTA) satellite tv signals is that these people come in two types. The first one is the Ku-Band or the small dish, while the other one is a C-Band or also known at the big dish. Most of the international channels that are given in North or Continental America are usually broadcasted by means of the Ku-Band on a Telstar-5 satellite. But you will also have other available choices at your disposal. A satellite receiver, remote control along with a dish can be found with the Ku-Band FTA satellite system. You can find it easy to collect additional information on the FTA satellite over the internet. With Free To Air (FTA) television, your viewing pleasure could have a significant breakthrough.

Well, I don’t think it’s a stretch anymore to say that Comcast’s latest venture into online video is a off to a good start. CBS is the latest network to join the impressive lineup which also includes HBO and Cinemax as of yesterday. This networks is a big step for Comcast On Demand Online as CBS is the only major network not available on the free to everyone site, Hulu. But remember, Comcast On Demand Online will only be available to Comcast subs who currently pay for the stations. (e.g. if you can’t watch HBO on your TV, you can’t watch it online)

Comcast will open the service to 5,000 beta testers in the coming weeks. I’m just curious about how many more networks will sign up before it launches to everyone. The service already has the most of any online viewing site available with, all the major networks, HBO, Cinemax, Stars, TBS, TNT, and most of the cable stations.

CBS TO PARTICIPATE IN COMCAST’S ON DEMAND ONLINE
NATIONWIDE TRIAL

As the First Broadcaster To Participate, CBS Agrees to Test Standards and Principles for

“TV Everywhere” Model

NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2009 — CBS Corporation (NYSE:  CBS.A) and Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:  CMCSA, CMCSK) announced today that CBS is the first broadcast network to participate in Comcast’s technical trial of On Demand Online.  The new service will significantly expand the number of top-rated TV shows available online and across platforms at no additional charge to Comcast’s cable customers while delivering increased advertising value to content owners.  During the course of the trial, CBS plans to test various types of current and library content.

“CBS and Comcast share the same vision of giving consumers more — more content, in more places,” said Matt Bond, Executive Vice President of Content Acquisition, Comcast Cable.  “On Demand Online is a major step in extending consumers’ television experiences online, and ultimately across platforms by giving any television network, including top brands like CBS, the ability to make their content available on the Web.”

“CBS is very supportive of initiatives that help extend our content to new platforms in such a way that we gain new audiences and additional value for our advertisers,” said Quincy Smith, Chief Executive Officer, CBS Interactive. “Comcast is already a trusted platform to distribute CBS content on air as well as on demand; expanding this relationship online is a logical step.  In addition, CBS’s strategy has always been about open, non-exclusive distribution of our content in a consumer friendly way, which is a core tenant of TV Everywhere and On Demand Online.”

CBS’s participation in Comcast’s technical trial comes on the heels of last month’s joint announcement between Time Warner Inc. and Comcast which introduced a set of principles called “TV Everywhere.”  Developed by the two companies, the principles are designed to serve as a framework to facilitate deployment of online television content in a way that is consumer friendly and pro-competitive.

Comcast will begin its technical trial of On Demand Online with approximately 5,000 customers from across the U.S. in the coming weeks – the first national trial of its kind.  A major focus of the trial is to test Comcast’s new “authentication” technology, which will allow Comcast customers to receive the same content online for free that they subscribe to on TV.  The service will utilize a simple log-on system for streaming content and, in the future, will allow for download content to go.  The On Demand Online service will roll-out in phases, adding new features, functionality and content over time to provide consumers with a new way to watch television.

On Demand Online is part of Comcast’s Project Infinity, the company’s long-term vision to give customers an ever growing amount of video content on multiple platforms, whenever they want.