Comcast Buys FandangoComcast Buys Fandango

PHILADELPHIA -- Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSK, CMCSA), the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Fandango, the nation’s premier destination for movie information, showtimes and ticketing, and one of the Web’s top entertainment sites. The company also announced plans to launch Fancast.com, a new national online destination that will enable consumers to search, discover, manage and enjoy their entertainment experience across many devices and channels, including television, computers, DVDs and wireless services.

Comcast has a major Internet presence, through Comcast.net, which is now a top 10 site with more than 2.5 billion page views, more than 80 million videos viewed and 15 million unique visitors per month. Comcast will leverage its experience as the nation’s largest buyer of video content, serving nearly 25 million cable customers and 11.5 million broadband customers, to expand its existing video-centric websites and create a new online destination, Fancast.com.

Fandango, which is a top online brand and destination where millions of people visit every month to learn about movies and purchase theater tickets, will be an integral component of the Fancast user experience. Fandango.com is already a top entertainment site and one of the nation’s largest movie sites with between 4 and 5 million unique visitors each month. Fandango has long-term, exclusive relationships with many national theater chains that provide it a consistent, unique and dedicated audience of entertainment-oriented consumers. Working closely with these exhibitor partners, Fandango will continue to pursue its core mission of being the leading online destination for movie theater information, showtimes and ticketing at Fandango.com.

Fancast, which will launch this summer, will be a national entertainment site where people can search and discover television and movie content, while managing their viewing experience across multiple devices. With Fancast, consumers will be able to search for their favorite shows, movies, actors and actresses, or simply enjoy the video content on the site. Fancast will provide consumers with a place to discover when their favorite shows or movies are “on,” and where they can view them via television, video-on-demand, online or on other devices.

Both Fandango and Fancast will be managed by Comcast Interactive Media (CIM), a division of Comcast which develops and operates Internet businesses focused on entertainment, information and communication. Fandango will provide key commerce capabilities for CIM sites and will be an additional source of traffic and revenue. CIM sites, including Comcast.net and Fancast.com, will prominently feature Fandango, which will significantly expand Fandango’s current audience.

“Fandango is one of the strongest entertainment brands online as well as a dynamic, profitable business with a superb management team and rapidly growing advertising revenue,” said Amy Banse, President of Comcast Interactive Media. “Adding Fandango to Comcast Interactive Media and creating Fancast.com will enable us to leverage our combined assets to offer consumers an outstanding entertainment experience.”

Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK)