Comcast announced plans to acquire Fandango, which provides online movie information, showtimes, and ticketing for 15,000 cinema screens across the US, for an undisclosed sum. Fandango is a top U.S. entertainment site and one of the nation’s largest movie sites with between 4 and 5 million unique visitors each month. The site has long- term, exclusive relationships with many national theater chains.
Comcast also announced plans to launch Fancast.com, a new national online destination that will enable consumers to search, discover, manage and enjoy their entertainment experience across many devices and channels, including television, computers, DVDs and wireless services.
Fancast, which will launch this summer, will enable consumers to search for their favorite shows, movies, actors and actresses, or simply enjoy the video content on the site. Fancast will provide consumers with a place to discover when their favorite shows or movies are “on,” and where they can view them via television, video-on-demand, online or on other devices.
Comcast noted it already has a major Internet presence, through Comcast.net, which is now a top 10 site with more than 2.5 billion page views, more than 80 million videos viewed and 15 million unique visitors per month. The cable operator aims to leverage its experience as the nation’s largest buyer of video content, serving nearly 25 million cable customers and 11.5 million broadband customers, to expand its existing video-centric websites and create a new online destination, Fancast.com.
http://www.comcast.com
http://www.fandango.com
