Comcast and PBS announced a new distribution deal this week that enables the cable operator to more than double the amount of PBS programming that will be available on its set-top box video-on-demand platform, as well as via Comcast’s authenticated Xfinity TV Go  apps and Web site.

The deal, which covers “recently-aired episodes” from more than 50 PBS series, will include primetime shows such as American Experience, American Masters, Antiques Roadshow, Call The Midwife, Frontline, Nova, and Masterpiece titles that include Downton Abbey (pictured), Wolf Hall, Mr. Selfridge, Grantchester and Poldark.

The agreement also calls for Comcast to provide local PBS member stations with “enhanced branding” on the Xfinity On Demand menu.

“We are pleased that this new agreement recognizes public television’s unique structure and gives prominent branding to local member stations as the source of PBS content in their respective markets,” said Ira Rubenstein, SVP and GM for PBS Digital, in a statement.

 “Comcast and PBS have a longstanding relationship built around a commitment to providing the viewers we both serve with access to the content they want across devices,” added Franz Kurath, vice president, content acquisition, Comcast Cable. “Xfinity On Demand and Xfinity TV Go are go-to sources for customers who want to catch up and stay current on their favorite TV shows, and the addition of PBS’ original programming brings even more high-quality, award-winning programming to the platforms.”

Elsewhere in VOD-land, Comcast this week kicked off its sponsorship of Taylor Swift’s The 1989 Tour, noting that it will offer a series of behind-the-scenes videos and other content via Xfinity on Demand.  Comcast said that content can be found under the “Music” category in its VOD menu or by saying “Taylor Swift” in to its new voice-enabled remote for the X1 platform. Content that’s part of the sponsorship will also be featured on Xfinity TV Go.

Comcast’s Netflix-like “Streampix” service will carry on, but the MSO is making big changes to the way it will sell and market the multiscreen subscription VOD service to its customer base.

Comcast confirmed that it is decommissioning its Streampix mobile apps and the Streampix Web site, and will stop selling Streampix to broadband-only customers. However, the Streampix service will continue to be sold as an a la carte option, or given away as a perk, to customers who take certain bundled service packages.

A Comcast spokeswoman said a small number of broadband-only customers in one region were being offered Streampix. Comcast declined to say how many broadband-only customers there signed up for Streampix, which Comcast sells for $4.99 per month.

The shift in the Streampix distribution strategy came up last week in Comcast’s 300 page-plus filing (PDF) on its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable.

Comcast launched Streampix in February 2012. Streampix started off as a streaming-only offering, and added a download capability to the mix late last year. Comcast has been selling Streampix as a standalone for $4.99 per month, but has also been using it as a complementary multiscreen service with premium-level service bundles, including its triple-play offerings.

In the filing, Comcast said Streampix failed to catch on as a premium, stand-alone video streaming service.  

While Comcast “sought to create excitement around Streampix by offering the online version through a unique online site and app, and offered Streampix to a small number of Xfinity broadband-only customers in one  region, these attracted minimal interest: both the site and the app are being decommissioned, and the standalone offer  was discontinued. Going forward, Streampix will simply be part of the Xfinity TV app and  website like other VOD offerings,” the MSO said. 

Similar language now shows up on the Streampix Apple App Store and Google Play pages: “Streampix has moved to XFINITY TV Go. Comcast customers with Streampix should download XFINITY TV Go to view Streampix content.”

In the filing, Comcast shot down notions from merger commenters that Streampix was being developed to as a launch point of an over-the-top, out-of-footprint subscription video platform.

“It is a branded VOD offering, available on Comcast’s set-top boxes; its unique claim is simply that in assembling the service, Comcast set out to acquire full online rights as well, and highlighted the over-the-top access of the network.”

Despite Comcast’s struggles with Streampix, that hasn’t stopped other MVPDs from developing and launching broadband-fed SVOD services. Canadian operators Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications, which have been grappling with Netflix for about four years, are set to launch their multiscreen streaming service, “shomi” in beta form sometime next month.

Expanding the reach of its authenticated TV Everywhere fare, Comcast has introduced an official Chrome extension for its Xfinity TV Go web site, which enables playback of its library of authenticated on-demand titles as well as more than 50 live TV channels.

Comcast announced the extension on its corporate blog, which also provides a link to the Xfinity TV Go extension at the Google Chrome Store.

“The Chrome extension offers an easy way to see what’s on and tune quickly into live streams on the Xfinity TV Go website,” noted Dan Baker, senior director, product management, at Comcast Cable. “With a click of a button, the Xfinity TV Go drop down menu allows you to browse the listing of 53 live channels and seamlessly choose what to watch…Today’s enhancement is just one of the many things we’re doing ot make our growing library of tv everywhere content more accessible and easier to discover.

While the blog touts that the extension enables customers to stream Xfinity TV Go content, including ESPN’s coverage of the World Cup, to laptops, there’s a side benefit -- the extension also makes it easier for authenticated customers to “cast” live and on-demand content from the Xfinity TV Go web site via a Chrome browser tab to TV sets outfitted with the popular Google Chromecast streaming adapter.

The Xfinity TV Go web site offers access to more than 50 live TV channels, including ESPN, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Fox Sports 1, Big Ten Network, Disney Channel, Disney XD, A&E, TNT, FX, National Geographic Channel, History and HGTV, among others. Comcast has also developed and launched Xfinity TV Go apps for iOS- and Android-powered devices.