Comcast has reached agreements with several major content providers to offer their shows on its entertainment Web site, Fancast.com, according to The Associated Press.
Deals with
ABC, CW, Showtime, HBO and The Food Network allow Comcast to offer free ad-supported TV episodes and clips. The shows started rolling out this past weekend, except those from ABC, which went live last
week.
In the race to grab video share online, Comcast recently added an online store to Fancast where consumers can buy or rent video. Over the next few weeks, customers in a few markets will be
able to program their digital video recorders through Fancast. National rollout will start in 2009.
The moves signal Comcast's intention to claim online viewership, even at the risk of losing
cable TV viewers. "Our consumers were moving online with the rest of the world ... and we felt strongly that the Comcast experience should be a screen-agnostic experience," said Amy Banse, president
of Comcast Interactive Media, in an interview with The Associated Press.--Tanya Irwin