FandangoNow, the electronic sell-through service that's now part of NBCUniversal, has cut a deal with Showtime that will allow it to offer original series from the premium programmer for digital download, starting with Billions.

FandangoNOW said it will soon offer individual episodes and full seasons of other Showtime series such as Dexter, Ray Donovan, Twin Peaks, The Tudors, and The Affair, among others.

FandangoNOW, which announced the Showtime deal in tandem with the Los Angeles Entertainment Summit, is currently selling the HD version of season 1 of Billions for $19.99 and season 2 of the Showtime original starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis for $29.99. FandangoNOW is also selling individual episodes of Billions in HD for $1.99 each. The standard definition versions of the series are being sold for less.

RELATED: M-GO to Become FandangoNOW

“SHOWTIME’s award-winning original series and documentaries have delighted audiences for years and we are thrilled to offer their premium programming on FandangoNOW," Adam Rockmore, chief marketing officer at FandangoNOW, said in a statement. "We are kicking off the relationship with the launch of Billions, just in time for a summer Billions binge.”

FandangoNOW announced a similar digital deal with HBO in February.

RELATED: FandangoNow, HBO Forge Digital Deal

FandangoNOW said its service is now supported on more than 200 million devices, including a range of smart TVs, OTT players, gaming consoles, web browsers, and iOS and Android mobile devices.

FandangoNow, the electronic sell-through service that's now part of NBCUniversal, has struck a deal with HBO Home Entertainment that allows users to purchase and download series and individual shows from the premium network. 

RELATED: NBCU’s Fandango Acquires  M-GO

FandangoNOW, which claims to have an installed base of more than 100 million devices (via a mix of smart TVs, mobile apps, and OTT players), is starting off by selling HBO titles and series such as Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, Girls, Divorce, Insecure, The Night Of and Band of Brothers. Series such as Ballers, Silicon Valley, Veep, True Detective and The Newsroom and others will be added later.

RELATED: M-GO to Become FandangoNOW

By way of example, FandangoNow is selling episodes of Game of Thrones for $2.99 for the SD version or $3.99 for HD, or a full season for $38.99 (HD) and $28.99 (SD).

“HBO is synonymous with high-quality programming," Adam Rockmore, chief marketing officer of FandangoNOW, said in a statement. "By selling HBO's original content, including award-winning series like Game of Thrones and more in the coming months, FandangoNOW continues to expand the breadth and scope of quality entertainment available to its customers to enjoy anytime and from anywhere."

“Fandango is a leader in the category for their ability to market to entertainment enthusiasts through their digital network,” says Sofia Chang, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Digital Distribution, HBO. 

“This partnership allows us to expand our EST offering to HBO fans across a wide variety of devices,”  added Sofia Chang, HBO’s EVP, worldwide digital distribution.

The FandangoNow adds another digital distribution point for HBO, which also sells a standalone OTT subscription service called HBO Now, and also offers select shows and series under a licensing deal with Amazon Prime. Amazon also sells HBO and Cinemax subscriptions via its Amazon Channels SVOD platform. 

RELATED: 'Amazon Channels' Pitches HBO and Cinemax Subscriptions

OTT specialist Vimeo launched its global television store today at MIPCOM, and announced Starz as a new partner for the service.

Vimeo announced Lionsgate as the first Hollywood studio partner for the service in September, paving the way for the new offering to feature series such as Orange is the New Black, Casual, The Royals, and Mad Men.

The arrangement with Starz will enable Vimeo to add originals such as Ash vs Evil Dead, Black Sails and The Girlfriend Experience to the service, which is offered in more than 150 countries. Vimeo’s digital storefront also features catalog titles such as Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Boss, Blue Mountain State and Manhattan. 

In June, Lionsgate announced a deal to acquire Starz in a cash and stock deal valued at $4.4 billion.

RELATED: Vimeo’s VHX OTT Platform Offers In-App Subscriptions

Vimeo, a unit of IAC, said the storefront was unveiled today at MIPCOM in Cannes, and led by Jim Packer, Lionsgate president of worldwide television & digital distribution, and Sam Toles, Vimeo’s SVP, programming.

“As audiences across the globe continue to shift towards online viewing, Vimeo is taking a leadership role, establishing our On Demand storefront as the world’s first transactional service to offer premium television on a truly global basis” Toles said, in a statement. “We’re truly excited to be partnering with Lionsgate and now Starz to offer their content and today’s launch marks a huge expansion for our offering of premium programming.”

