Tag: Comcast Cable

TV

COMCAST TO LAUNCH “XFINITY STREAM” APP ON FEBRUARY 28 TO ALL XFINITY TV SUBSCRIBERS

by Kristin1 Comment on COMCAST TO LAUNCH “XFINITY STREAM” APP ON FEBRUARY 28 TO ALL XFINITY TV SUBSCRIBERS

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In Home: Watch Entire TV Line-Up on Phones, Tablets & Laptops;

On-the-Go: 200+ Live Channels, Remote DVR Access and 40,000 On Demand Titles

Comcast announced that it will launch “Xfinity Stream,” an app available to all Xfinity TV users at no additional cost and will allow them towatch their entire TV line-up on phones, tablets and laptops in the home, and when they’re on-the-go, to tune-in to more than 200 live channels, access and program their DVR and watch 40,000 on demand titles.

“We’re focused on creating the best entertainment experiences across platforms and continuing to give Xfinity TV customers more choice in how, when and where they access their content,” said Matt Strauss, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Video and Entertainment Services at Comcast Cable. “With the Xfinity Stream app, we are giving customers access to the best content in and out of the home with a growing list of advanced features and capabilities that make the mobile experience nearly identical to the cable experience they enjoy at home.”

The Xfinity Stream app, the successor to the Xfinity TV app, includes the ability to switch to a Spanish guide, favorite channel filtering, music channels and Common Sense Media reviews and ratings, offering users an X1-like experience for customers’ phones, tablets and laptops in and out of the home.

  • Live TV and Xfinity On Demand: In addition to becoming an additional screen in the home for Xfinity TV cable customers to access live and on demand programming, Xfinity Stream also gives them access to more than 200 live channels over the Internet outside the home, including sports networks such as ESPN, Fox Sports and NBC Sports; news networks such as Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and BBC World News; kids networks like Nick Jr., Disney Channel and Sprout; 50 Music Choice channels, as well as a host of other top cable and premium networks. The app also offers more than 40,000 on demand movies and TV shows to stream on the go, as well as thousands of download choices for offline viewing.
  • DVR Recordings On the Go:Xfinity TV customers can take their entire DVR collection with them to stream on the go, or even download to watch while offline. They can also use the app to set recordings remotely.
  • First Screen Experiences on Devices: TheXfinity Stream app will bring an X1-like experience to customers with new and enhanced features like the ability to search content by categories such as audience or critics score, stream 50+ Music Choice channels in-the-home and on-the-go, access Common Sense Media ratings and reviews and customize their parental controls per device.
  • Spanish Guide and Accessibility Enhancements:Comcast’s bicultural customers will have the option to navigate the app in their language of choice – Spanish or English – as well as enable English programming that offers a secondary audio feed in Spanish. Those customers with vision impairments can also enable video description – a narration track included between the natural pauses in dialogue that describes the visual elements – on select movies and TV shows.

 

Customers will be able to download the Xfinity Stream app for iOS and Android devices on February 28. Customers who have already installed the latest version of the Xfinity TV app on their devices will see it transition to the Stream app through an app update on February 28. For more information on the Xfinity Stream app, please visit www.xfinity.com/stream.

TV

COMCAST CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY, INTRODUCES NEW PERMANENT COLLECTION “BLACK HISTORY ALWAYS ON”

by KristinLeave a Comment on COMCAST CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY, INTRODUCES NEW PERMANENT COLLECTION “BLACK HISTORY ALWAYS ON”

 

COMCAST CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY, INTRODUCES NEW PERMANENT COLLECTION

“BLACK HISTORY ALWAYS ON”

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With the intent of offering content that celebrates Black History year-round, Comcast launched a new permanent collection in the ‘Black Film & TV’ destination of Xfinity on Demand called “Black History Always On”.

This collection includes more than 100 titles of content including historical documentaries, biographical films, Comcast’s original Voices of the Civil Rights Movement profiles, specials from networks like Smithsonian Channel and more. It will serve as the permanent place on the Xfinity on Demand platform to learn about the achievements of African-American people year round.

