MUMBAI: Home Box Office, Inc. and Comcast Corporation have signed a partnership that will offer television and movie content from HBO and Cinemax online for the first time as an added value to Comcast’s HBO and Cinemax customers.
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. Also included will be 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 are also available. 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. 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," said HBO co-president Eric Kessler.
"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. 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," said Comcast executive vice president of content acquisition Matt Bond.
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.
