Comcast to debut cable shows online by year's end (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Associated Press ^ | October 20, 2009 | DEBORAH YAO

[abb]

You'll be able to watch popular cable television series such as HBO's "Entourage" and AMC's "Mad Men" on your computer by the end of the year without paying extra — as long as you're a Comcast Corp. subscriber watching at home.

Comcast will be the first cable TV operator to unlock online access to a slate of valuable cable shows and movies, aiming to replicate what's available on television through video on demand.

Time Warner Cable Inc. and others plan to follow as the pay-TV companies look to satisfy growing consumer appetite for online video while preserving subscription revenue.

Access will be carefully guarded: Comcast subscribers can initially watch shows and movies only on their home computers after being verified by the cable system. And for now, the online viewing will be restricted to those who also get Internet service through Comcast, not through competitors like phone companies.

Comcast, wanting to make sure the shows will remain off-limits to non-subscribers, still is working on providing access over competing home broadband systems as well as on the go — at work, on laptops and, one day, over cell phones.

At a briefing at Comcast's Philadelphia headquarters this week, executives said cable networks such as HBO will decide how much to put online. Some will include the current season's episodes only, while others could include archives of past seasons.

The offerings expand on what cable networks now make available online. Broadcast networks have been running full episodes of many shows for free on sites like Hulu, but cable networks have typically resisted. AMC's Web site, for instance, has the season premiere of "Mad Men" in its entirety but only video summaries of subsequent episodes.

snip

[abb]

"By the end of this decade or shortly thereafter, television networks as we know them today will cease to exist. They will be just another url on the world wide web competing against millions of others."

"Network evening newscasts will go dark after the '08 elections and their news divisions disbanded."

Walter Abbott, (b. 1950), Media observer, blogger and commentator

[abb]

ping

[abb]

http://www.smartmoney.com/news/ON/?story=ON-20091020-000679-2135
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http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/take_no_chances_96rFtsJWin7qp47R1mNVgM
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http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/946829/UK-consumers-wont-pay-web-news-report-says/
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http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/10/e_ink_teams_wit.html
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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/editor_out_at_bizweek_HvBGekz66ElKzWZbPlSXRO
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http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/magazines-newspapers/e3i411e64b038510230fdba2e9745119eba
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http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/nast_week_for_newhouse_scribes_rddNW0rNXoMBCNFvGflMrL
A nast-y week for newhouse scribes

[happydogx2]

My techie son has been telling me about this for 2+ years. He cites stats that upto 50% of viewers his age watch programs on-line one way or another.

It’ll be interesting to see how this develops.

[abb]

It’ll be interesting to see how this develops.

The broadcast networks as we have known them all our lives will just go away. As viewership declines, advertising revenue declines. As revenue declines, the quality of programming declines. As quality declines...

[pnh102]

As viewership declines, advertising revenue declines. As revenue declines, the quality of programming declines. As quality declines...

They get a taxpayer bailout.

See? This is how that story ALWAYS ends.

[Willie Green]

Comcast will be the first cable TV operator to unlock online access to a slate of valuable cable shows and movies, aiming to replicate what's available on television through video on demand.
Time Warner Cable Inc. and others plan to follow as the pay-TV companies look to satisfy growing consumer appetite for online video while preserving subscription revenue.

Oh crap.... not again...

We used to get Time Warner Cable for both the TV and the computer, but Time Warner sold the Houston business to Comcast a couple years ago and we got stuck with them. But service sucked so we switched the computers over to AT&T.

Hey... all I REALLY want is basic cable TV where I don't have to pay for the Spanish and Gay channels...
Why is that so hard for them to do???

[drubyfive]

Hey... all I REALLY want is basic cable TV where I don't have to pay for the Spanish and Gay channels...

I stopped paying Comcast and I'm still getting a lot of those channels, but they cut off Fox and CNN.

