Comcast Launches English On Demand in New England

Comcast launched a unique “English On Demand” service in New England, allowing any digital cable subscriber to access English as a Second Language (ESL) courses by tuning to channel 1.

The cable TV operator introduced the service at public meeting in Lynn, Mass., Thursday morning. Comcast said the English On Demand program consists of four hours of instructional courses from leading ESL video programmer English For You.

“We’re very excited about this opportunity to turn what began as a conversation with our community partners in Lynn into a tool that can help families and communities all over New England,” Paul D’Arcangelo, vice president of Comcast’s Metro Boston Region, said in Thursday’s announcement. “We know that our customers lead busy lives, and that there are not enough classroom-based ESL courses to meet the growing need.”

English ON DEMAND is available to anyone in New England with a digital cable box by tuning into channel 1 or selecting the On Demand button on their Comcast remote. The English For You tutorials can be found under the “Learn English” tab in the “Get Local” category.