“Vimeo is undoubtedly one of the most cutting-edge online video platforms and Starz is very pleased to join Lionsgate in agreeing to provide content to Vimeo’s storefront.

“With this agreement, Starz will make available for purchase three of its most powerful and compelling STARZ Original series for consumers around the world,” added Jeffrey Hirsch, COO at Starz. 

Verizon Fios has signed on as the first MVPD to support Disney Movies Anywhere, the cloud-based electronic-sell through platform/digital locker for the Mouse’s mix of flicks.

The launch with Verizon coincides with Disney’s digital release of the new The Jungle Book.

Disney’s digital service, which offers more than 450 digital movies, including the Star Wars series and titles from Pixar and Marvel, launched in February 2014. Verizon launched its EST product in 2010.

Verizon Fios subs can now connect their digital movie collections with the Disney Movies Anywhere ecosystem. Those customers can also purchase Disney titles on that service and watch on Fios set-tops (via Fios on Demand), on smartphones and tablets with the Fios Mobile app. DMA also has an app that supports iOS and Android devices, Android TV devices, Amazon’s Fire tablets, Fire TV boxes and Fire TV Sticks, Roku players, and the Xbox 360.

In addition to Verizon Fios, DMA also works with a group of distribution partners that includes iTunes, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Microsoft Movies & TV.

In concert with the Verizon deal, DMA said it will offer a free digital copy of Monsters, Inc. to new and existing members who connect an iTunes, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV or Fios through Wednesday, Sept. 7.

Comcast, which also has its own EST service, struck an expanded content licensing deal with The Walt Disney Studios in April to offer a selection of digital library titles and new releases as they become available via the Xfinity On Demand digital store. Comcast, however, does not currently link to the Disney Movies Anywhere platform. 

Bucking a trend amplified by a small but growing cord-cutting trend and the popularity of over-the-top video options, Comcast just came off first quarter in which the MSO added 53,000 subs, its best Q1 video result in nine years.

A sizable portion of the credit goes to X1, Comcast’s IP-capable next-gen video offering, but, according to Matt Strauss, Comcast Cable’s executive vice president and general manager, video services, the results are due to a confluence of efforts and initiatives that span not just the core product but also areas such as improved customer care.

Multichannel News technology editor and Next TV editor Jeff Baumgartner recently caught up with Strauss to discuss Comcast’s ever-expanding video strategy, including  X1, usage trends for mobile and TV everywhere applications, what’s next for the operator’s IP-delivered “Stream” product, some hints at the MSO’s ambitious plans for the Rio Games, and how Comcast is positioning itself as consumers continue to adopt new TVs that are capable of supporting 4K video and high dynamic range (HDR) formats.

The following edited transcript ran in two parts earlier in the week in Multichannel News dailies distributed at the INTX show in Boston.

Multichannel News: As you look at the second half of the year, what are your top priorities? 

Matt Strauss: We're really focused first and foremost on continuing to execute against the deployment of X1. We're seeing a lot of very positive benefits from X1, both on the churn and on the increased consumption side. We're now at about 35% penetrated, and it's even higher if you just look at triple-play subs -- about 50% of our triple-play subs now have X1. 

What goes hand-in-hand with that is that we also want to finish out the deployment of our cloud infrastructure. We've been deploying cloud across our footprint -- both cloud streaming and cloud DVR – and we are very close to getting 100% deployment. We want to finish that up by the middle-to-end of this year. 

Finally, we want to continue the penetration and usage of our products and services. We’ve got a very ambitious deployment for our new consolidated Xfinity app. With the upcoming Olympics [in Rio] we want to use that as an opportunity to shine a light on this new application, which we think is a tremendous value to our customers. 

MCN: For X1, you've been deploying about 40,000 boxes a day. Is that a comfortable clip for you or are you looking to push the needle even harder? 

MS: I think there are always opportunities where we want to accelerate. But at the same time, there's a bit of a cadence where we've gotten into where we want to make it easier for customers to get access to X1, which includes self-install kits. But there are segments that prefer a professional install.

I think we're at the right pace and speed based on what we're forecasting. We're installing between 40,000 to 50,000 [X1] boxes per day. At that run-rate, our goal is to get close to 50% by the end of this year. 

MCN: With respect to the pay TV momentum, how much credit does X1 get, even as you continue to improve other areas like customer care and customer experience? 

MS: It certainly is contributing. When you look at X1, we're seeing improvements in churn. X1 customers are also consuming more video. They also have a higher attachment rate to DVRs and typically they take additional outlets in their home. There's no doubt that X1 is contributing, but I don't know if there's any one silver bullet. 

When it comes to growing the video business, it's really a combination of several factors and investments that we've been making over the past few years, both in how we've been improving our infrastructure, moving more to IP.

We're also equally focusing on reducing call volume. We've had some of the lowest agent call-in rates in years. We've taken more than 11 million calls out of the system.

MCN: How is X1 impacting viewing habits? Comcast has talked about the impact on VOD usage, but how is it affecting viewing of live, linear TV?

With X1, we're now seeing 85% usage of on-demand among X1 subs. That equals about 25 hours of on demand consumption per month. We've expanded the number of series that are stacked where you can get access to all the episodes in a season. We went from a few series a few years ago to now over 700 series that we offer fully stacked. 

When you incorporate this seemingly infinite amount of content and ultimate control and you also marry in with this recommendations and voice navigation and a level of personalization, we actually have seen an increase across the board in video consumption -- live, on demand and DVR. 

When you track an X1 households from a year ago to 2015 to 2016 we've seen an increase of over 3% in total video consumption on average across the board. 

When you marry together those things together with choice and control, we're seeing a lift. That doesn't mean that viewing habits aren't changing and shifting. But we think X1 is becoming in many ways a better mousetrap. 

[READ MORE: Xfinity TV App Starts to Support NBC, ABC Live Feeds Out of Home]

MCN: What kind of usage patterns are you seeing with the Xfinity TV app? Is the big challenge getting the message out to customers so they understand the app's full capability? 

MS: I'd almost characterize it as we're in a moment in time because we have the Xfinity TV in-home app and we have our Xfinity TV Go app. We are in the process of consolidating those into just one app, which will be the Xfinity TV app. This unification…will provide this unprecedented access to content both in the home and out of the home. And I think those lines are going to continue to get more and more blurred. 

When you look at the usage of our app in general, we have about 42% penetration of our mobile app among our double-play customers on a monthly basis. On a quarterly basis, it's almost 60% who are using one of our apps, and that's up about 16% year-over-year. 

MCN: How far along are you with this app unification plan?

MS: If you download the Xfinity TV app today, we've already started. We've already incorporated all of the TV Everywhere content and the in-home content into the app. It's primarily been targeted at X1 customers. For the Rio Olympics this summer you'll see a much more concerted effort to increase awareness around the availability of that app to the broader base. 

MCN: What's next for Comcast with respect to 4K? You've got the app for Samsung TVs but we've seen some recent reports that you'll really be focusing more on a strategy that puts an emphasis on High Dynamic Range (HDR)? 

MS: We are highly focused on ensuring we're delivering the best video quality. The realty is we're at the very early stages of 4K. There's arguably more marketing and messaging going on around 4K than actual content and choice. 

When we evaluated this -- while there's hyper-attention on 4K, when we look at the total video experience, we think 4K is part of the offering. But HDR, which is not necessarily getting the same amount of attention, is in many ways more immersive and, we think, impactful.

When you marry that with Dolby Atmos [an immersive three-dimensional audio platform], it's the combination of 4K, HDR and sound that we think is really the right combination of transcending to an almost Ultra HD experience. That's what we determined was the right experience and focus that we want to lean into. 

Instead of deploying maybe a half-baked solution, which we're starting to see a little bit of in the market, we thought it was more prudent to deliver the complete experience... and that's what's being developed with our Xi6 box, which we'll be testing this year, but it's going to really be deployed next year. 

We will be experimenting with the Olympics with 4K. There's going to be a couple of hours a day of 4K content that we will be delivering. We're also sponsoring the opening ceremonies in 4K, but we're also shooting it in HDR with Dolby Atmos sound. [Note: Comcast showed off the wireless, HDR-capable Xi5 box at INTX, and plans to start shipping it on July 4. A 4K-capable HDR box, the Xi6, is also in the works].

