Altice USA said it is making live and on demand content from several networks available to its Optimum and Suddenlink customers through April 22 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Beginning March 27, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, Science Channel, and Discovery Family will be available to its customers through April 22nd at no additional cost.

“We are pleased to provide our customers with an expanded selection of engaging family-friendly content during this unprecedented time,” Altice USA chief operating officer Hakim Boubazine said in a press release. “We hope our customers enjoy the wide variety of original programming as well as the live and on-demand content offered by these great networks.” 

In response to COVID-19, Altice USA has been active to ensure people within the communities it serves have reliable access to high-speed broadband connectivity and is providing its Altice Advantage offering to new households with students that don’t have internet access for free for 60 days. The company also signed the FCC’s ‘Keep Americans Connected’ pledge to provide relief to customers impacted by this pandemic.

Comcast said it has made on-demand and subscription video on demand titles from a number of networks available to its Xfinity X1 and Flex customers for free during the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the company, Showtime, Epix, CuriosityStream, History Vault, Grokker Yoga Fitness & Wellbeing, The Reading Corner and DOGTV will all be available for a limited time.

“This is an unprecedented time and we want to be there for our customers to help make the time they’re spending at home easier with free previews from our network, studio and streaming partners,” said Rebecca Heap, senior VP of video and entertainment, in a press release.

Xfinity customers with X1 and Flex can say “Free” into their Xfinity Voice remote to explore the range of subscription programs currently available as part of the free on demand event spanning kids educational content, fitness and TV & movies, including:

• Showtime – all X1 customers can enjoy 30-days of all the series and movies the network has to offer including Billions, Homeland and Shameless. Xfinity Flex customers will be able to watch select originals such as City On A Hill and Kidding.

• Epix – 30 days free of the full Epix catalog of thousands of movies, along with acclaimed original series including Godfather of Harlem, Pennyworth, War of the Worlds and the highly-anticipated Belgravia, premiering April 12.

• CuriosityStream – 60 days free of the top 300 award-winning documentaries and series on science, history, wildlife, adventure, travel and more.

• DOGTV – the whole family is covered with 30 days free of programs for dogs, as well as dog-related programs for all dog lovers.

• Grokker Yoga Fitness & Wellbeing – 30 days free of expert-led video classes in fitness, yoga, meditation and healthy cooking.

• History Vault – 30 days free of a deep offering of classic series, documentaries and specials.

• Kids Room – 30 days free of a wide selection of popular series including Bob the Builder, Polly Pocket, and Strawberry Shortcake.

• The Great Courses Signature Collection – 30 days free of educational video lectures from the world’s greatest professors on subjects from photography to psychology, guitar to genetics, or mindful health to a vast exploration of history.

• The Reading Corner – 30 days free of reading videos on themes such as spring, holiday, school and nature. For children up to 10 years old. Stories include Donuts: The Hole Story, This is a Book Full of Monsters, and Beauty and the Beast.

Xfinity said it plans to open up more preview content from dozens of new networks, studios and streaming partners on a rolling basis over the coming weeks.

As part of the celebration of its second year of existence, Sling TV is offering a free preview of the service to new customers this weekend, tied in with the mid-season premiere of The Walking Dead on Feb. 12.

In a periscope event for SingTV’s second birthday, CEO Roger Lynch said the free preview – available on www.SlingTV.com/watchfree -- will also allow TWD fans to access AMC Network’s marathon of the zombie series, a big hit with Sling TV customers.

Lynch added that during this month (February) Sling TV will offer free previews of premium channels Home Box Office and Starz at different parts of the month. In addition, he added that digital video recorder capability will be available via Amazon Fire, Android Mobile and Android TV “very soon.” Following those launches, DVR capability will extend to Apple TV at a future date. Sling TV began beta testing DVR service via Roku in December

HDNet Movies will be available for free to DirecTV and AT&T U-verse customers will get the channel for free Sept. 1-7 as part of a free preview of DirecTV's HD Extra Pack (channel 566) and U-verse's HD Premium Tier (channel 1107).

