Comcast Corp. announced that it will release monthly video-on-demand-usage data compiled by Rentrak Corp. to content providers on the MSO's platform.
Such information disclosure is a key step toward developing VOD as an advertising platform.
Comcast said aggregate VOD-usage reports will be available to all programmers supplying VOD content and to advertisers at no charge within 10 days at the end of each month.
"Our On Demand business is on track to reach more than 1 billion views in 2005, and accurate and timely measurement is the next step in the evolution of VOD," Comcast On Demand vice president and general manager Page Thompson said in a prepared statement.
Comcast said data will be consolidated nationally. General trends will show individual usage compared against general usage trends. All data are anonymous and can't be traced back to individual users or specific set-top boxes.
