Comcast has added on-demand streaming capabilities to Android devices on its free Xfinity TV Player app.
In March of last year, Comcast released an Xfinity TV app for Android devices, but at the time, it didn’t include streaming capabilities. With the latest update, Comcast said its subscribers could access “thousands” of Xfinity On Demand TV shows and movies on their Android devices wherever they have an Internet connection.
The app provides access to video content from premium cable programmers such as HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax, and cable channels including TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and BBC America. Viewers need to be subscribers to Comcast’s video service and to the appropriate premium channels in order to view the content.
According to a blog post today by Piers Lingle, vice president of product development at Comcast Interactive Media, nearly 10,000 hours of on-demand video content is now available for viewing on Android tablets and phones.
Comcast viewers need to authenticate themselves with their Comcast ID or Comcast.net email address and password, and they need to subscribe to Xfinity TV or Comcast digital video service. Once they’re logged in, the app works across Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G networks.
The app also comes with parental control settings.
“We look forward to evolving this experience, as well as developing some new apps that bring the Android community more of the best entertainment choices available, anytime and anywhere, along with innovative tools and features to help personalize their Xfinity experience wherever they go,” Lingle wrote.
The app, which is available via Google Play, works on Android tablets and phones that are using version 2.3 Gingerbread or higher.
The Xfinity TV Player app doesn’t support remote DVR programming capabilities or provide TV or VOD listings. Those functionalities are supported in another app, Xfinity TV, that Comcast released two years ago.
During last year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Comcast said it would support streaming on Android and iPad devices. Comcast released an app for on-demand streaming to iPad devices in February of last year, followed by iPhone support in May of the same year.