Movie blocks scheduled include Jarhead and its 2014 sequel; "Supernatural Sightings," including The Abyss and The X-Files: I Want To Believe and a Labor Day weekend "Men at Work" marathon featuring action-hero actors Sylvester Stallone (Cliffhanger), Bruce Willis (Die Hard) and John Wayne (Hellfighters). 

More about the preview week is available here.

Over the next two weeks, Starz and Encore are offering multiplatform, free previews in conjunction with select cable, satellite and telco affiliates.

The freeviews  are geared around the debut of the second-half of original series Outlander, which bows on April 4 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on Starz. The timing will enable viewers to catch up on the first eight episodes of the season, before the second batch of eight installments begin their run.  The series is adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books.

The spring freeview across multiplatforms also affords non-Starz and non-Encore subscribers a chance to discover the premium channels featuring movies and originals on the Starz on Demand, Starz Play and Encore on Demand platforms, as well as linear channels for select distributors from March 26 through April 12. Dates and availability vary by distributor.

Outlander (pictured) aside, the spring free review will also serve as a showcase for Starz original series Black Sails and Power, plus the network's and Encore hit theatricals, including  22 Jump Street, Maleficent, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sex Tape, Think Like A Man Too, Deliver Us From Evil, Million Dollar Arm, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Thor: The Dark World, Muppets Most Wanted, American Hustle, Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby, Heaven Is For Real, White House Down, Remember The Titans, Legend Of Bagger Vance and Elysium.

Participating cable, satellite and telco affiliates for the free preview include: AT&T U-verse – March 26-29; Verizon FiOS – March 26-30; DirecTV – March 27-29; Dish – March 27-29; Mediacom  - March 27-April 6; CenturyLink Prism – March 27-29; Cox – April 3-6;  Bright House Networks - April 3-6; and Comcast – April 6-12

The Starz and Encore premium channels will be available to Xfinity TV customers during Comcast’s third annual “Watchathon Week” from April 6 through April 12 through Xfinity On Demand on TV, as well as online at XfinityTV.com and via the Xfinity TV Go app. Select programming from the services also will be available for download.

Special screenings of Outlander’s mid-season premiere episode No. 109, “The Reckoning,” are slated for 10 local markets.

In addition to the New York premiere on April 1, the installment will also screen in Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Northern California, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle and at the Phoenix Film Festival. 

Most of the screenings will unspool in conjunction with area cable operators, via invitation-only events for their subscribers. 

Dish subscribers will get a chance to see more Outdoor Channel fare, as the satellite provider is offering a free preview of the network during September.

Outdoor Channel, which is currently available to subscribers of the No. 2 DBS player via the America’s Top 250, America’s Everything, Smart Pack and Outdoor Sports Pack, can be accessed by any Dish customer on channel 396 from Sept 4 through Sept. 30. Moreover, top programming from the network will also be showcased at the Blockbuster Studio Channel 102.

Those who do click through will be able to espy action-packed adventures from some of the globe's most beautiful vistas. Among the shows on tap during September, Jim Shockey's Unchartered, which takes viewers to remote and dangerous destinations around the globe with the avid outdoorsman; Bottom Feeders, tracking the struggles of teams of commercial fisherman as they battle Mother Nature, and each other, to bring in “the big haul” and put food on the family table; and Warderns Presented by Streamlight, offering an inside look at the men and women on the front lines of America’s conservation efforts.

The network will also serve up a sneak peak of the Reluctant Outdoorsman, which is set to make its linear premiere in January. The all-new reality series follows the journey of a middle-aged couch potato with no experience in the outdoors, as he is challenged by friends and colleagues to take on life-changing outdoor adventures.

To further entice viewing and ultimately a subscription to the service, Dish and Outdoor Channel are giving away a VIP trip to Las Vegas to attend Outdoor Channel’s 15th Annual Golden Moose Awards being held at the Venetian theater during the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show). Viewers can enter here for a chance to win a trip for two to the GMAs, the country’s leading outdoor television awards ceremony, or one of five first prize packs including a camo backpack and $50 to Bass Pro Shop