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Television

Comcast Offers 'Freeview' Of Showtime On Demand As Highly Anticipated Series 'United States of Tara,' 'Nurse Jackie' and 'The Tudors' Return

Mar 24, 2010

Comcast today announced that beginning March 25 through March 28 customers will get a "freeview" of SHOWTIME On Demand on TV, bringing customers unlimited access to SHOWTIME award-winning original series and hit movies - all in HD - along with sports programming and specials. This special preview includes the second season premiere episodes of the Emmy® award-winning series United States of Tara and the addictive series Nurse Jackie.  It also gives customers a chance to catch up on the past three seasons of The Tudors as the final season approaches. 

"The SHOWTIME Freeview gives customers a real taste of what they do best... full seasons of fantastic, critically-acclaimed programming plus great blockbuster films," said Derek Harrar, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Video Services for Comcast.  "This program is a great example of how we use On Demand as a promotional platform to achieve our partners' strategic objectives, in this case broadening the SHOWTIME audience." 

Comcast customers will enjoy unlimited access to hit movies like Twilight, sports programming such as Inside NASCAR, SHOWTIME Championship Boxing and Strikeforce mixed martial arts (MMA), plus all of the bold original series available only from SHOWTIME all for free without a subscription during the SHOWTIME Freeview.  Hit series available include the second season premiere episodes of United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie, as well as the entire first seasons of each, and the first three seasons of the epic series, The Tudors. Other great series episodes available include:  

  • Californication

  • Dexter

  • La La Land

  • Secret Diary of a Call Girl

  • Tracey Ullman's State Of The Union

  • Weeds

 The SHOWTIME Freeview can be accessed via the On Demand menu under "Top Picks" > "Showtime Freeview."   Additionally, since not all SHOWTIME content is appropriate for all audiences, a Parental Controls instructional asset will be available with instructions on how to block the content from children. 

Comcast's signature On Demand video library currently offers more than 17,000 entertainment programs and 3,000 choices in HD available over the course of a month and features everything from movies, music and top TV shows to the most popular kids, sports, lifestyle and local programs. Comcast also offers 19,000 TV shows and movies to its cable customers to watch online for no additional cost.  

The company will continue to focus on increasing the number of content choices available to customers through its Xfinity service that Comcast is rolling out in markets across the country this year.  With Xfinity, customers can receive new services that include 100+ HD channels, 50 to 70 foreign-language channels, On Demand video choices increasing to 20,000+ and increased broadband speeds up to 50-100+ Mbps.  This year Xfinity services also will include new cross platform and mobile apps like the ability to program your DVR from the Internet or mobile device, Caller ID to the TV and other interactive television applications. 

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 23.6 million cable customers, 15.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 7.6 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content. 

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, 11 regional sports networks operated by Comcast Sports Group and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (www.comcast.net). Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, which owns two professional sports teams, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, and a large, multipurpose arena in Philadelphia, the Wachovia Center, and manages other facilities for sporting events, concerts and other events. 

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.