December 02, 2009

By By Georg Szalai

In another sign of its commitment to building content strength, Comcast unveiled an exclusive VOD partnership with country singer Taylor Swift Wednesday - a day ahead of a likely announcement of a deal that would give the cable giant a 51% stake in NBC Universal.

Comcast said the deal with Swift will give its customers the first and only dedicated VOD content collection for fans of the star, including music videos such as "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story," featuring behind-the-scenes clips and special programming, such as a recent "Saturday Night Live" episode that she hosted.

"Taylor Swift is hugely popular on demand, consistently having the top-performing music videos on the service," said Derek Harrar, senior VP and GM of video and entertainment services for Comcast.

"Through exclusive partnerships with artists like Taylor Swift, Green Day and U2, combined with thousands of assets and incredible usage on demand, Comcast is reinventing music television."

Indeed, music is one of the most popular categories of Comcast's on demand programming with 50 million-60 million views every month, according to the company.

Just like its push for new release movies and TV shows, Comcast's growing music lineup and partnerships are part of "Project Infinity," the cable operator's commitment to delivering increasing amounts of quality content across key areas, such as sports, movies, hit TV shows and kids' programs.

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