HBO, Cinemax coming to Comcast's On Demand Online
by Richard Lawler 
posted Jul 13th 2009 at 3:04PM
HOME BOX OFFICE AND COMCAST TO LAUNCH HBO® AND CINEMAX® ON BROADBAND FOR THE FIRST TIME NATIONALLY THROUGH ON DEMAND ONLINE
The HBO and Cinemax Broadband Services, Featuring Award-Winning Original Programming, Theatrical Films and More, To Be Made Available For Free to Comcast's HBO and Cinemax Subscribers
New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA, July 13, 2009 – Home Box Office, Inc. and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA, CMCSK) today announced a partnership that will offer award-winning television and movie content from HBO and Cinemax online for the first time as an added value to Comcast's HBO and Cinemax customers nationwide. The HBO and Cinemax broadband services will be available as part of Comcast's On Demand Online trial, accessible via Comcast.net and Fancast.com. On Demand Online is a new service that will significantly expand the number of top-rated TV choices available online to Comcast cable customers free of charge.
The HBO and Cinemax broadband services will initially provide a combined total of 750 hours a month of programming and will grow over time. HBO and Cinemax will greatly enhance On Demand Online's line-up which already includes hit programming from and Time Warner Inc.'s Turner networks TNT and TBS, as well as Starz.
At launch, the HBO and Cinemax broadband services on Comcast's On Demand Online will include:
* Full-length episodes of current and classic HBO series like True Blood®, HungSM, Entourage®, Curb Your Enthusiasm®, The Wire®, Sex and the City®, The Sopranos® and Real Time with Bill Maher.
* Popular theatrical movies including Transformers, The Dark Knight, Tropic Thunder, Atonement, Brokeback Mountain, Michael Clayton, Shrek the Third, Kung Fu Panda, Get Smart, The Bourne Ultimatum, The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Titles coming soon include: Juno, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears A Who, Mama Mia! and Burn After Reading.
* Top classic films such as Jurassic Park, Big, Mrs. Doubtfire, Speed and Rosemary's Baby.
* HBO Family programming including enduring favorites like Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Following the launch, HBO and Cinemax programming will be updated frequently, with subscribers able to choose from a number of programs in HD including HBO Films, series, documentaries, sports, specials and comedy as well as theatrical films. Customers will be able to view certain new programs online immediately after they air on television and will have access to an extensive library of past programming.
"On the heels of the TV Everywhere agreement between Time Warner and Comcast, we're pleased to be partnering with Comcast to deliver our HBO and Cinemax broadband services on a national level," said Eric Kessler, HBO Co-President. "The broadband services are the latest in a line of digital offerings that have dramatically changed the viewing experience for our subscribers, providing them with more access, choice, and even greater value to their subscriptions."
"HBO is an iconic brand with award winning original programming and exclusive feature films and we are thrilled they are joining us in our mission to make our services available online to our customers," said Matt Bond, Executive Vice President of Content Acquisition for Comcast. "For the first time HBO and Cinemax customers around the country will be able to watch their favorite shows and movies online at no additional cost. This agreement is an important milestone in our long-term strategy of enabling customers to watch popular television and movie content when and where they want it."
In a joint announcement last month, Time Warner Inc. and Comcast introduced a set of principles called "TV Everywhere." Developed by the two companies, the principles are designed to serve as a framework to facilitate deployment of online television content in a way that is consumer friendly, pro-competitive and at no additional cost to customers.
The HBO and Cinemax broadband services will be part of Comcast's technical trial of On Demand Online with approximately 5,000 customers from across the U.S. in the coming weeks – the first national trial of its kind. A major focus of the trial is to test Comcast's new "authentication" technology, which will allow Comcast customers to receive the same content online for free that they subscribe to on TV. The service will utilize a simple log-on system for streaming content and, in the future, will allow for download content to go. The On Demand Online service will roll-out in phases, adding new features, functionality and content over time to provide consumers with a new way to watch television.
On Demand Online is part of Comcast's Project Infinity, the company's long-term vision to give customers an ever growing amount of video content on multiple platforms, whenever they want.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jruppert @ Jul 14th 2009 12:29AM
Comcast always comes out with these "big" announcements. Then nothing ever happens. I remember when they made the TiVo annoucement 2 years ago. NOTHING still.
They should just say something like....
Comcast to offer what you really want, but we'll never give it to you. We'll tease you just enough to stay around, then pull away.
Jon @ Jul 13th 2009 4:37PM
Comcast should work on adding new channels to HD and not this crap
Michael @ Jul 13th 2009 9:23PM
Yeah and getting HBO HD on demand back, ever since they took away HBO HD On Demand I have stopped watching
the highest of Defs @ Jul 13th 2009 6:29PM
Had both on DirecTV for months. Way to play catch-up Comcost.
Brendan H @ Jul 13th 2009 6:39PM
I had HBO on Broadband with Time Warner. No HD content, not even 16:9. All 4:3 SD. I didn't use it much because of that.
duerra @ Jul 14th 2009 5:59PM
Words cannot describe how much I despise Comcrap and their shady tactics. Their services absolutely stink, and the only thing I did like about them, their internet service, started putting traffic caps on their customers late last year, and banning them if they go over it, without providing any way for users to know how much bandwidth they are using. I could go on and on and on with all the ways that I hate this company.
For those of you that have had Comcrap and don't know any other services, you don't know what you're missing out on. Regardless of the lies they tell you, they DO NOT have more HD than the competition (at least, DirecTV, I can't speak for the other satellite providers), they do NOT have cheaper rates, and lord god, I could go ALL DAY LONG on how inferior their DVR product is in every single conceivable way, than the competition.
NICK @ Jul 15th 2009 2:25AM
I had to join in on this comment board. This will be my first ever.... Just for the opportunity to rip on ComCrap! I love that name. They really are the worst company ever. Unfortunately for me I live in an apartment which I actually love being that I put $3000 down on a house I didn't purchase before the housing crisis. Sorry to brag for home owners (at least for now.)
Comcast is a monopoly that is why they are the way they are. I cannot get anything but Comcast for the last four years because I live in an apartment (as many others) and I have moved twice. By the way if you move don't tell them you are moving. They changed my account number when I moved but kept me on the same rate and when I paid the bill through my online checking account the payment mysteriously disappeared. Seriously! When I called and figured the problem out ( my account number was changed without warning) they still never rebated my payment and on top of that charged me a $5.00 Agt Asst Convenience Fee. All this after I took my hard earned time to go to Kinko's and fax proof of THEIR mishap. I even solved their mystery mistake. That did feel good, being that I am sure they couldn't figure out (they have millions of households.) If you ever move make sure to check your account numbers if you pay your bills through online banking. This company is the only one to pull this stunt. But it is a good scam. So be careful out there, especially if you want to watch TV but only have ONE option. ComCrap!