MCN: The video market continues to be abuzz about skinny TV bundles. Comcast has been going after that segment with the Stream TV product in some select markets. What have you learned so far and what's next on the rollout plan? 

MS: In many ways X1, we think, is satisfying the demand for how many of watch television. The average person watches about 130 hours of video every month.

But there are changes in how other segments are consuming video. When we look at skinny bundles, we believe that they are in some ways a manifestation of the economy as anything else. It's rare that you hear someone say that they want fewer choices. What’s more likely is that you might hear someone say they want to pay less. 

We have been experimenting with skinny bundles and experimenting with ensuring we're getting the right product to the right customer at the right time in their life, whether that's Internet Plus or the Xfinity On Campus product, or Stream. 

Stream, though, in many ways is not really just about a skinny bundle. In many respects, it's us looking at new ways at how we market, how we activate a video subscription, and, for instance, if you're a high-speed data customer and you are in one of the markets where we've deployed Stream you can instantly add Stream. It doesn’t' require a truck roll, it doesn’t require additional equipment. We're able to instantly activate it for you. 

Stream has a different buy flow. You can cancel it at any time. You can use a credit card. The care is primarily self-help. 

MCN: So, it's designed to be low friction. 

MS: While Stream is, at the moment, comprised of a skinny bundle, the strategies behind Stream is much more around how we're going to transform the overall end-to-end customer experience, and Stream is just one example of how we are expanding into that terrain. 

You will not only see us deploy Stream into additional markets, but we'll also evolve the Stream product which will include additional tiers of content and you'll also see us expand streams to additional platforms. 

It was initially launched for mobile and Web, but we've always known that access to the TV is going to be critical. [On April 20], we announced a deal with Roku. As part of that you will see us enabling Stream and other parts of our video subscription onto Internet-connected TV devices. 

It would be a mistake to think of Stream as a skinny bundle. It's much more comprehensive strategy in how we're looking to evolve that over time. 

MCN: Let's talk a bit about the results you’ve seen with electronic-sell through, which you launched in 2013. Also, Fandango (part of NBCUniversal) just bought M-Go and rebranded that EST service as FandangoNow. Do you see some opportunities for Comcast to align its EST product with that? 

MS: Since we've launched electronic sell-through, we've had over 5 million customers make digital purchases and it has also unlocked the ability for us to access content in earlier windows. It's not uncommon for studios to release movies digitally, in some cases, three or four weeks before physical. It's given us the ability to market to those customers in advance of some other distributor's that have not launched electronic sell-through. 

We continue  to refine the product; we're introducing bundling and pre-buys. You'll see us test different ways to add value. For example, we're testing these enhanced content offerings that when you purchase  movie digitally it unlocks companion experiences. And we're looking at gaming as another way that we can add more value to digital purchases. We're working closely with the studios to continue to find ways to evolve the product and look at ways to [support ] earlier windows. 

There certainly may be opportunities where we collaborate at some point [with Fandango], but my sense is that Fandango is interested  in exploring ways to expand and enhance their ticketing business and electronic sell-through may provide new models for them like super tickets. That has not been as high a priority for us.

Who knows? There could be some shared learnings that allow us to find ways where we could better work together. 

Vubiquity said it has struck a five-year multiscreen video deal with FlixFling, a new OTT streaming service that touts a catalog of more than 15,000 movies and TV shows.

Under the deal, Vubiquity will provide FlixFling with access to its AnyVU Content Cloud, a commercial multiscreen platform that manages the distribution of movies and TV shows.

FlixFling delivers content over-the-top via pay-as-you-go and subscription-based offerings. According to its site, it currently supports multiple platforms, including Vizio smart TVs, apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8 devices, the Xbox 360, Roku players and the Google Chromecast streaming adapter.

Of recent note, Philadelphia-based FlixFling announced a streaming video deal with Consolidated Communications, which offers broadband service across an 11-state territory.

“We’re proud to offer a deep library of curated premium titles in the AnyVU Content Cloud, including our selection of pre-licensed content,” Fred Handsman, SVP of business development at Vubiquity, said in a statement. “We’ve built a service that can seamlessly make these titles available to FlixFling’s customers across multiple devices and in a variety of ways, including subscription video-on-demand and electronic sell-through.”

