Comcast readies Xfinity Watchathon Week for March 25th, will give customers all-access to premium TV series
Well, well, it looks as if Comcast has planned something relatively major for Xfinity TV subscribers. The company just announced that from March 25th through March 31st, it's set to give customers an all-access viewing ticket to a plethora of TV series from various networks, which will also include on-demand content for those with the proper All Video On Demand credentials. Thanks to the Xfinity Watchathon Week, as it's formally known, folks with an Xfinity TV account can have the chance to check out shows from networks they may not be subscribed to, including ones such as HBO, Showtime and Starz, as well as others like A&E, AMC, BBC America and many, many more -- so yes, you can catch up on (or watch for the first time) Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, The Sopranos and, of course, Girls (!). There are still quite a few days to go until Comcast's Watchathon kicks off, so, perhaps, now might be the perfect time to set a cal reminder and start stacking up on some popcorn.
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PHILADELPHIA, PA
Comcast, a global media and technology company, today announced plans to bring Xfinity TV customers an all-access, free pass to the biggest TV catch-up in TV history from March 25-31. With every episode of every season of TV's hottest series, like Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Dexter, Girls, Spartacus and Duck Dynasty, plus full, current or most recent seasons of Mad Men, Revolution, The Walking Dead, Touch, Chicago Fire, Psych, Parenthood and The Americans, the first Xfinity Watchathon Week will offer a massive collection of content from the best networks never before available for free in one place.
During Watchathon Week, Xfinity TV customers will have access to more than 3,500 episodes of 100 TV series across 30 premium, cable and broadcast networks. Watchathon Week will also offer almost the entire on demand TV libraries of HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ and CINEMAX, including the critically acclaimed shows that kick-started the TV catch-up phenomenon, like The Sopranos, Sex & The City, Dexter and The Wire. The event will also give viewers a chance to catch up on hit series Game of Thrones, just prior to its third season debut on HBO, March 31. All Video On Demand (VOD)-enabled Xfinity TV customers will have access to this content, and across multiple screens when available.
"The scale of Xfinity Watchathon Week is enormous," said Maggie Suniewick, Vice President, Video Services, Comcast Cable. "This will be the biggest catch-up ever in TV history, offering Xfinity TV customers the opportunity to binge view the hottest shows on top networks for free. It takes the TV catch-up concept to an entirely new level with every episode of every season of TV's best shows, in addition to the tens of thousands of content options already available for free on Xfinity On Demand."
Watchathon Week content will be available on multiple platforms and devices – through Xfinity On Demand, Xfinity.com/tv, the Xfinity TV Player App for Apple and Android devices and Xfinity Streampix.
Among the programmers participating in Watchathon Week include Premium networks HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ and CINEMAX; Broadcast networks ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS; and Cable networks A&E, AMC, BBC America, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery, FX, HISTORY, IFC, Lifetime, LOGOTV, MTV, mun2, National Geographic, Syfy, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, TV Land, USA and WE.
Viewers can catch every episode of every season of Banshee, Battlestar Galactica, Big Love, Boardwalk Empire, The Borgias, Boss, Californication, COPPER, Crossing Jordan, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Deadwood, Dexter®, Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey, Duck Dynasty, Enlightened, Entourage, Episodes, Flight of the Concords, Game of Thrones, Generation Kill, Girls, Hollywood Confidential, House of Lies, Hung, Hunted, Magic City, Nurse Jackie, Oz, Parenthood, Psych, Rome, Sex & The City, Six Feet Under, Spartacus, Strike Back, The Newsroom, The Sopranos, Torchwood: Miracle Day, Treme, True Blood, Ugly Betty, Veep, and Web Therapy.
Additionally, full, current and most recent seasons of the following series will also be available during Watchathon Week: Archer, Awkward, Bates Motel, Boston's Finest, Braxton Family Values, Bridezillas, Chicago Fire, Dance Moms, Deadliest Catch, Deception, Diggers, Doctor Who, Elementary, Go On, Grimm, I Love Jenni, King of the Nerds, Legit, Mad Men, Portlandia, Raising Hope, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Revolution, Smash, Swamp People, The Americans, The Bachelor, The Layover, The Mindy Project, The Voice, The Walking Dead, Top Gear, Tosh.0, Touch, Undercover Boss, Vikings, Whitney and Wicked Tuna.
To help sort through the additional thousands of hours of TV shows, Xfinity TV will launch a Watchathon Week microsite offering a full list of available content across Xfinity On Demand, Xfinity.com/tv and the Xfinity TV Player App. Visitors also will discover special news, trivia, behind-the-scenes features and a Watchathon sweepstakes.
After Watchathon Week concludes, Xfinity TV will launch the "Catch-Up of the Week" on April 1. This ongoing effort will offer a mix of current and past seasons of hit shows on a specific network, or a different, popular TV series each week through the end of 2013, allowing viewers to continue to stay on top of some the best shows on TV regardless of their subscription level.
Xfinity On Demand offers the ultimate in TV series catch-up featuring over 270,000 content choices on TV and online. Xfinity On Demand offers the most HD TV shows and movies – with thousands available for free – and a comprehensive broadcast offering with shows from networks including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Xfinity On Demand has the broad reach to help programmers maximize their viewership and promotional activities. The platform also supports Nielsen C3 ratings measurement, proving valuable for programmers and advertisers. Each month, there are nearly 400 million views on Xfinity On Demand. The platform is on track in 2013 to top 30 billion total views since its launch in 2003.
For more details on Watchathon Week visit www.xfinity.com/watchathon. Join the Watchathon Week conversation on www.facebook.com/Xfinity and www.twitter.com/Xfinity_TV with hashtag #Watchathon. Content availability will vary across platforms (VOD, online on the app), and in virtually all cases can be viewed regardless of customer's subscription level. For more information on Xfinity TV and Xfinity On Demand www.xfinity.com.
About Comcast Cable:
Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. Comcast has invested in technology to build an advanced network that delivers among the fastest broadband speeds, and brings customers personalized video, communications and home management offerings. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company. Visit http://www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
