Comcast Media Center Adds HDTV Live Event Pod to its Content Management Network Capabilities

2004 NCTA National Show, New Orleans, LA May 3, 2004 – Comcast Media Center (CMC), a business unit of Comcast Cable, will soon offer an HDTV Live Event Pod to support growing demand for origination of live events in HDTV, complementing the HDTV services currently offered by the Content Management Network component of the CMC’s “Total Content Management Solution.” Scheduled for completion by late June, the HDTV Live Event Pod compliments the CMC’s standard definition TV sports origination facility, which annually downlinks and repackages more than 4,000 professional and college sports events for out-of-market distribution.

“The dramatic growth in HDTV households creates an opportunity for the cable industry to expand the competitive HDTV content it offers its customers,” stated Gary Traver, Senior Vice President and COO of Comcast Media Center. “These consumers will not settle for watching standard definition TV, and we are ramping up the CMC Content Management Network’s HDTV resources to support our TV network and cable MSO customers in providing a superior television experience.”

Comcast Media Center’s Content Management Network currently originates more than 60 TV networks including three HDTV channels. Linear channels that have recently selected the CMC to handle their origination include TV One and CSTV. Origination services include providing master control, traffic management and network monitoring. The CMC’s unique playback room supports multiple channels in a totally digital, tapeless environment. The CMC is also providing satellite distribution services for these networks through the Titan uplink facility component of its Content Delivery Network, which currently transmits more than 400 digital services in KU band, KA band, C band and DBS formats.

About Comcast Media Center
Comcast Media Center (CMC), a business unit of Comcast Cable, provides a total content management solution through its “one source –multiple delivery platforms” capabilities. Its Content Delivery Network offers global transmission via satellite and terrestrial fiber optics, VOD and streaming distribution capabilities. CMC’s Content Management Network offers broadcast quality studio, mobile and post production services, origination services for linear TV networks and live events, HDTV production and origination and quality control and media management services, including encoding and storage. Its Affiliate Services Network includes the HITS (Headend In The Sky) digital platform, founded in 1994, delivers 150 digital services to more than 2,000 cable system headends. More information is available at: http://www.comcastmediacenter.com/

Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division of Comcast Corporation, a developer, manager and operator of broadband cable networks and provider of programming content. With a presence in 22 of the top 25 United States markets, Comcast is one of the leading communications, media and entertainment companies in the world. Providing basic cable, Digital Cable, high-speed Internet and telephone services, Comcast is the company to look to first for the communications products and services that connect people to what’s important in their lives. The company’s 59,000 employees serve more than 21 million customers.