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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Starz Joins Comcast’s “Web TV You’ll Pay to See” Lineup

fc_pr_video_stepbrothers_bLiberty Media’s Starz Entertainment has signed on to Comcast’s “On Demand Online” program, which is the first test of the cable industry’s “authentication”/“entitlement” strategy. Or, as I like to call it, “Web TV You’ll Pay to See.”

Starz, which has the cable and Web rights to much of the Disney catalog, among other assets, says it will make some of those films, including “Wall-E” and “High School Musical 3,” available for Comcast’s test, which is supposed to launch this month. Also available: TV series like “Crash” and non-Disney movies like Sony’s “Step Brothers.”

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Web TV You’ll Need to Pay to See: Time Warner, Comcast Roll Out “Authentication.” Who Else Is In?

bewkesTime Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts will announce this morning that their two companies are linking up for a trial of an “authentication” effort. That means a handful of cable subscribers will get online access to Time Warner TV shows that have been previously kept off the Web. The idea is to protect cable subscription revenues by giving pay TV subscribers–but only subscribers–Web access to all the shows they get on TV. It’s a simple idea, but making it a reality will be very, very complicated.

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About Peter

Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »

Ethics Statement

Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.

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