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CBS, Comcast On Demand Online partnership faces off premium vs. free internet streaming; 17 cable channels jump onboard
After stocking up on premium networks with HBO and Starz, Comcast's On Demand Online project has added its first broadcast TV partner, CBS. One of the worries regarding TV Everywhere / On Demand Online has been what it would mean for free streaming portals like Hulu, with broadcasters potentially shifting content behind pay-tv walls to keep people from dropping cable and satellite TV subscriptions. CBS has been the notable Hulu holdout, although it has also pushed forward with free streaming on its website, including March Madness and even upping the resolution of its Flash video to 1080p. Further conflicting the issue? 17 more cable networks (A&E, AMC, BBC America, DIY Network, Fine Living Network, Food Network, Hallmark, HGTV, History, IFC, MGM Impact, Sundance Channel, WE tv, E!, The Style Network, G4 and FEARnet) have also announced plans to join the 5,000 subscriber trial. Just like the previous agreements, it appears customers should expect access during the trial to reflect a lot of what CBS and the others already offer through standard VOD but now with more placeshifting goodness. While media execs watch the bottom line, we're just hoping the stated CBS strategy of "open, non-exclusive distribution of our content in a consumer friendly way" (from the press release, available in full after the break) could push Hulu to add more HD, or at least unblock the PlayStation 3 & Windows Mobile.
FiOS HD video on-demand library tops 1,000 title mark
Make room Comcast, Verizon's barged in on Project Infinity territory, staking its own claim of 1,000 high definition video on-demand titles available, two months earlier than it had previously planned. That puts it well ahead in the choices/channels debate, with the latest additions courtesy of Starz, Showtime and Sundance Channel. If you're willing to accept something less than HD for your VOD, there's a total of 11,000 items available every month (8,500 without an additional charge), but we're just settling in as the race to 3,000 high definition watch-anytime choices begins.
Cablevision's Rainbow Media snaps up Sundance Channel for $496 million
Don't peek -- which would you think is cheaper? A fiber-to-the-premises network touching 36,000 residents and businesses, or a 12-year old television channel? If you guessed the latter, you'd be badly mistaken. While iProvo was sold for a mere $40.6 million, Rainbow Media, the cable programming subsidiary of Cablevision, had to cough up nearly half a billion dollars ($496 million, to be precise) in order to claim the Sundance Channel as its own. Yes, the Sundance Channel. Richard Greenfield, an analyst with Pali Research, seems to think that Cablevision may try to combine its newest acquisition with Independent Film Channel, which just so happens to have a high-def counterpart. Of course, it's hard to say what will happen with it so soon after the buy, but if the sale ends up creating another (or more widespread) HD channel, we're all for it.
Sundance Channel making several programs available in the iTunes Store
The Sundance Channel just announced the immediate availability of several of its programs in the iTunes Store [iTS link]. Programs include "The Hill," "The First Amendment Project," and "The Staircase," and they are priced at $1.99 each. Sundance is also giving iTunes Store users a free sneak peek of Episode 1 of their upcoming six-part documentary series called "One Punk Under God," about Christian punk rockers, which will be downloadable from December 5-12, while the television debut is scheduled for December 13. Subsequent episodes will be for sale on iTunes the day after they air on television.[via iLounge]
