"OnDemand Online" will be available free to Comcast cable TV subscribers, Business Insider reports. That means only customers inside Comcast's cable zone can sign up, but the service itself is available anywhere. For example, a user could still watch on demand videos away from home (the company is working on a way to verify subscriptions). Also of note, the service would count against Comcast's 250 GB monthly bandwidth cap.
The major difference between this service and Hulu is content. While Hulu's videos come from NBC, Fox and their cable channels like FX, Comcast is inking deals with other cable networks, possibly providing a streaming opportunity for channels like the Food Network and Discovery. In other words, Comcast is going to focus on content that isn't already online.
Because Comcast and other cable providers pay fees that account for roughly half of cable channels' revenue, it's in the channels' best interests to keep providers healthy, Business Insider notes. By comparison, hardly any money comes in through online viewing, so its more likely for a channel to give its content to Comcast than to an online-only service like Hulu.
U.S. cable, programmers set for Web TV by summer,,,
Cable and satellite TV providers are working on a free online video service to deliver up-to-date cable shows to computers and mobile phones, but the industry is worried the project could cannibalize pay-TV's long-standing revenue model.
cable network programing is available primarily on cable and satellite TV services, such as Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) and DirecTV Group Inc (DTV.O), or nascent video services from phone companies.
This is about bringing new amounts of content to the Internet in a business model that continues to support the creation of that content," said Sam Schwartz, executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media.
Comcast is leading talks with programmers like Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) and Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O), with Time Warner Cable (TWC.N), DirecTV and others involved. Their plans are at different stages, and cable operators will likely discuss putting cable programing online at an industry meeting this week according to people familiar with the plans.
The project would let cable and satellite TV subscribers watch up-to-date cable shows on the Web, and possibly on mobile phones, for free possibly as soon as this summer, the sources said.
The idea is to give customers added flexibility to view their favorite shows. It is also seen as a preemptive strike against possible 'cord-cutting' of video services, particularly by younger subscribers used to watching other programs online.
But the project presents a number of business and technology challenges to both operators and programmers.
Cable programmers like Viacom's MTV Networks make money from advertising sales, as well as affiliate fees that cable and satellite TV service providers pay.
TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES
Whatever business models are agreed upon will depend to some extent on overcoming technological challenges.
One involves identifying which customers have the right to view a show, and managing digital rights to avoid over-wide distribution. There is also the need to accurately 'time' the content so it is available to users for a restricted period -- so as not to jeopardize other media content distribution systems such as video on demand and DVD releases.
Yet executives also acknowledge the risk of ignoring the Web, as seen by the music and newspaper industries that have suffered as consumers change their media consumption habits.
Comcast sees the project, which it calls On Demand Online, as a natural progression from digital video recorders and video-on-demand channels.
It is working on technology to authenticate subscribers who go to Comcast's Fancast and Comcast.net websites for video. This would effectively create a "wall" behind which programmers might feel comfortable keeping some of their premium shows.
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