PHILADELPHIA—In the run-up to the start of the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournament, Comcast has expanded Xfinity Multiview to more X1 devices, giving millions of additional customers the ability to watch up to four live games at once, all on the same screen.

“With 164 basketball games airing over the course of a few weeks, March is the perfect time to introduce Xfinity Multiview to more customers in a big way,” said Vito Forlenza, vice president, sports entertainment, Comcast. “Now, they don’t have to choose between games, miss a buzzer beater when flipping channels, or set up another TV on a makeshift stand in their living room - all the action is right there on the same screen.”

Xfinity Multiview will be available throughout the duration of both tournaments, ranging from two to four pre-selected men’s and women’s games playing simultaneously. Customers can simply say “March Madness” or “multiview” into their voice remote to see the multiview options available. Once in the multiview experience, customers can toggle between channels to switch audio and select any game to jump into full-screen mode.

Comcast reported that Xfinity Multiview joins a host of other features Xfinity offered to customers during the tournaments, including:

• A comprehensive tournament hub that brings together all live men’s and women’s coverage into one easy-to-use destination.
• An interactive Sports Zone app, a companion viewing experience that enables fans to follow the latest brackets, scores, schedules and stats from across the tournament when watching a single game or within multiview so they never miss a moment of the action.
• Live odds, game lines and prop bets for tournament matchups via Xfinity Odds Zone. Easily accessible within the Sports Zone app, Odds Zone gives fans an easy way to watch and wager with either DraftKings or FanDuel without having to take their eye off the TV.
• The option to favorite any men’s or women’s team so customers can create a personalized viewing experience centered around the teams that matter most to them, including the option to receive game start notifications and/or post-game highlights directly to their X1 device or phone.
• Other notable features for live sports include: Enhanced 4K, the best picture and audio quality delivered to the home in the fastest way possible; aggregated, personalized sports hubs, which make finding any game fast and easy; and Odds Zone, a companion experience where fans can watch and wager with leading sportsbooks from the TV.

PHILADELPHIA and SAN FRANCISCO.—In a first for Super Bowl coverage, Comcast and Dolby have announced that Fox’s coverage of the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 will be delivered in both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

The experience will be available to Xfinity TV customers as part of Comcast’s new Enhanced 4K offering on X1 and on the Xfinity Stream App.

“Enhanced 4K” provides customers with an unmatched viewing experience with the best picture and audio quality delivered to the home in the fastest way possible, according to Comcast, so the action customers see in their living room is only seconds behind the game as it unfolds in New Orleans.

“The Super Bowl is another example of how Xfinity is redefining the sports-viewing experience through innovations in our network and with the latest innovations from partners like Dolby,” Comcast Vice President, Sports Entertainment, Connectivity and Platforms Vito Forlenza said. “With the clearest picture quality and the most-realistic audio possible, we’re offering customers a viewing experience they can’t get anywhere else for the biggest live sporting event of the year. Plus, we’re delivering it as fast as possible over our state-of-the-art network so customers can feel like they’re witnessing every exciting moment at the same time as the fans in the Superdome.”

“Dolby and Comcast share a long history of delivering unparalleled, first-of-their-kind experiences to fans, and today marks another milestone in our journey to transform the future of live sports,” said Jason Power, vice president, AV ecosystem, Dolby Laboratories. “Together, we continue to raise the bar by offering Xfinity customers an immersive experience that brings the sights and sounds of the game to life like never before.”

In another first, Comcast also announced that Xfinity customers can also enjoy this 4K viewing experience with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos through the Xfinity Stream app, which is available on compatible Dolby-enabled streaming devices and TVs.

First launched for last year’s Paris Summer Olympics, Comcast explained that “Enhanced 4K” is a new quality standard to live sports delivered in 4K on X1. It leverages Comcast’s network technology to deliver the best-possible 4K video, ultra-low latency, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Comcast also noted that Enhanced 4K joins a host of other immersive and interactive features on X1. These features include: multiview, where customers can watch up to four events at once on the same screen; aggregated sports hubs, which make finding any game fast and easy; and Odds Zone, a companion experience where fans can watch and wager with leading sportsbooks directly on TV.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—In an important move towards making it much easier to bet on live sports, Comcast has added sports betting odds from FanDuel into Xfinity Odds Zone on Xfinity X1.

Comcast also reported that Xfinity Odds Zone will soon be accessible from a new sports betting hub on X1. The soon-to-be-launched betting hub will provide a centralized destination for fans, bettors and fantasy players that brings together the latest analysis and betting-focused content from available networks and streaming channels all in one place.

While Xfinity Odds Zone is available to all X1 customers; placing bets is limited to customers living in states where sports betting is legal, and each sportsbook operates.

“X1 is the best seat in the house for live sports, and now with FanDuel as part of Odds Zone, we’re making it even better for fans by integrating odds from another top sportsbook directly into their viewing experience,” said Vito Forlenza, vice president, sports entertainment, Comcast. “Our entertainment platform makes it easy for customers to find their favorite sports by bringing everything together in one place - whether airing nationally or locally, on broadcast or streaming. And when combined with features like Odds Zone, Enhanced 4K and Multiview, we’re giving our customers the ultimate sports viewing experience.”

With FanDuel on X1, customers can access odds for top leagues, including NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, the PGA TOUR, NCAA football and NCAA men’s and women’s basketball, directly on the TV, side-by-side with live game coverage. Bets can be quickly initiated by scanning a QR code that will add the wager to a FanDuel bet slip on the customer’s mobile device.

Using the X1 voice remote, customers can launch the experience by saying “Odds Zone,” “View odds” or “FanDuel odds” into their X1 voice remote.

“We are thrilled to partner with Comcast to enhance how our customers can watch and wager on their favorite teams and athletes,” said Karol Corcoran, senior vice president and general manager of FanDuel Sportsbook. “Integrating FanDuel odds into the Xfinity Odds Zone offers sports fans another way to interact with our robust sports betting offering, and we look forward to collaborating with Comcast to continue elevating the game day viewing experience.”

While Xfinity Odds Zone is available to all X1 customers; placing bets is limited to customers living in states where sports betting is legal, and each sportsbook operates.

PHILADELPHIA—Xfinity X1 customers now have easy access to “Star Trek: Picard,” “The Good Fight” and other CBS All Access content, as Comcast has announced that it is making the CBS All Access streaming service available on Xfinity X1. Comcast made the CBS All Access app available on Xfinity Flex earlier this year.

According to Comcast, Xfinity is the first pay-TV provider to offer CBS’ streaming platform directly to customers.

Through X1, customers now have access to CBS All Access content that includes 20,000 episodes and movies from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more, as well as original series like “Star Trek: Discovery,” “Star Trek: Picard,” “The Good Fight,” the upcoming Stephen King adaptation “The Stand” and more. CBS All Access also provides live streaming of CBS Sports programming and news and entertainment coverage.

X1 customers will be able to access CBS All Access over the internet, and can pull it up using voice command on their Xfinity Voice Remote.

All of the content and features available through CBS All Access will remain when the streaming service officially rebrands as Paramount+ early in 2021, Comcast reports.

PHILADELPHIA—The United States has more than 48 million people that are currently living with physical or mobility disabilities, and a new service from Comcast has been designed specifically for them to make TV watching simpler.

Comcast has launched the Xfinity X1 eye control, a web-based remote that can be accessed through computers and tablets and pairs with an existing eye gaze system to allow viewers to control their TVs with a glance.

X1 eye control is available for Xfinity customers through xfin.tv/access to pair the web-based remote with the set-top box. The tool works with existing eye gaze hardware and software, Sip-and-Puff switches and other assistive technologies. Using these tools the viewer can gaze at a button on the web-based remote and change the channel, set up a recording, search for content and other additional services that are part of the Xfinity package.

