History Vault, an SVOD service from A+E Networks, has added another sales outlet following an integration with Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand platform for set-top boxes, Web browsers and via the Xfinity TV app for mobile devices
History Vault costs $4.99 per month and provides access to a wide range of History programming, including series such as America The Story of US and Engineering an Empire, documentaries like Gettysburg, Alcatraz: Search for the Truth, new additions such as Inside the Presidency, and programs spanning specific topics, including The World Wars, space exploration, The Bible, and the Dark Ages, among others. A&E is also sells an annual subscription to History Vault online for $49.99 per year.
The tie-in of History Vault with an MVPD complements availability on several OTT platforms, including iOS devices, Apple TV boxes, Roku Players and through Amazon Channels. A version for Android devices will debut in the “coming months,” A&E Networks said.
RELATED: Amazon Boosts Subscription ‘Channel’ Count Near Century Mark
History Vault’s MVPD integration also enters play amid an SVOD market that is erupting with focused, stand-alone offerings and relatively new SVOD aggregation services that include Amazon Channels, which launched in late 2015, and VRV, a service from Ellation that is tailored for audiences interested in anime and gaming.
RELATED: SVOD Surge (subscription required)
Comcast, meanwhile, has begun to integrate SVOD services like Netflix to its X1 platform.
Colin Dixon, founder and chief analyst of nScreenMedia, told Multichannel News for this week’s cover story that it’s critical for MVPDs to open up and expand their pay TV platforms.
“Operators have an excellent opportunity to do what Amazon is doing for their customers,” he said. “But to do it, they have to move to a more open model. In my mind, the most important thing Comcast could do is … to get [its] guide on everybody’s television. That’s their anchor. If they’re not the guide, then Amazon is the guide, and they get all the incremental revenue.”
