This has already been reported in bits and pieces, but today Comcast made it official at CES: subscribers will soon be able to watch live and on-demand TV from their iPads and Android tablets, wherever they have a WiFi connection. And there’s news about some intriguing social features, as well.
Comcast already has the Xfinity iPad app on the market — which is essentially a big remote control — but “in the coming weeks” they’ll release an update that will let you watch nearly 3,000 hours of On Demand content. Then later this year, the ability to watch live TV. Android apps will ship later this year, as well.
The most intriguing part of the announcement is that future releases of the app “will include seamless access to social networking sites so customers can share what they’re watching with their friends in real time, as well as a ‘MyTV’ feature that gives customers the ability to send and receive personal recommendations with friends on what to watch.”
Comcast promises a big programming push for the apps — a big investment in a second screen approach to watching and socially participating with TV.