Comcast Provides Monthly Activity Reports to VOD Content Providers

Comcast will begin making monthly on-demand reports available for no charge to participating video on demand content providers. Comcast said it is its using Rentrak's OnDemand Essentials measurement system to provide anonymous, non-personally identifiable information about how customers are using VOD. The availability of timely reports is important for VOD programmers and advertisers.


The new reporting activity This extends an earlier agreement for Comcast to use Rentrak's OnDemand Essentials system to internally analyze data across four standardized metrics: the number of VOD-enabled set-top boxes in a Designated Market Area; total views by program per month; the number of unique set-top boxes viewing a program by month; and the total minutes viewed by program per month. Each content provider will only receive program-specific reports for their own content.


"Our ON DEMAND business is on track to reach more than one billion views in 2005, and accurate and timely measurement is the next step in the evolution of VOD," said Page Thompson, Vice President and General Manager of Comcast ON DEMAND. "We're pleased to continue our work with Rentrak to launch a reporting system across all of our Comcast ON DEMAND markets, which will help make VOD one of the most accurately measured media available."http://www.comcast.com
http://www.rentrak.comIn 2004, Comcast Digital Cable customers viewed 567 million ON DEMAND programs, and the average household now uses ON DEMAND 23 times a month.

Comcast ON DEMAND is available to nearly 85% of the company's customers. Comcast currently has more than 3,000 titles in its VOD library. The company said more than 95% of programs on Comcast ON DEMAND are available at no additional charge.