Comcast has seen rapid changes in consumer viewership patterns as video on-demand (VOD) has become available across 90% of its cable footprint. In a keynote address at the UBS Global Media Conference, Comcast executives John Alchin and Dave Watson said that as on-demand viewership continues to soar, new partnerships become possible with advertisers and content producers to better monetize the viewership.
Comcast reported a record 126 million on-demand program views in November, pushing its total VOD views past the 1.1 billion views to date. This includes over 13 million movie views in the month, although pay-per-view represents only a single-digit fraction of the total, as most views came from the free content library (currently about 3,800 programming choices). About 75% of digital cable customers are using on-demand capabilities every month. Comcast believes that DVRs complement rather than cannibalize on-demand services because 80% of DVR customers are using on-demand every month. Comcast is looking to add a TiVo-enhanced DVR experience next year.
Some other notes from the presentation:
- Comcast now has 2.3 million HD DVR boxes in services
- Comcast now has 8.1 million cable modem users. The basic High-Speed Data service tier in now 6.0 Mbps and the premium level is 8.0 Mbps.
- Comcast Digital Voice is on target to reach 250,000 subscribers by year end. The company is aiming for 1 million Digital Voice customers next year and believes it can achieve a 20% market penetration in five years.
- The new Sprint relationship will add 1,600 retail locations. The first integrated services are expected by mid-2006.
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