Comcast adding most ABC, Fox shows to On Demand

Seeking to expand the prime-time audience for the Big Four networks and compete with fast-rising Netflix, Comcast Corp. announced Wednesday that it would have most prime-time shows from ABC, Fox, CBS, and NBC available on its On Demand service the morning after they air.

The expanded offerings for cable-TV watchers begin Thursday. Up to now, Comcast offered only prime-time broadcast-network programming from CBS and its own NBC.

Some megahits - among them American Idol, Modern Family, and Dancing With the Stars - will not be part of the new On Demand selection, although Comcast says 32 of the top 50 prime-time shows will be.

The expanded On Demand offerings reflect the reality that more people are watching "time-shifted" TV, along with the fact that Comcast is seeking to compete more vigorously with Netflix, the online streaming service with a deep library of older prime-time shows.

Netflix's subscribers passed 23 million in the first quarter of this year, up from 14 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Offering prime-time shows the morning after they air, Comcast believes, reinforces the value of its "current" entertainment content as opposed to Netflix's content, which Comcast chief executive Brian L. Roberts has referred to as reruns.

Comcast also is discussing with movie studios shortening the window between when a movie appears in theaters and when it can be rented over the On Demand system. That also would bolster the On Demand platform, which sends about 350 million downloads a month to Comcast customers' homes.

The discussions, reported in Bloomberg News, could lead to movies appearing in the On Demand menu within six to eight weeks of their release.

"This is a way of letting consumers watch what they want on their terms," said Marcien Jenckes, senior vice president and general manager of video at Comcast. "We and the networks are working together to make On Demand more interesting to consumers and to create a compelling business model for our content partners."

With more people watching shows when they want, the broadcast networks may be able to use On Demand to boost revenues and ratings.

There are three On Demand revenue models emerging, officials say: Networks keep the original advertising in the shows that appear On Demand; they insert new commercials into the On Demand shows, or they do a combination of both.

In the third scenario, the networks keep the original advertisements for a certain number of days, then insert new commercials into the slots.