Comcast, the US's largest cable MSO, announced last week that it has become the first cable operator to offer an HDTV version of premium programming provider HBO's VOD service, HBO On Demand. HBO is the last US premium programming provider to offer such a service. "Comcast customers will be the first to enjoy the full HBO On Demand product in high definition, including HBO's original programming and movies," Derek Harrar, Comcast's SVP and general manager of video services, said in a prepared statement. "No one does HD like Comcast, with the best and the most HD entertainment on your terms."
According to Comcast and HBO, HBO On Demand HD currently features episodes of such original series as "True Blood," "Entourage," "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," as well as such movies as "The Dark Knight," "Mamma Mia!," "American Gangster," and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Comcast claims that its VOD platform offers over 10,000 programs each month, including over 1,000 HD titles, and that it has generated over 12 billion views to date. According to the company, its launch of an HD version of HBO's VOD service is part of a Comcast VOD initiative, called Project Infinity, which was announced in January, 2008 and which aims to exponentially increase the amount of content the MSO offers on-demand (note: for more on Project Infinity, see the article published on itvt.com, January 15th, 2008).
