RealNetworks Inc. will announce an affiliate deal with Comcast Corp. Monday for its
Rhapsody online music service, which will be featured on the MSO’s redesigned broadband portal.
Rhapsody includes 400,000 songs and more than 100 commercial-free Internet-radio stations. Consumers can burn songs for 79 cents apiece after signing up for the standard $9.95-per-month service, which gives them access to the song library for playback purposes
RNI also is collaborating with Intel Corp. on a box that plugs into a TV and, with a Wi-Fi connection, allows consumers to play Rhapsody music stored on their PCs on home-theater and stereo systems.
And RNI said Comcast plans to promote the new feature heavily, including carrying TV spots in cross-channel inventory, which will be Rhapsody’s first national television exposure.
Cablevision Systems Corp., Charter Communications Inc. and Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner division also have deals with Rhapsody.
