Comcast said its latest Xfinity Watchathon broke another viewing record, as subscribers watched 105 million hours of TV shows and movies during the annual, week-long VOD binge-fest.
By comparison, last year’s Watchathon, the first from Comcast to include Netflix content, saw customers tune in to watch more than 77 million hours of VOD fare.
Comcast’s sixth-annual, VOD-focused Xfinity Watchathon, which took place April 16-22, is used in part to drive interest in TV series ahead of their TV season premieres. This year’s version involved more than 50 networks, as well as access to Netflix original series and subscription VOD services such as Dog TV, Acorn TV and CuriosityStream, as well as two relatively new commercial-free services – AMC Premiere and FX+.
As another new addition, the latest Watchathon offered a subset of programming, including HBO’s Game of Thrones, to Comcast’s internet-only customers using the operator’s Xfinity Stream app for mobile devices and web browsers.
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Among other stats, Comcast said Xfinity Stream app achieved a record during the week from a download perspective, as it averaged about 14 downloads per minute, up about 20% from the week prior.
HBO’s Game of Thrones was the most-watched TV series for the week, followed by ABC’s Roseanne, Showtime’s Homeland and Billions, and HBO’s Westworld, Brynn Lev, VP of editorial and programming at Comcast Cable, noted in this blog post.
Of the SVOD services that were part of Watchathon this year, Acorn TV, AMC Premiere, FX+, Lifetime Movie Club, Stingray Karaoke, Comcast’s own Streampix, and UP Faith and Family were among the most-viewed, Lev added.
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Subs in Boston binged out more than other cities, followed by Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Philadelphia.
