Comcast, Rentrak Extend Deal

Comcast Corp. and Rentrak Corp. will continue their video-on-demand-measurement relationship, the two companies said Tuesday.

Under the multiyear, nonexclusive agreement, the MSO will continue using Rentrak's “OnDemand Essentials” measurement system to report and analyze aggregate viewership volumes and trends for its Comcast On Demand VOD service.

Comcast said its Comcast Spotlight advertising-sales division is moving forward with the launch of on-demand advertising products in all of the operator’s VOD-enabled markets, and the usage reports generated by OnDemand Essentials provide data that will help advertisers to take advantage of cable's two-way interactive capabilities.

“As Comcast continues to be the industry's VOD leader, Rentrak will continue to enhance its on-demand-measurement and analytic services to further develop the standards by which the industry measures the value and appeal of on-demand content,” Rentrak senior vice president for OnDemand Essentials Cathy Hetzel said in a prepared statement.

Comcast On Demand VP and general manager Page Thompson added, “Based on data collected by Rentrak during the past year, we've been able to more quickly analyze the response to On Demand content and fine-tune our programming mix to better meet the needs of our customers. We're looking forward to continuing our relationship with Rentrak and working together to take On Demand to the next level.”