“Our partnership with Vubiquity will provide a huge influx of new releases, sometimes months before they are available on other services,” added FlixFling CEO Thomas Ashley. “The AnyVU Content Cloud is a tremendous asset for FlixFling to be working with and we’re thrilled to add Vubiquity's catalog of premium content to our extensive library of major studio releases, TV shows, indies, and exclusives.” 

Vubiquity said it is setting its sights on the OTT market in Latin America with the debut of a managed digital storefront product for the region.

Vubiquity said the product, to debut at next week's Andina Link show in Colombia, expands on the company’s current work with telecom operators in the region with a suite of content services, including content acquisition licensing, scheduling, programming and processing and marketing support. Vubiquity has already launched digital storefronts with partners in other regions, including North America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

It  added that the new digital storefront for the region provides a “white-label” portal for partners and content distributors that also links access to Vubiquity’s film and TV catalog alongside studio-approved DRM, and support for various business models, including subscription VOD, free, ad-supported VOD, electronic sell through and live TV.

Vubiquity said the storefront for Latin America supports Web browsers, iOS and Android mobile devices, and set-top boxes.

"The telecoms market in Latin America is especially competitive and complex, and our storefront provides service providers with the edge they need over other OTT providers,” Hector Rodriguez, Vubiquity’s VP for the Latin America region, said in a statement. 

Fandango, the movie ticket buying service that’s part of NBCUniversal, will be expanding into the world of digitally-distributed movies and TV shows after acquiring M-GO, a  joint venture of Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation founded in 2012.

M-GO sells and rents digital titles via a range of connected devices, including Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, Web browsers, Samsung, Vizio and LG smart TVs, on Roku players and Roku TVs, and is optimized for the Google Chromecast.

Fandango said it will use M-GO to create theatrical ticketing and home entertainment bundles, including "movie catch-up" bundles, home entertainment pre-sell opportunities, and bundles with bonus content, and collectibles.

Additionally, FandangoLabs will tap the M-GO platform “in the creation of new moviegoing products and services,” and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Technicolor will collaborate on “next-generation video technologies,” including augmented and virtual reality.

NBCU corporate cousin Comcast currently sells and rents movies and TV shows via its own EST service, enabling playback on mobile devices and set-top boxes. M-GO's EST competition also includes Apple iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and Google Play, among others. 

Fandango said it is acquiring M-GO after a record-breaking year in which it saw 81% growth in ticketing dollars, and added 1,600 screens to its platform, expanding that total beyond 27,000.

"With the addition of M-GO, we'll be able to accelerate the ticketing momentum achieved in a record-breaking 2015 by creating compelling new digital products that serve consumers throughout the movie lifecycle," said Fandango president Paul Yanover, in a statement. "We're excited to start working with our studio and exhibition partners to bundle theatrical tickets and home entertainment products in the form of 'super tickets,' gifts with purchase, and other promotional offers."

Target Ticket, the multiscreen electronic sell-through service launched in the fall of 2013, will shut down on March 7, 2015, the retailer announced on its Web site.

In the message, spotted Tuesday by GigaOm, Target said it “has made the decision to end the services offered on Target Ticket and will be focusing efforts on other entertainment offerings.”

After March 7, movies and TV shows purchased at Target Ticket will no longer be accessible on the devices such as smartphones, tablets, Web browsers, Xbox 360 consoles, and connected TV models from Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Philips, and Funai that currently support the Target Ticket app.

But not all is lost. Target said it has arranged for CinemaNow to provide access to movies and TV shows bought through Target Ticket at no additional cost starting March 7. Target Ticket customers who bought titles with rights that won’t transfer to the CinemaNow service will receive CinemaNow credits equivalent to the price those customers paid for non-transferable content.  

When Target Ticket shuts down in March, customers will need only plug-in their Target Ticket credentials to gain access to their digital libraries, but their Target Ticket payment information will not be transferred to CinemaNow. Today (February 10) is the last day Target Ticket customers can rent titles from the service.

Target Ticket launched nationwide on Sept. 13, 2013, kicking off with a library of about 30,000 movies and TV shows alongside support for UltraViolet, a studio-backed digital locker system.

Target Ticket apparently could not keep pace with or differentiate itself from a highly competitive EST market that includes Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Verizon FiOS, Google, Xbox Video, M-GO and the Walmart-owned VUDU service. 

Comcast has highlighted another batch of updates and enhancements to its IP-capable X1 platform, led off by a Movie Bundles option that ties into the MSO’s electronic sell-through (EST) service for set-tops and mobile devices.

