If you’re a Comcast customer without a Netflix subscription who’s dying to know what the big deal is about “House of Cards,” you’re in luck. A recent deal between Comcast and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has given Comcast the rights to sell the Emmy Award-winning first season of “House of Cards” through its Xfinity Store – which launched in November as a way to combat Netflix and Amazon Instant video. The deal also added other Sony titles to the Xfinity Store, ahead of the traditional on-demand rental window. Movies like “American Hustle” and TV shows like “Breaking Bad” are also available for purchase directly through any Comcast cable box or at xfinity.com/store. Any content bought through the Xfinity Store can then be watched on your TV, computer or mobile device. The deal gives Comcast customers a new way to watch “House of Cards,” but you have to wonder – with the first season available on DVD since June and the inexpensive cost of Netflix, who is this deal really for?
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.