Comcast Launches Penn State ON DEMAND

Comcast Launches Penn State ON DEMAND

Groundbreaking Partnership Gives Customers Access to Wealth of Penn State Programming from History, Health and Home & Gardening to Arts, Education, Research and More

UNIVERSITY PARK, Penn., July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Cable and Penn State University today announced the launch of Penn State ON DEMAND, a unique, groundbreaking collaboration that delivers the deep and diverse resources of Penn State to 2.4 million Comcast customers throughout Pennsylvania. The service, available at no additional cost to Comcast Digital Cable customers, brings hundreds of hours of provocative interviews, concise instructional and educational videos, revealing documentaries, and newly uncovered archival material to consumers on their own schedule, any time of the day or night.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070725/NEW013 )

The information featured through Penn State ON DEMAND expands on the University's land-grant mission to "make life better" for Pennsylvanians. The first-of-its-kind agreement gives Comcast customers unprecedented access to an ever-expanding catalog of materials including:

-- Arts
Features include "Art of the Audition" with Oscar and Pulitzer Prize
winner, Marvin Hamlisch; critical reviews of films like "Murder Ball"
and "City of God;" a forum and conversation with author, Salman
Rushdie; and a production featuring Penn State's acclaimed musical
theatre students performing Broadway hits.

-- PA Stories
The best of the Commonwealth, including a profile of author (and
Pennsylvania native) John Updike; a program called "Making Baseball
Bats," that follows a Louisville Slugger baseball bat from the forests
of Pennsylvania to a major league ballpark; and "The Grange Fair," an
Emmy award-winning documentary by Penn State Public Broadcasting
chronicling one of the last remaining agricultural encampment fairs in
the country.

-- Education
Content includes children's books, a special feature on virtual
schools, and "Scholastic Scrimmage" which pits teams of student
scholars against each other in Penn State Public Broadcasting's fast-
paced trivia game show.

-- Penn State Life
An ON DEMAND feature of all things Penn State, including annual "State
of the University" addresses, overviews of Penn State's colleges, and
an in-depth interview with former Nittany Lions men's basketball
player, John Amaechi.

-- Health
Programs range from Penn State studies on the effects of drug
advertisements and Alzheimer's care to childhood obesity, AIDS
Awareness and more.

-- P. J. O'Connell
Archival films from pioneering documentary maker P. J. O'Connell, whose
projects for Penn State Public Broadcasting spanned from the Sixties to
the mid-Nineties. O'Connell's films cover a staggering array of topics
including profiles of rural Americans, Pennsylvania industry, religion,
the arts and much more. Many of these critically acclaimed
documentaries will be featured, focusing on the stories of regular
people in the small-town communities and local institutions of rural
Pennsylvania.

-- Research
This folder features conversations and interviews with internationally-
renowned experts discussing important subjects and issues such as
Alzheimer's disease, disability rights, paranormal research, behavioral
studies and more.

-- Home & Gardening
Learn about giant tomatoes, growing blueberries, native plants,
composting, tree planting and the benefits of environmentally friendly
"green roofs."

-- Outdoors
Topics include wildlife photography, water conservation, Pennsylvania
energy, otters and fishers, deer management, black bears and spinner
fishing.

"Penn State ON DEMAND harnesses the breadth and depth of PSU's rich history and heritage, combined with our unique Local Video On Demand platform, to bring an exceptional array of content and benefits to the customers and communities we serve throughout the Commonwealth," said Michael Doyle, president, Comcast Cable Eastern Division and founder, CN8, The Comcast Network. "Comcast and Penn State University have a strong, deeply-rooted partnership, and this offering embodies our mutual commitment to use our resources to entertain, enrich and enlighten."

Craig D. Weidemann, vice president for Outreach at Penn State, said the service creates a destination full of in-depth, thoughtful programming: "Viewers will find content that has never before been made available through television, and will be able to share in our state's and society's history," he said.

New Penn State ON DEMAND programming will be added on a weekly basis. To view programs, Comcast Digital Cable customers can tune to Channel 1 on their Digital Cable lineup or press the ON DEMAND button on their remote control, then click on the "Get Local" section ("Your Town" in the Three Rivers Region) to find the Penn State ON DEMAND category.

Penn State ON DEMAND is part of Comcast's growing ON DEMAND lineup, which offers 9,300 programs a month that can be viewed on a customer's own schedule with the ability to pause, fast-forward and rewind. All Local Video On Demand content, like 95 percent of ON DEMAND offerings, is free of charge to Comcast Digital Cable customers.

For more information about Comcast's products and services, call 1-800-COMCAST or visit the company's web site at http://www.comcast.com/.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)(NASDAQ:CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.1 million high-speed Internet customers, and 3.0 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's Eastern Division currently serves more than 5.4 million customers along the New York to DC corridor, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and North Carolina. The Eastern Division also founded and manages CN8, The Comcast Network, one of the nation's largest and most honored regional 24-hour diversified television networks, seen by more than nine million homes on the East Coast. The Eastern Division is based in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

Comcast's Three Rivers Region serves 850,000 customers in four states, including Southwestern Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Northern Maryland. The region employs approximately 2,400 professionals and has been recognized by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of the best top 10 large companies to work, and by the Pittsburgh Business Times for two consecutive years as one of the "50 Best Places to Work in Western Pennsylvania."

About The Pennsylvania State University

Penn State is one of the top 10 research universities in the United States, educating 84,000 students at 24 campuses. Founded in 1855, Penn State is a multi-campus public land-grant university that improves the lives of the people of Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world through integrated, high- quality programs in teaching, research, and service.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070725/NEW013
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN4
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Comcast Eastern Division

CONTACT: Jeff Alexander of Comcast Eastern Division, +1-610-650-3065,
jeff_alexander@cable.comcast.com

Web site:

http://www.comcast.com/

-------
Profile: intent