[abb]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/365845-OnScreen_Media_Summit_Chase_Carey_News_Corp_Not_Actively_Engaged_in_NBC_Universal_Pursuit.php
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http://www.jsonline.com/business/64927952.html
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[Landru]

"Comcast will be the first cable TV operator to unlock online access to a slate of valuable cable shows and movies, aiming to replicate what's available on television through video on demand."

This brought to you --*&* "Paid In Full"-- courtesy of Deborah Yao of The Associated Quislings.
BWWWWWHAAAA!!!
The shticks sounding more & more like a cheap infomercial, I swear. LOL!!
What's next, hire Jillian Michaels to shill for em? :o)

"Time Warner Cable Inc. and others plan to follow as the pay-TV companies look to satisfy growing consumer appetite for online video while preserving subscription revenue."

I'll just bet they do; whatwith, there not being one scintilla of original thought between all the outfit's employe...errrrr, Associates x100. LOL

"Access will be carefully guarded: Comcast subscribers can initially watch shows and movies only on their home computers after being verified by the cable system. And for now, the online viewing will be restricted to those who also get Internet service through Comcast, not through competitors like phone companies."

HA!!
abb, milhous...listen to this.
We've DirecTV. Couple months ago I noticed a weird notice on the "Versas" --or VS-- channel on the menue lineup. Essentially it said VS has been removed. That VS is wholly owned by Comcast, and, Comcast is attempting to charge [read: extort] "Exorbitant fees"; so, DirecTV has been left no choice but to remove VS from the lineup. At least until an equitable agreement's reached. Sorry for any inconvenience blah-blah.

I looked at my K & said, "Oh?".
We LOL, really we did.
Then I promptly programmed "VS" out. LOL!!

THEN for the past 8 weeks & sometimes twice a day, DirecTV telemarketers have been trying to call.
Since we've Caller ID I know who they are, I let the machine (w/ mechanical voice, no less) take it. :o)
Always a *click*.

But I know what they want, too.
OK so they send an email via satellite to our "in box" on the receiver box. Want to GIVE us a *free* 30 day trial of one of the shake-n-bake channels such as Starz, HBO etc.

Thing is, abb?
Last time they were lucky enough to get me on the phone I TOLD them, "Ya'll couldn't give us [that] garbage if it were free!"

abb, milhous?
You're both wise men, intelligent men, I trust you both.
Tell me, where'd I go wrong? ;^) LOL

[abb]

http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/10/new-york-times-still-uncertain-on-charging-sets-seven-digital-priorities/
New York Times, still uncertain on charging, sets seven digital prioritie

http://crosscut.com/2009/10/21/crosscut/19293/
Crosscut’s new approach

[Buckeye McFrog]

I would not count on it working properly if Comcast is behind it

[abb]

But the point is that the technology is advancing and it will improve. One day it will break the back of CBSNBCABC and their news departments that have controlled the message for so long.

“And that’s the way it is...” no longer will be!

[RayChuang88]

I think within five years—provided that Internet Service Providers don’t seriously impose download caps—most of our TV viewing will be from streaming video through super-fast broadband, done at 720p resolution. This means you can watch essentially any TV show any time you want.

[N. Theknow]

I think within five years—provided that Internet Service Providers don’t seriously impose download caps—most of our TV viewing will be from streaming video through super-fast broadband, done at 720p resolution. This means you can watch essentially any TV show any time you want.

We already do this with Verizon FIOS at 1080p. Their "On Demand" feature has free movies and usually the last four to five episodes of TV shows. 25/15 internet, unlimited long distance with phone, and TV with On-Demand movies and TV shows, Whole-house DVR, for $119.00/mo.

[abb]

As construction is amortized, the cost of bandwidth will continue to decrease, accelerating this phenomenon.

[abb]

http://www.dscriber.com/media/542-a-journalists-confession-why-i-canceled-my-newspaper.html
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http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-can-we-please-shut-up-about-the-death-of-journalism-already-2009-10
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