I’ve watched closely over the last 12-18 months as Comcast has adjusted its approach to online video, and I believe folks have underestimated the company’s strategy and foresight. Just as the Web video craze is exploding into the mainstream, Comcast has launched a hit with Fancast. Unlike its video attempts on the Comcast.net portal, the operator is making huge amounts of content available for free to everyone, not just Comcast subscribers, along with tools to navigate that content and promote Comcast’s other properties. And people apparently love it.
The launch of Fancast is on par, in my mind, with the Comcast Project Infinity announcement, which critically promises huge increases in on-demand and HD programming. As I’ve said before, Comcast is both hedging its bets and creating a real opportunity in the online video space. No company is better positioned to capitalize on that opportunity than one that owns the broadband delivery networks and has strong content partnerships in place. Talk about convergence.
Plus, like Time Warner, as long as video is eating up cable bandwidth anyway, it might as well be video that brings in revenue for Comcast.
Side note: Just in case you’re wondering why a Motorola blog is spending so much time talking about Comcast, remember that Motorola produces modems, set-tops, VOD technology, switched digital video technology and much more for cable broadband networks – including Comcast.
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