In fact, a recent study by Nielsen DBS showed that over 60% of black millennials agree that it feels really good to see stars in media who share their ethnic background. That’s one of the reasons that this month the Black Film & TV destination includes a section called ‘Black Women Behind the Scenes,’ which puts a spotlight on women directors, producers, writers, costume designers, and even stunt doubles. Included in this section are intimate one-on-one conversations with talented women like Gina Prince Bythewood, Susan Fales Hill, Effie Brown, Kay Oyegun, LaFaye Baker, Quinta Brunson and Franchesca Ramsey to name a few. There are also a few men like Prentice Penny, David E. Talbert, Malcom D. Lee and Reggie Rock Bythewood weighing in. Comcast’s network partners also participated by capturing conversations with their women behind the camera including Tasha Smith and D’Angela Proctor for TV One, Zola Mashariki and Connie Orlando for BET, Terri J. Vaughn for Aspire and Lucy Chodota for The Africa Channel, to name a few.

Lastly, Comcast believes in independent black filmmaking. The company has officially announced a partnership with American Black Film Festival and BlackStar Film Festival to launch a special collection through our Streampix on demand service, which is licensing short and feature length films and webisodes from alumni filmmakers who screened their works at past festivals. With these new partnerships, Comcast is using the Xfinity on Demand platform to invest in the black filmmaking community and showcase its work to an even broader audience.

Comcast is proud to create and launch a collection of content and stories that parents can sit down with their kids and watch together, not just in February but whenever they choose, because for Xfinity, Black History is Always On.

Users can find all of this content in the ‘Black Film & TV’ destination, on X1 on demand, by selecting the On Demand menu and scrolling right or by saying “Black Film & TV” into the X1 Voice Remote.

So what are you waiting for? Happy watching! #BlackHistoryAlwaysOn #XfinityBH

TV

COMCAST ANNOUNCES AGREEMENTS WITH TWO NEW HISPANIC AMERICAN-OWNED INDEPENDENT NETWORKS

by KristinLeave a Comment on COMCAST ANNOUNCES AGREEMENTS WITH TWO NEW HISPANIC AMERICAN-OWNED INDEPENDENT NETWORKS

COMCAST ANNOUNCES AGREEMENTS WITH TWO NEW HISPANIC AMERICAN-OWNED INDEPENDENT NETWORKS

Primo TV and Kids Central Will Launch on Comcast’s Xfinity TV in January 2017


Prepare to watch television programming filled with options catering to the bicultural Hispanic community. The networks, Kids Central and Primo TV will focus on two different age groups featuring education and entertainment based programming appealing to bicultural Latino families in January 2017 through Comcast Cable.

Comcast Corporation announced it has selected two new Hispanic American-owned independent networks to be broadly distributed on Comcast Cable systems beginning in January 2017.  After a thorough evaluation of dozens of proposals, Comcast selected Primo TV and Kids Central, both of which will provide quality family programming targeted to bicultural Hispanic youth.

“Kids Central and Primo TV’s unique focus on young bicultural Hispanics fill an unmet need in youth-oriented programming and further demonstrate our commitment to providing the best experience for bicultural Hispanic families,” said Javier Garcia, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Multicultural Services at Comcast Cable. “We believe that these networks will provide high-quality educational and entertaining content while infusing Latino culture into the experience.”

Kids Central is an English-language network consisting of age-appropriate programming with high educational value and entertainment standards that appeals to bicultural Hispanic viewers ages 3-7.  In primetime, the network expands its audience with a block of family-oriented programming targeted to the whole family.  Kids Central will provide both English and Spanish language video on demand content. Kids Central is owned and operated by Condista Networks.

“We are proud to work with Comcast to bring this network to viewers,” said Jorge Fiterre, President of Condista Networks.  “Kids Central offers a new option for both English and Spanish speaking children and their families.”

Primo TV is an English-language network that will appeal to bicultural Hispanic viewers ages 6-16 and consisting of age-appropriate programming with high educational value and entertainment standards. Primo TV will build off the proven track record of V-Me and V-Me Kids with diverse content such as animated series, adventure programming and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Awareness that will connect US Hispanics with their cultural roots.  The network will also provide several video on demand content options. Primo TV is owed by V-Me Media, Inc.

