If you have Comcast, your on-demand choices are about to expand.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, a new deal between Comcast and Time Warner will bring Warner Brothers content to the Comcast on-demand menu. Included in the deal are on-demand showings for popular cable series, “The Closer” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.” There will be no additional charge for the content.
The new program is being called TV Everywhere and will be rolled out for 5000 customers starting in July.
TW chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes said the idea is to allow consumers to watch their favorite shows on any screen — be it a TV or device screen — on demand, with networks’ and distributors’ Web sites serving as possible access locations.
Bewkes and Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts signaled that they don’t plan as of now to provide an option for consumers to subscribe solely to the Web offering, or without also having a cable video contract. “We don’t know the answer to that (and will let things unfold),” Bewkes said.
While some have called the initiative a defensive move, Bewkes said it will stack up well against other digital video services. “This is offensive,” potentially increasing ratings and ad sales and giving consumers more options, he said.