Comcast and TVN: Video-On-Demand Partners

Reprinted from a Comcast press release:

BURBANK, Calif., Mar. 11, 2002 — Comcast Cable and TVN Entertainment today announced that TVN has been chosen as a transport partner for video-on-demand (VOD) and subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD) in select Comcast markets. Under the trial agreement, TVN will manage and deliver content that may be licensed to Comcast by HBO, Showtime, Starz and other cable network providers.

Comcast, which has more than three million VOD-ready homes nationwide, has deployed the TVN VOD transport system in 11 markets, including Alexandria and Arlington, VA; Albuquerque, NM; Baltimore, Howard/Harford counties, MD; Mobile, AL; Savannah, GA; Taylor and Southeast MI; Indianapolis, IN; and Charleston, SC. TVN’s VOD transport system includes a docking station and asset management system.

Utilizing its ADONISS suite of services, TVN will encode, compress, archive and securely transport encrypted files via TVN’s SST (secure satellite transmission) platform to Comcast headends. TVN’s system maximizes efficiency by taking out the need for manual intervention at the headends, as it automatically interfaces with all VOD servers, enabling complete management of the files from TVN’s Digital Network Operations Center in Burbank, CA.

During the trial, Comcast will also have access to TVN’s Affiliate Remote Interface (ARI), which allows VOD partners to view and manipulate their assets anywhere in the system via a user-friendly Web-based interface. ARI enables affiliates to dynamically make changes to content offerings on a system-by- system basis and retrieve diagnostic and product usage data.