--Taps Yahoo! Executive, Karin Gilford, to Head Up Fancast
--Signs FEARnet Distribution Deal with Time Warner Cable
--Will Carry Big Ten Programming on VOD, Fancast, Comcast.net, Linear TV
Comcast's Comcast Interactive Media (CIM) arm, the division of the
company that develops and operates its cross-platform media offerings, has
hired Karin Gilford as SVP of Fancast and online entertainment
(note: Fancast, which was launched at CES in January, is a Web portal
that features video content from over 100 content providers, including
4,000 full-length episodes and movies; it allows users to view
programming, search for video content--whether on Fancast itself, on
the Internet in general, on TV, or in movie theaters--and manage their
content choices). Gilford, who will report to CIM president, Amy
Banse, will be tasked with managing Fancast and expanding its content
offerings, as well as with seeking out additional opportunities for CIM
in the online entertainment space. (Note: CIM's Fandango and
Movies.com properties will continue to be led by Fandango CEO,
Chuck Davis; its Comcast.net site will continue to be led by CIM SVP,
Scott Bailey; and thePlatform and Plaxo will continue to report to CIM
EVP, Sam Schwartz.) "Karin is a great addition to the CIM family,"
Banse said in a prepared statement. "She understands our vision for a
seamless, multiscreen entertainment experience and how the Internet
can and should play a role in managing that experience. Her proven
track record of developing and growing multiple online entertainment
businesses from TV to music to movies will be a tremendous asset to
Fancast and our online entertainment strategy."
Gilford is joining Comcast following an eight-year stint at Yahoo!,
where she served most recently as general manager of Yahoo!
Entertainment, leading all programming, content and business strategy
for the company's Yahoo! Movies, Yahoo! Music, Yahoo! Television,
OMG, Shine and Yahoo! Games sites. According to Comcast, while at
Yahoo! she increased traffic and monetization for the properties she
was in charge of, and pioneered programming relationships with
broadcast networks that enabled the company to offer a range of full-
length programming online. She also led the redesign and launch of
Yahoo! TV, which doubled the site's traffic and revenue, and resulted
in it attracting more unique visitors than ever before, Comcast says; and
she was responsible for a 50% increase in unique visitors to Yahoo!
Movies over a nine-month period. Prior to working at Yahoo!, Gilford
held positions in business development and finance at Paramount
Pictures International Television, LA Digital Post, and Ernst & Young.
She has an MBA from the University of Southern California and a
bachelor of science degree from California State University Northridge.
In other Comcast news:
- The company has signed a distribution deal with Time Warner Cable
that will see the latter carrying FEARnet, a Comcast VOD service and
companion Web site devoted to the horror and thriller genres (note:
Comcast's partners in the FEARnet venture are Lionsgate and Sony
Pictures Digital Entertainment). The deal will make FEARnet available
to an additional 8.4 million digital cable subscribers, including
subscribers in the US's two-largest media markets, New York and Los
Angeles, giving it an overall reach of 29 million digital cable
households. Time Warner Cable is expected to launch the service in
August. Comcast claims that, in the first quarter of 2008, FEARnet
VOD views increased 40% over the year-ago quarter. The service's
offerings include feature films from major studios, as well as original
Webisode series. It has a partnership in place with Ghost House
Pictures--a venture between Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Joe Drake and
Nathan Kahane--that has to date produced two miniseries that have
enjoyed a fair measure of popularity: "Devil's Trade" and "30 Days of
Night: Blood Trails," which Comcast says have generated over 8
million views online and on VOD systems. In addition, Comcast says, a
daily interactive series, "Buried Alive," that was produced by Sony
Pictures Television, has garnered millions of tune-ins. FEARnet has
been developing a number of new, original programs, including a
sequel to "Blood Trails" entitled "Dust to Dust," that stars "Saw"
franchise actress, Shawnee Smith.
- The company recently signed a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures that
enabled it to offer exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, mini-movies
and trailers for the new "Batman" movie, "The Dark Night," on its
VOD service. Prior to the movie's release, Comcast offered a six-
episode original series, entitled "Gotham Tonight," that featured the
movie's lead actors providing commentary in character in a news
format that told the story of the events between "Batman Begins," the
previous movie in the new "Batman" series, and the current movie
(note: the series was also offered on a dedicated Web site,
Gothamcablenews.com). In addition, Comcast VOD customers could
access behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the movie's cast and
the filmmakers, and "Dark Knight" trailers, all presented in HD.
According to Comcast, its line-up of "Dark Knight" programming was
part of its Project Infinity initiative, which is designed to exponentially
increase the amount of on-demand programming it offers.
- The company has also signed a deal with the Big Ten Network that
will see it carrying the latter's programming on its VOD and
Comcast.net and Fancast services, as well as on linear TV, in the Big
Ten states (i.e. Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio,
Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania). "We will be providing our customers
with Big Ten programming through our signature video-on-demand
service, and will have lots of highlights, replays, scores and more
through Comcast.net, so fans can keep pace with Big Ten action
whenever they want to," Madison Bond, Comcast's EVP of content
acquisition, said in a prepared statement.
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