VOD Smackdown

The telco-cable wars continue… Verizon’s FiOS TV VOD offering has hit 18K+ titles/month, which prompted the telco to send out a news release touting that its VOD library is nearly twice the VOD offering of cable VOD king Comcast.

“That’s absolutely untrue,” Comcast spokeswoman Alana Davis told us, saying the MSO offers 17K VOD titles and up to 18K titles in some markets.

Verizon said it based its statements on a recent news release in which Comcast boasted of more than 10K VOD programs and 1K HD VOD choices. “I’m surprised that Comcast wouldn’t talk about these new numbers in their PR and advertising. We make sure to let our customers know when we’re adding more to their service,” a Verizon spokesperson said, adding that the telco has 18K VOD titles in every market.

FiOS offerings include more than 2400 monthly VOD programs in HD. Davis said Comcast has more than 2600 HD VOD titles, and said 642 of Verizon’s HD titles are how-to videos. Verizon’s rep defended the how-to titles, saying its Howcast Website has received more than 20mln hits in a month.

We’re used to FiOS and Cablevision duking it out, but now Comcast is really stepping into the ring, launching getallthefacts.com. "Don’t fall for FiOs," the site proclaims, offering what it says is the "real deal" on Verizon’s service.