Comcast has reached the 11-billion views milestone for its On Demand video services since the launch of the feature 6 years ago. The cable operator threw out some interesting factoids to help measure the magnitude of its milestone.
Comcast points out that 11 billion views is nearly two times the total number of music downloads (6 billion) sold on iTunes since its launch six years ago. The company adds that 11 billion views is four times the total number of Big Macs sold in the US (3 billion) over the same time period and 30 times the total number of Harry Potter books sold around the world (375 million copies). Yeah, it’s a lot. But it’s less than how many videos are watched on the Web in a single month (that number reached 11 billion last April). And it is still a fraction of how many movies and TV shows Comcast cable customers watch on the other 300 channels they get with their monthly subscription.
The cable company also announced that PBS will now be available On Demand in HD. (Don’t knock anything over rushing for that remote). OnDemand gives consumers instantaneous access to more than 10,000 programs each month. Some are free, some cost $3.99. But unlike iTunes songs, you don’t get to keep them.
(Photo credit: Flickr/Tyler Durden).
Not sure I need to keep them. Songs sure, shows and movies? Only a select few.
Watched “Kings” on On Demand had to pay .99 and it came with advertising. Didn’t like that at all. The rule should be if I pay no ads, FREE I get ads.
i never pay for on-demand; free only, i use netflix; i wonder how many dvds netflix shipped compared to comcast and itunes.
oh yeah…no one wants to pay for video; unless it’s for your kid.
It’s funny when companies compare apples to oranges. Ooh, more views than Big Macs – that puts things in perspective.
So we’re more bored then hungry then?
great. now if they could keep the damn internet up in our office i wouldn’t be working from home.
PBS? I’m subscribing right now…
How much money did Comcast make from “On Demand” compared to iTunes “mp3s”. Last time I checked there is a lot of free stuff via On Demand.
When will CBS/NBC/ABC/FOX etc start offering FREE on-demand via my cable provider? For now I’m downloading missed shows via bittorrent and watching them on my TV via the XBOX306. Which is awesome since some kind soul has been nice enough to edit out all of the commercials. And no, I do not want to watch them at my PC via Hulu (unless I am at work).
Pretty impressive for a company that so many americans seem to hate.
The ONLY reason that Comcast’s OnDemand service is up, is due to the unemployed sitting at home & making these quick purchases.
I bet if you take a look at the time frame of sales for the same period of Blockbuster & Comcast, you’ll find some interesting comparisons.
But in reality, due to so many unemployed sitting at home, there is only so much of the “same” shows & movies you can watch in a day, when literally every show or movie is repeated up to 3 times per day. So, there only choice is to purchase a quick On Demand movie. I can definitely say that although unemployed may cut back on expenses, I can guarantee cable wasn’t one of them.
“The cable company also announced that PBS will now be available On Demand in HD. (Don’t knock anything over rushing for that remote).” – Hello, Charlie Rose???
On-Demand vs Hulu, Joost, theWb, cbsnews/video, wbKids, YouTube.
One cost 80 bucks a month the others are free( connect Mac Mini to LCD TV).
I prefer the latter it’s a better value!
“Yeah, it’s a lot.”
Useful sentence to prove point:
“But it less than how many videos are watched on the Web in a single month (that number reached 11 billion last April).”
Completely useless (and obvious) sentence, not supporting any point:
“And it is still a fraction of how many movies and TV shows Comcast cable customers watch on the other 300 channels they get with their monthly subscription.”
A Comcast engineer acquaintance told me once that the most requested OnDemand category was children’s shows like “The Wiggles”. And that the peak demand for them was in the wee-mornings of the morning.