NEW YORK: CBS is joining Comcast’s technical trial of the cable operator’s broadband content delivery platform, On Demand Online. CBS intends to test various types of current and library content throughout the trials. It’s the first among broadcast networks to sign on to the TV Everywhere concept, introduced last month by Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
TV Everywhere is described by Comcast as a “set of principles” designed “to serve as a framework to facilitate deployment of online television content in a way that is consumer friendly and pro-competitive.”
Comcast will begin its technical trial of On Demand Online with approximately 5,000 customers from across the United States in the coming weeks. It will represent the first national trial of the system, with a particular emphasis on Comcast’s authentication technology, whereby only Comcast subscribers can get to their content for free online. The system will use a log-on structure for streaming, and for downloading to mobile devices in the future. The service is expected to roll out in phases.
