Fear's Web: Comcast Plays With Broadband This Halloween

Comcast keeps talking about its upcoming Internet plans, with Brian Roberts promising last week to roll out new ‘Net products over the next 12 months. Exactly what’s in the works is a mystery—though Roberts promised Comcast would touch on current trends like video and community. As we wait to see what’s next, hacks got a sneak peak last week at one of the MSO’s most extensive broadband properties to launch. FearNet.com, which debuts Tues, is the online component for Comcast-Sony’s (and reportedly Lions Gate’s) VOD horror channel. It features a jam-packed site including full-length feature downloads of movies, trailers, games, chat and an overall horror community. The site could help Comcast win carriage with other MSOs if it’s able to attract enough of a national audience. Viral marketing is in the works, with quite a few mentions already popping up on horror blogs (although there seems to be some confusion among some horror buffs as to whether it’s a new premium channel or a VOD offering). Like the VOD channel, FearNet.com is ad-supported and free to consumers. An interesting marketing component is the gory, opening screen—a stomach being split open to reveal the site’s content. Plans are to allow advertisers to sponsor that bit. The Website will differentiate itself from the VOD channel, featuring more short-form content and fewer movies. — Meanwhile, the long-promised HorrorNet (backed by Dark Castle and Warner Bros) continues to pursue launch plans. “We remain committed to developing the brand,” CEO Kim Bangash said, though he didn’t provide a timeframe. Does FearNet’s debut hurt HorrorNet? “I think it helps,” he said. “FearNet is a VOD service. It serves the interest of the cable operator. It’s smart for them… but I think VOD service overall is anemic as a brand. Comcast doesn’t need a brand, so it’s fine for them.” Bangash was a little more critical of FearNet on his HorrorNetwork.tv site, writing “lots on the horizon for the horror fan this month: Monsterfest on AMC; did I see that Turner Classic wants to copycat; the Scream Awards on Spike; the video-on-demand service, Fear (okay, that one is a little lame but we’ll take what we can get).”