Wall St. is all fired up by comments from Comcast’s CEO about how well the company is doing with its TV, voice, and broadband products. In the words of Brian Roberts, “It’s all clicking, our business is on fire.
On the heels of the interview, Comcast (CMCSA) has announced it will buy Fandango, one of the largest movie search sites and film ticket retailers. The site will be merged into Comcast Interactive and relaunched as part of a larger video initiative. As the company said: "Fancast, which will launch this summer, will be a national entertainment site where people can search and discover television and movie content, while managing their viewing experience across multiple devices."
The Comcast website is already one of the most visited in the US according to comScore and NetRatings. Consumers can use it to watch both film and TV promotions. It would appear that the cable company now has a more ambitious agenda.
Comcast’s new interactive destination will allow it to go to movie studios as a company that broadcasts their products on its cable TV service, promotes the products at the Comcast website and Fandango, and sells tickets for movie theaters.
That’s a lot of bases to cover and gives Comcast some extra negotiating leverage with the content guys.
Douglas A. McIntyre
omca