What’s going on at Comcast? Well, a lot actually, but specifically I’m looking at the (relatively) new Advanced Applications Engineering group. In a company blog post last week, a video interview with Senior Director Sean Brown highlighted the fact that this new engineering group formed about six months ago to tackle consumer demand for mobile apps. Comcast has gained a certain amount of cache in the web space through its Comcast Interactive Media (CIM) division, but that part of the company has always appeared to act pretty independently of the traditional cable video biz. That may be changing.
The interview with Brown suggests his group is working closely with Comcast’s cable video folks. And no wonder. The iPad Xfinity TV app requires EBIF integration and communication with non-Internet-connected set-tops. Brown notes that his team has had to deal with all kinds of server-side code and cable systems that have been “running since the seventies.” It’s an interesting collision between old TV and new TV, and not just on the technology side, but between cable TV and web video cultures. Where will Comcast go from here?
[...] may be the year cable really gets into an OTT frame of mind. First there’s the mad rush to integrate TV services with mobile applications. Comcast’s Xfinity TV app is getting a major promotional blast, and the momentum has pushed [...]
[...] official presence planned, but given the presumed-pending merger with NBCU, and the company’s recent iPad app frenzy, it seems quite likely that there will be Comcast folks around and about. NBCU always has a big [...]