Comcast launches TV, movie site
By Alex Woodson
January 8, 2008

LAS VEGAS -- Comcast Corp. is looking to broadband site Fancast and a growing stable of high-definition VOD titles to headline the company's tech efforts, following months of turbulence on Wall Street. At his keynote Tuesday morning, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is expected to announce the official launch of Fancast, a Web TV and movie destination that grew out of his company's acquisition of Fandango last year. The site has been in beta since August.

Roberts will also announce an expansion of the cable giant's free HD VOD offerings, which includes TV, film and music videos. The HD library, part of a greater catalog of 10,000 titles, will grow from the current 300 to over 1,000 in 2008. Comcast hopes to ramp up to 6,000 films in 2009, 3,000 of which will be in HD.

Derek Harrar, senior vp and GM, video services explained that Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, will make the HD offerings available as the content companies are willing to put them on VOD. The HD content will encompass the full range of content that the company owns. These projects are part of a Comcast initiative dubbed "Project Infinity." The goal of the strategy is to provide a limitless library of content for consumers on any screen.

In keeping with this theme, Fancast is aiming to provide information on TV and film content and also has options for search and viewing. The site is officially launching with over 3,000 hours of programming and the capability to search through more than 50,000 television shows, 80,000 movies and 1.2 million people.

The Hollywood Reporter
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