DETROIT — Comcast on Tuesday made it easier
to watch cable TV shows on the Internet.
The Philadelphia-based company has made TV shows and
movies available online at no extra charge to customers with both cable and
high-speed Internet service from Comcast.
Comcast subscribers can watch TV shows and movies, the
service it calls Fancast Xinfinty TV, on as many as three computers. Customers
would need a Comcast email address and password to access the content
on Comcast’s Web sites: www.comcast.net or www.fancast.com.
The TV shows and movies that are available to a subscriber
will reflect that customer’s cable package. HBO subscribers, for
instance, will have access to HBO movies and shows online.
“It’s our goal … to allow our customer who buys a
package of content from content to access that content on any screen at
anytime,” said Amy Banse, Comcast’s president of interactive
media, during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
Comcast officials would not specify how many of its
customers will have access to the online Cable TV service, but said it will be
most of its 15.7 million high speed internet customers.
Comcast expects to extend the service to its 24 million
cable-only customers within the next six months, Banse said.
The cable company has brought on 27 cable networks to
provide TV episodes and movies, including A&E, BBC America, the History
Channel and IFC.
“We think it’s a good experience, and it’s an
experience that’s only going to get better with time,” Banse said.
