Thinking Outside the Comcast Box

Remember how we told you to keep an eye on Comcast Interactive, the unit created last year to grow the MSO’s Internet business? (Cfax, 8/28). Comcast COO Steve Burke’s comments this week have us even more convinced something’s brewing. He told Goldman Sachs’ investor conference Wed that Comcast will go beyond its footprint to offer new Internet apps and Websites. “To really be competitive in the Website world, you can’t be in [only] 35% of the country,” he said, adding the Websites would be mostly ad-supported. Burke pointed to “TV Planner,” Comcast’s recently launched online programming guide, with a “very robust” broadband presence for its upcoming VOD horror channel, he said. The MSO recently obtained trademarks for video broadcasting over the Web.