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Comcast Rolls Out Video-on-Demand Service to Half of Utah Customers

Posted on: Thursday, 21 October 2004, 09:00 CDT

Oct. 21--As part of Comcast Corp.'s five-year, $350 million upgrade of its Utah telecommunications network, the company is rolling out a new video-on-demand service to its Utah digital cable customers.

The On Demand service gives Comcast customers who subscribe to digital cable packages that cost $50.95 a month and up access at no additional charge to up to 1,800 hours of television programming for viewing whenever they want.

"The completion of this upgrade allows us to begin offering services that our customers have long asked for," Gary Waterfield, area vice president of Comcast in Utah, said Wednesday.

In the past five years, Comcast has upgraded more than 8,600 miles of its lines, installed an additional 2,000 miles of fiber-optic cable and added 149 channels to its standard, digital and high-definition TV lineups.

As a result, half of Comcast's digital cable customers in Utah now have access to the new service using their existing set-top boxes, he said. The percentage is expected to climb to 89 percent within the next three weeks.

On Demand offers an archive of recently broadcast programming from Utah television stations including KTVX, KUTV, KBYU, and KJZZ and from dozens of cable channels including the History Channel, Food Network and Nickelodeon. Viewers can rewind, fast forward and pause programs at will.

Promised for more than a decade, video-on-demand is only now beginning to appear in the nation's telecommunications marketplace with fewer than one-in-six American households having access to the service, said Adi Kishore, a senior analyst for the Yankee Group.

Of the cable television companies that offer the service, Comcast, at 1,800 hours, provides among the most free programming. "Many other companies offer much less free content and some charge extra for the service," he said.

Programming from premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz will be available to no charge when Comcast digital cable customers subscribe to those channels. However, the company will charge extra -- up to $3.99 -- for its customers to view newly released movies over its system.

The ability to view newly released movies on television and at one's whim is a feature most consumers associate with video-on-demand technology.

A recent Yankee Group survey, though, found only 31 percent of cable subscribers indicated they were very or somewhat likely to order a video-on-demand movie costing up to $3.95. Up to 49 percent of cable subscribers ages 18 to 21 indicated they would most likely order a movie that way but the percentage drops to 29 percent for those 35 to 49 years old.

Although Comcast will provide a lot of programming for free, it expects to profit in other ways.

"In the markets where we already have introduced the service, we have found the churn rate -- the number of subscribers dropping Comcast service and going with a competitor- has declined substantially," said Scott Tenney, Comcast's vice president of operations.

On Demand service

--What it is: The video-on-demand service allows digital cable subscribers to choose from an archive of 1,800 hours of recently broadcast programming they can watch at their convenience, rewinding, fast forwarding and pausing at will.

--What it costs: Free to Comcast digital cable subscribers whose packages cost $50.95 or more. Newly released movies are available for viewing for $3.99 each.

--Who gets it: The service is available now in the greater Salt Lake area and will be rolled out through November in 89 percent of Comcast's Utah service area.

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Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

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