According to Multichannel News, Comcast is planning to announce a Web-based service that will act as an electronic guide and search engine for computer users trying to sort through thousands of scheduled television shows, on-demand videos and high-definition programs.
Rumored to be called TV Planner, the service will be introduced along side Comcast first "fall lineup" launch of video-on-demand programming. The company plans on touting the Web service's ability to sort through large amounts of on-demand programming quickly.
Viewers will be able to click on a listing and instruct a digital recording machine to store a copy of a chosen program. Through a recommendation engine that will be eventually added to the service, users will also get suggestions about what other programs might interest them.
The TV Planner service will launch this fall and be exclusively for Comcast cable subscribers. The 10 million Comcast high-speed Internet customers will be able to reach the service through the company's Comcast.net portal, which provides a wide range of video and multimedia services. Comcast's other 12 million or so customers can also search for scheduled shows and on-demand programs by going directly to a Web site set up for providing the guide services.
Read more in the Multichannel News article Comcast Plans a 'TV Guide' on the Web.
