Comcast Hits 500 HDTV Choices
Top Cable Operator Claims Its Offering More HD Fare Than Anyone Else
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 5/19/2008 9:56:00 AM
Comcast has more than 500 HDTV choices available at any given time and is significantly increasing on-demand HD programming from Showtime, Encore, MoviePlex and Starz.
With the content increase, Comcast claims it is offering more HD movies and programming than anyone else. However, DirecTV is still the leader in terms of the sheer number of linear HDTV networks it offers customers, about 95 channels.
Comcast claims it is continuing to deliver on its commitment to provide exponentially more choice on TV, including more HD, movies, sports, kids’ programs and network TV, first announced at the January 2008 Consumer Electronics Show as Project Infinity.
"This month, we're adding the most HD content ever," Derek Harrar, Comcast’s senior vice president and general manager of video services, said in a statement. “We’re working with top premium channels like Showtime and Starz to add hundreds of entertainment options in the categories consumers say they want the most...HD movies and television shows.”
Through this increased content offering, Comcast added more than 150 hours of premium-channel HD programming to its current line-up, which includes:
* Showtime added four times more HD movie and television series hours with hit original shows like Dexter, The Tudors and Weeds and movies like Casino Royale and Babel.
* Starz added four times more HD movie hours with Meet the Robinsons, Ratatouille, Déjà vu, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Spider-Man 3.
* MoviePlex added three times more HD movie hours of tried-and-true favorites including Dazed and Confused, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Cry-Baby and Field of Dreams.
* Encore added two times more HD movie hours with new and old favorites like Jumanji, Pulp Fiction, Step Up, Dirty Dancing and The Guardian.
Adding movie and TV content supports recent research findings commissioned by Comcast, which found that consumers want to watch HD movies and TV shows on their schedules, not by appointment viewing on linear television.
Currently, Comcast’s VOD lineup offers more than 10,000 selections each month, with Comcast customers selecting on demand more than 100 times a second with over 300 million views per month.