Launched this month and mentioned last year as an EST feature that was in-the-works, Movie Bundles groups multiple movies together that are offered for sale for one price. Film series such as Despicable Me, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games are some of the examples outlined in this blog post from Peter Nush, Comcast Cable’s executive director, product management.

“We know our customers often add all films in a series to their personal libraries, and this feature makes the process for finding and owning these favorite titles much simpler,” he wrote. 

Among other new features, Common Sense Media ratings are now always visible on the X1 guide, and no longer an element that needs to be set up manually through the X1 Preferences. Comcast launched Common Sense Media ratings on X1 last fall, adding information designed to help parents determine what content is appropriate for different age groups.

On the sports programming front, Comcast has also updated the “Last 9” view (which shows the last nine linear channels, VOD titles or DVR recordings a customer last viewed) to include the “sports subtitle” – a listing of the two teams that are playing each other, making it easier for customers to navigate back and forth between multiple games.

Update: X1 has also added Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) indicators on all the programs listed in the standard guide view as well as the "mini info" view. .

Those X1 enhancements follow last month’s batch, which included a “Browse By Sport” row that provides viewers with a quick look at upcoming live programming arranged by sport.

Comcast has deployed more than 5 million X1 boxes. The company might provide more updated X1 figures when it reports fourth quarter and full year 2014 results on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

In Demand has reached a renewal with Zuffa LLC to continue to distribute UFC pay-per-view bouts to more than 50 million households across the U.S., while affording a host of new options for affiliates and consumers.

The multiyear pact, financial terms of which were not disclosed, follows the recent expiration of the parties' contract. The new agreement, coming shortly after UFC 182 (pictured) not only ensures that the UFC's biggest events remain available to residential pay--per-view households, but for the first time affords affiliates electronic sell-through rights of the cards, as well as the ability to proffer subscription service UFC Fight Pass to their authenticated video subscribers. 

In addtion, the deal will see InDemand play a greater role in helping affiliates sell UFC PPV cards to commercial establishments in their territories.

In Demand said it will deliver every UFC PPV event and purchasers will enjoy longer viewership windows via video on demand and TV Everywhere.. In Demand said TVE availability will vary initially, depending on when affiliates add UFC action to the platforms.

All events are offered in both standard- and high-definition formats, plus a separate Spanish-language feed.

“We have been proud to be a part of UFC’s growth from their launch on PPV to their current status as the gold-standard for Mixed Martial Arts, worldwide,' said In Demand executive vice president of proramming and general counsel Michael Berman. "This new deal ensures that we will continue our long-term relationship by not only distributing their core PPV events, but we will also be an intrinsic part of their next generation of growth through subscription and digital ownership of the UFC’s compelling content.”

Noted UFC chief content officer  Marshall Zelaznik:: “It is great to continue our rewarding and long-lasting relationship with In Demand. The ability of UFC to deliver our best and most meaningful fights and events to so many fans in the years to come is great news for our sport, our brand and our partners. This partnership will allow us to continue to be the world’s leading PPV content provider.” 

For upcoming schedules, click here.

Comcast said it has added Paramount Pictures to its content partners for the Xfinity On Demand digital store, the cable operator's multi-screen electronic sell-through product.

The addition allows Comcast to sell titles from Paramount, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Wolf of Wall Street, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Anchorman 2, World War Z and Star Trek: Into Darkness, and enable Comcast to offer some Paramount fare prior to their respective DVD windows.

Comcast, which now offers “thousands” of titles through the EST product, has similar deals with Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, and MGM, as well as A24, Relativity, Starz, and Vertical Entertainment.

The MSO hasn’t released EST sales figures, but in a blog post, Nancy Spears, Comcast’s VP of digital media distribution and monetization, noted that 42% of Comcast customers who own a movie or TV show via operator’s EST offering own more than one title. On average, they own at least two movies and/or four or five TV episodes, she added.

Comcast launched its EST platform late last year,  allowing customers to purchase and playback movies and TV shows via the set-top and PC browsers. Comcast has also developed apps (for playback—streaming and downloading) for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

Comcast competes in a heated EST market that also includes iTunes, M-GO, Target Ticket, Google Play, VUDU, Amazon Instant Video, and Verizon FiOS, among others.