3net has added a fifth affiliate, inking a carriage deal with the nation’s largest distributor, Comcast.
Starting Jan. 28, Comcast’s Xfinity TV subscribers will gain access to fare from 3net, the joint venture of Discovery, Sony and IMAX. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Comcast joins DirecTV, Service Electric Cablevision and Google Fiber in Kansas City in offering the enhanced service on a linear basis. In addition, 3net is carried by streaming service Netflix. Broadband customers of Cablevision, which is participating in Netflix's Open Connect private content delivery network, also have access to select genre fare from 3net.
When 3net bows next Monday, Xfinity subscribers will gain access to three-hour programming sampler that will premiere on Mondays at 7 p.m. (ET) and then encore on Thursdays at the same time, Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m New content from the 3net channel service will premiere on Xfinity 3D each Monday at 7 p.m., with exclusive themed weeks debuting from Feb. 11 onward.
"With 3D televisions already in nearly 25 million U.S. households - and industry predictions of dramatic in-home 3D growth in 2013 - today's announcement further solidifies our ongoing commitment to meeting the ever-growing consumer appetite for high-quality, original 3D television content," said 3net president and CEO Tom Cosgrove in a statement. "We're proud to make this special 3net programming sampler available to Xfinity 3D customers nationwide, and we look forward to working with Comcast to grow the in-home 3D market by exposing their audience to the very best in 3net content."
Cosgrove said at this month's CES that 3net would be adding at least one distributor in 2013.
The following are 3net descriptors of the upcoming programming specials:
Monday, January 28:
Storm Surfers (3net Original Series) – This groundbreaking native 3D series follows surfing legends, best friends and larger-than-life personalities Ross Clarke-Jones - a Australian Surfing Hall of Fame inductee - and two-time surfing World Champion Tom Carroll as they work with genius surf-forecaster Ben Matson to hunt down Mother Nature's biggest waves and surf the planet's most dangerous breaks.
NASCAR: The IMAX Experience (IMAX) – In this special, viewers take the wheel for a hot lap with America's favorite spectator sport to experience the excitement of NASCAR racing and feel the roar as 750-horsepower stock cars are unleashed.
A Year in Africa (3net Original Special) - Witness what it takes to survive the elements and to outwit natural enemies. Travel with a herd of elephants in search of water, and go on a guided Big 5 Safari. Visit Africa's largest aquarium to learn about sharks and camp out on a beach to investigate growing up in a seal colony. This is life in the African Wild.
Monday, February 4:
Forgotten Planet (3net Original Series) – This 3D series crosses the globe to reveal some of the strangest places on earth - once vibrant cities now completely devoid of all humanity. Enter the emptiness of the city of Chernobyl, walk the halls and streets of abandoned Hashima Island, the Old West ghost town of Bodie and the transplanted German village of Kolmanskop - abandoned in the Namibian desert.
River Monsters3D (3net/Animal Planet Original Special) - In southern Africa there are rumors of a deadly fish that lurks unseen in the eerie waters of the Okavango. A killer with shark-like teeth, there are stories of hunting in packs, feeding frenzies on schooling fish...and even human bodies. Jeremy Wade is on a mission to see if he can track down and identify this terrifying river monster.
China Revealed (3net Original Series) - China's beauty is little seen, often hidden and always surprising. This hour-long series explores the thronging cities, epic vistas and spiritual heartlands of this huge and mysterious country in stunning 3D.
Monday, February 11 – "Construction Junction:"
Building the Brand (3net Original Series) – This series explores amazing factories, following the creation of some of the world's most iconic products. From handcrafted Gibson guitars, luxurious Rolls Royce cars, awesome Pierce fire trucks and the U.S. Army's Apache helicopters, viewers can follow the build process from blueprint design to the end of the assembly line.
Super Systems (3net Original Series) – This show pulls back the 3D curtain on some of the most complex systems on the planet, revealing the incredible people, machines and processes that keep the world around us ticking.
Hillbilly Blood: A Hardscrabble Life (3net Original Series) - This program follows the exploits of two experienced mountain men as they demonstrate the kind of backwoods ingenuity required to live off the land and survive the hardscrabble life deep in the mountains of Appalachia.