“Comcast knows that TV and media access is a powerful part of life for most people,” said David Dikter, CEO Assistive Technology Industry Association. “That X1 can now be used with eye gaze and an array of other assistive technologies shows a new level of commitment to access and independence for persons with disabilities.”

PHILADELPHIA—The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicked off in Paris last week, and to celebrate one of soccer’s biggest tournaments, Comcast has announced that it is offering live 4K coverage of games through its Xfinity X1 platform.

Comcast customers with the X1 platform will have live 4K coverage of all 52 matches in both English and Spanish from the Fox and Telemundo broadcasts. This is just one component of Comcast’s planned coverage of the tournament.

The complete Xfinity X1 soccer experience will feature bilingual X1 interface and voice control; a tournament hub that aggregates all live, on-demand and streaming World Cup programming and highlights, scores, player profiles and more; dedicated virtual channels; the ability to use the X1 Sports App to have live scores, schedules, standings, brackets, stats and analytics as companions to the TV broadcast; push notifications for selected teams; and the ability to restart any match on FS1, FS2 and Universo—and on Fox and Telemundo in some markets—as well as replay it immediately after the match. Matches will also be available through the Xfinity Stream app and portal.

Comcast isn’t the only one bringing the World Cup to fans in 4K. TVT’s sister publication Multichannel News reported that Dish is offering 4K matches in English for its Hopper 3 customers, and fuboTV is the only vMVPD will feature Fox, FS1 and FS2 English broadcasts in UHD through its 4K beta.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is now underway and will go through July 7.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—TiVo said it has filed yet another patent infringement lawsuit against Comcast.

Through its Rovi unit, the company said its latest federal complaint, filed in the Central District of California, covers patents related to “cloud and multi-room DVR features” offered by Comcast Xfinity pay TV set-tops and gateways.

TiVo didn’t specify which patent numbers were involved—or if any of the patents have already been subject to the company’s wide-ranging, seemingly endless legal quest to get Comcast to pay it technology licensing fees.

“We believe Comcast’s Xfinity X1 continues to infringe Rovi’s cloud and multi-room DVR patents—a vital component of home entertainment,” said Arvin Patel, executive VP and chief intellectual property officer at Rovi Corporation, in a statement.

“Litigation is always a last resort but we will continue to take every necessary legal action to ensure that Comcast fairly compensates Rovi for its use of our patented innovations,” Patel added. “We have a responsibility to our stakeholders, licensees and customers to protect our intellectual property.”

Think of TiVo’s latest filing as simply putting more logs on the fire.

TiVo has been somewhat transparent about its legal strategy. The company is seeking to create as much legal action against Comcast as possible, around as many patents as it can. The aim is to put pressure on Comcast to either eliminate X1 features, or pay licensing fees.

The dispute dates back to 2016, when Comcast stopped paying licensing fees to TiVo.

“Comcast itself has been forced to remove certain functionality from Xfinity X1 and has been subject to an exclusion order after the ITC found it had infringed Rovi’s valuable IP,” TiVo said in a statement. “We are optimistic that Comcast will come to the table and pay the appropriate licensing fees to ensure their customers receive the best home entertainment services and features available.”

“Rovi has in recent years deployed its increasingly obsolete patent portfolio in an unsuccessful litigation campaign seeking to charge Comcast and our customers for technology that Rovi did not invent," Comcast replied in its own statement. "Rovi launched this campaign in April 2016 by asserting infringement of 15 patents—14 of which have been held to be invalid and/or not infringed by Comcast, or have been withdrawn by Rovi. While we haven’t had an opportunity to review Rovi’s latest complaint, we will continue to defend ourselves against allegations we determine to be meritless.”

Notably, TiVo’s latest filing comes as attorney Ashok Ramani, a partner for the firm Davis Polk, was named among the top IP lawyers in California by the Daily Journal.

Among Ramani’s recent career highlights, according to the Daily Journal, was defending Comcast in an eight-patent suit filed earlier by TiVo in the Central District of California.