We’ve received a couple of anonymous tips that DirectTV, a $24 billion satellite TV provider, may be entering the online TV wars with a new site called DirectTV Web On Demand. The site would compete with startups like Hulu, Joost, Fancast, Sling.com, etc.
We don’t know much about the service, or even if it’s real. One of the tipsters says they’ve worked on the project and supplied us with the mockup screen shot above, which could quite possibly be real. On the other hand, we’ve spoken with industry insiders and they say they’ve heard nothing about the project.
The screen shot shows Heroes, which is an NBC show. The only way for Fox and NBC shows to be syndicated on the web is via a deal with Hulu. For CBS shows, they have to go through the CBS Audience Network.
That means it’s either very, very early in the development process or it doesn’t exist at all. We have an email in to DirectTV for comment.
Comcast launched Fancast at CES today. The site, which we first mentioned in April, serves as both a media guide for TV shows and movies, as well as a destination to watch full length and preview clips of professional content.
Fancast partnered with Hulu to offer content from NBC and Fox, in addition to content from CBS, MTV, and BET. If Fancast doesn’t stream the full-length content you are looking for, it will help you look for that content on television, on DVD, in theaters, or even elsewhere on the web (iTunes, Amazon, Blockbuster, or Netflix). While this will be helpful for people who genuinely want to access content in different formats, the TV guide type features are a stopgap for many of us who would like to see everything streamed online.
Other aspects of Fancast make it much like IMDB; you can check out information about casts and crews, review information about past episodes, and look at related photos. Users are also promised the ability to control their DVR online so they can schedule recordings of shows when they are away from home. Furthermore, the service will recommend shows coming up on television that it thinks you might like to see.
According to NewTeeVee, Fancast is part of Comcast’s “Project Infinity” initiative and should in time find itself integrated with set top boxes. Comcast has partnered with TiVo and is negotiating with Time Warner and Cox.
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