Comcast's Subsidiary Set to Compete With Comcast

More and more of the best content is going to show up on the Internet. As that happens, cable companies are going to get very nervous.

-James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research

In Nick Wingfield and Vishesh Kumar, "Comcast Unit Cuts Web Deals," Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2008

ThePlatform is a Seattle-based subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Comcast. ThePlatform "provides a service that functions as a management system for converting TV shows into the latest online-video formats, inserting promotions from online-advertising networks and transmitting the content to distribution networks that speed up the delivery of Web video to consumers." Although thePlatform has several competitors--YouTube and Brightcove are two--it is developing a reputation for providing longform videos such as full-length movies for the websites of cable and mobile telephone companies. Some observers believe that full-length television programs and movies will eventually show up on the internet, a circumstance that will erode the popularity of cable systems. Seen from that standpoint, Comcast is positioning its Platform subsidiary to be major player in the growth of internet video, just in case its cable systems suffer.