AT&T and video on demand company Akimbo today announced an agreement which will offer subscribers of the AT&T Homezone TV service access to thousands of video programs and movies through “converged set-top boxesâ€. This new TV service is set to debut later this summer.
AT&T Homezone, which is currently in trial runs across several states, integrates Yahoo! co-branded high speed Internet and Dish Network programming to provide video on demand, digital video recording, and Internet content, including photos and music, to these new set-top boxes. Akimbo’s content, when added, will appear in the form of an online guide that enables AT&T Homezone subscribers to view a comprehensive listing of all available videos and movies. This guide will feature a video search function, full program descriptions and video previews.
Customers can also access the guide remotely from an Internet-connected computer to browse and download programs so that new shows are available for viewing when they get home.
“Our agreement with Akimbo is yet another milestone as we prepare to launch our AT&T Homezone service – an entertainment service that we believe will be more powerful and compelling than anything offered on the market today,” said Scott Helbing, chief marketing officer-AT&T Consumer, in a statement. “Consumers want better solutions and more choices for entertainment, and we’re committed to delivering that.”
“AT&T’s innovations are legendary, and the Homezone service follows this tradition,” added Joshua Goldman, CEO of Akimbo Systems. “As the first Internet video-on-demand service for TV, Akimbo is delighted to work with AT&T on its groundbreaking Homezone initiative to bring people the best in communications and entertainment, wherever they may be.”