Xfinity on Campus Expands Partnership Slate

Comcast continues to expand the footprint of its IP-based Xfinity On Campus video platform as students return for the fall.

Per the Xfinity On Campus app for iOS devices, the following four additional schools are on board with Comcast’s mobile video program: Brandeis University, Champlain College, Seattle Pacific University, and Washington and Lee University.

Brandeis University, based in Waltham, Mass., has about 3,599 undergrads (as of 2013), while Champlain College of Burlington, Vt., has total enrollment of about 2,000 students. Seattle Pacific University has total enrollment of 4,217 and undergraduate enrollment of 3,264. Washington and Lee University, based in Lexington, Va., had total enrolment of 2,302, according to 2012 figures.

With the recent addition of Benedictine University, at least 25 schools have deployed or are testing Xfinity On Campus, an IP-delivered video service powered by Comcast’s cloud-based X1 platform that launched commercially last fall. Others include Carnegie Mellon University, Sonoma State, Saint Michael’s College, Yale University, Morehouse College, Tennessee State University; Loyola University Maryland; Goucher College; Rider University; Regis College; Dartmouth College; California State University, Chico; Bridgewater College; Emerson College; Lasell College; Drexel University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Northwestern University; the University of Delaware; and the University of New Hampshire.

In addition to offering a mix of linear TV, VOD,  premium channels, and sports packages via the partner school’s managed campus WiFi network to PC browsers and mobile apps, Xfinity On Campus also enables students can also use their university credentials access several supported TV Everywhere apps, including WatchESPN.    

Comcast isn’t the only provider that has developed an IP-delivered platform tailored for college campuses.  Others include Philo, a startup that landed a $10 million “B” round of funding earlier this year, and Cox Communications, which has developed a product called Campus Connect.