“We’re excited to launch Primo TV on Comcast,” said Victor X. Cerda, Senior Vice President at V-Me Media, Inc.  “Primo TV supports V-Me Media’s mission to provide empowering content to the next wave of Hispanic and bicultural youth.  V-Me also applauds Comcast for supporting a Hispanic-owned network in reaching a growing population with content that positively reflects U.S. Hispanic values on screen.”

To narrow down the proposals received, the main criteria Comcast considered were: the content of the network; whether the network is fully financed; whether the networks’ ownership and/or management group(s) are well established, have relevant experience, and are substantially owned by Hispanic Americans; whether the network has launched and has existing or potential multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) distribution; price; and whether the network and its potential carriage provide value to Comcast and its customers.

Comcast carries over 160 independent networks, including many small, diverse, and international networks.  In 2011, as part of Comcast’s commitments made in connection with the NBCUniversal transaction, Comcast agreed to launch 10 new independently owned and operated networks by 2019, eight of which will be minority-owned.  Five networks have already launched, including El Rey (2013) and BabyFirst Americas (2012), which are primarily Hispanic American owned and operated; REVOLT (2013) and  ASPiRE (2012), which are majority African American owned; and BBC World News (2011).  Kids Central and Primo TV will be the next two networks to launch as part of this commitment.

 

TV

JAVIER GARCIA IS PROMOTED TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF MULTICULTURAL SERVICES AT COMCAST CABLE

by KristinLeave a Comment on JAVIER GARCIA IS PROMOTED TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF MULTICULTURAL SERVICES AT COMCAST CABLE

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Comcast Cable has announced the promotion of Javier Garcia to Senior Vice President and General Manager of Multicultural Services. Javier directs, designs, and implements Comcast’s multicultural services vision and strategy across all Xfinity products. 

1[1]Since joining Comcast in late 2014, Javier and his team worked closely with the product team to lead the company’s bicultural transformation initiatives, including the launch of the X1 bicultural experience, a first of its kind TV viewing experience that gives bicultural families more choices in how they consume TV and movies in the home.

Prior to joining Comcast Cable, Javier served as the General Manager of Yahoo’s U.S. Hispanic business and led monetization, partnerships and operations for the company’s premium media, programmatic, and native advertising businesses. During his eight years there, he also served as the Senior Director of Marketing Solutions for Y! Hispanic Americas leading the organization responsible for digital branded entertainment and display advertising solutions in the region.

Javier holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business, an MA in International Affairs from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Civil Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia).

TV

COMCAST AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD) ANNOUNCE PILOT PROGRAM TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS IN MIAMI, NASHVILLE, PHILADELPHIA, AND SEATTLE

by KristinLeave a Comment on COMCAST AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD) ANNOUNCE PILOT PROGRAM TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS IN MIAMI, NASHVILLE, PHILADELPHIA, AND SEATTLE

COMCAST AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD) ANNOUNCE PILOT PROGRAM TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS IN MIAMI, NASHVILLE, PHILADELPHIA, AND SEATTLE

Since 2011, Internet Essentials has Connected 2.4 million Americans, or 600,000 low-income families, to the Internet at Home

PHILADELPHIA (March 24, 2016) — Comcast today announced a pilot program with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) ConnectHome initiative to attack the digital divide for public housing residents.  Eligibility for Internet Essentials, Comcast’s acclaimed, high-speed Internet adoption program, will be immediately extended to public housing residents in Miami-Dade County and the cities of Nashville, Philadelphia, and Seattle.  This is the eighth time in five years Comcast has expanded eligibility for Internet Essentials.

Also today, Comcast announced its latest Internet Essentials milestones.  In less than five years, the program has now connected more than 600,000 low-income families, benefitting more than 2.4 million Americans, to the Internet at home.  In fact, 2015 was the program’s single most successful year ever, with a 30 percent increase in enrollments over 2014.

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