Comcast and Disney make a deal

There's some good news, and some bad news, for TV fans where the Comcast/Disney deal is concerned. As part of the agreement, Disney has locked up availability of all their major channels with the cable company into the next decade. Those include Disney Channel, ABC Family, Toon Disney, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, and ESPN HD. In addition to that, the two have come to some sort of agreement with regards to ESPN2 HD, and Comcast will also launch ESPN Deportes. The deal also includes the sale of Disney's stake in E! Networks, which makes Comcast the sole owner of E! and Style.

Most of that wasn't really in doubt, but the big news is that Comcast will now be able to make some ABC programs available for their OnDemand service. Beginning in the fall of 2007, Desperate Housewives, Lost, and two other shows to be named later, will be available the day after they air for OnDemand customers. In addition, Desperate Housewives and Lost will be available in HD OnDemand. Unfortunately, that service will only be available in markets that have an ABC owned stations. So, if you are in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Fresno, or Flint... Yay for you. The rest of us will just have to keep waiting.

It's not perfect, but another step in the right direction. The more shows available to viewers in an OnDemand format, the better.