Comcast unveils movie-TV hub Fancast.com

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp on Tuesday launched Fancast.com, a one-stop movie-television hub where viewers can watch more than 3,000 hours of TV shows, movie trailers and short videos, check show listings, and dive into a comprehensive actor database.

The Web site by the largest U.S. cable operator will also point fans to where they can watch any show, be it on television, online, On Demand, DVD or in theaters.

The site is the first to gather film and TV offerings scattered all over the Internet on such a large scale, thanks to agreements with content owners such as CBS Corp, Viacom Inc and Hulu.com, which is owned by NBC Universal and News Corp's Fox Network.

Data partners include Amazon.com Inc's IMDB, one of the Web's most popular movie information sites.

"We want to help consumers find content wherever they go," Sam Schwartz, executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media, said in an interview ahead of a presentation at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"Anything's that's been on at the movie theater or on television is fair game to us."

If it proves popular, Fancast could help drive up Internet traffic for Comcast, which in May forecast generating at least $1 billion in online advertising over the next five to six years as it cultivates new revenue sources.

Comcast said it has licensing deals for more than 50,000 television shows, 80,000 movies and information on 1.2 million actors, directors, and other movers and shakers in the entertainment industry for Fancast.