POP CULTUR: COMCAST TO ADD HBO & CINEMAX TO STREAMING TRIAL

COMCAST ADDS CINEMX, HBO TO ITS STREAMING TRIAL

PHILADELPHIA— And you thought the HBO hit TV series "Entourage" would never be streamed over the Internet — at least legally.

Comcast Corp. said Monday it will be streaming HBO and Cinemax shows, movies and other content online to 5,000 subscriber households in a national trial set to start in coming weeks. It is the first time the two premium movie channels will be offering their programs over the Internet to computers. Downloads to mobile devices may come in the future.

HBO and Cinemax will join TNT, TBS and Starz in Comcast's online video trial. If the technical test is successful, Comcast will roll out access coast-to-coast to its subscribers at no additional cost.

The trial is part of a joint effort with Time Warner Inc. to offer cable programming on the Internet as viewership increasingly moves outside of the living room. But programmers and pay-TV operators will provide access only behind a walled garden of subscribers.

Unveiled last month, the venture dubbed "TV Everywhere" by Time Warner and "On Demand Online" by Comcast began with TNT and TBS.

The cable channels will be available through Comcast.net and Fancast.com, Comcast's video aggregator site supported by advertising. About 750 hours of programming a month initially will be available and expected to increase over time.

Critical to the trial is authentication of viewer as a paying subscriber. Users will be asked to log on with a user name and password. If they are paying for the five cable networks, the system will authenticate them.

The trial includes only Comcast customers of both video and Internet services. In the future, deals will be made with other ISPs, even Comcast rivals such as phone companies.

The HBO and Cinemax trial will include full-length episodes of "Entourage" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as well as movies including "Kung Fu Panda" and "The Dark Knight."

Subscribers can watch the programs online right after they are shown on television. They also can access a library of older programming.

TV NEWS: ENTOURAGE MAKES IT WAY TO SPIKE TV

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Entourage' Heads Over to Spike TV

The guys network lands the exclusive basic cable rights for the HBO comedy beginning in January 2010.

NEW YORK, NY—"Entourage," one of television's signature shows for guys, will now be seen on the quintessential network for guys. Beginning in January 2010, Spike TV will be the exclusive basic cable network home for broadcasts of the wildly popular HBO comedy series "Entourage," announced John Griffin, vice president, programming, Spike TV. The off-net acquisition rights cover all seasons to date (78 episodes) including the upcoming sixth, as well as rights to those yet to be produced. This marks the first time the Emmy®, Golden Globe®, and Peabody Award-winning series will be telecast on basic cable.

"'Entourage' is the epitome of aspirational television for guys," notes Griffin. "Who wouldn't want to hang out with Vinnie Chase and his crew? And now our audience of young guys can do just that beginning in 1st qtr next year."

"Entourage," executive produced by Mark Wahlberg, draws on the experiences of Hollywood insiders and stars Adrian Grenier as Vince Chase, a hot young actor who is enjoying life in the limelight. Along for the ride are his fun-loving entourage and best friends from Queens: Eric, played by Kevin Connolly, Vince's manager and closest confidant who tries to help him make the right choices; half-brother Drama, played by Kevin Dillon, whose own career has been eclipsed by Vince's success; and Turtle, played by Jerry Ferrara, the house manager who's always up for a good time.

The series also stars Jeremy Piven as Ari, Vince's frenetic agent; Rex Lee as Lloyd, Ari's much-maligned assistant; Perrey Reeves as the long-suffering Mrs. Ari; Debi Mazar as Vince's publicist Shauna; Emmanuelle Chriqui as Eric's girlfriend Sloan; Beverly D'Angelo as Ari's partner Babs; and Carla Gugino as Ari's nemesis Amanda. Doug Ellin is the creator of "Entourage" and serves as an executive producer along with Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Rob Weiss and Denis Biggs. Co-executive producer is Mark Mylod; producers are Wayne Carmona, Lori Jo Nemhauser and Ally Musika.

SOURCE: POPTOWER