Comcast has beta-launched the online streaming video service Watchable.com, with content from creators such as Buzzfeed, CelebTV, GoPro, Machinima, Maker Studios, NBC Universal, and Vice. The website and app for iOS users is geared towards a “millennial” audience of viewers, with mainly short clips (currently ad-free) that can be watched wherever there’s an internet connection.
The content on Watchable is curated by a team of human editors (which is nice to see considering the questionable content found on many online video services), but viewers can provide feedback via a “Report” button in the video controls.
The website is available to anyone in the US with no sign-up required. However, viewers who sign-up for a free account can utilize the My Shows option. The Apple iOS app requires sign-in.
Watchable gives content creators such as Machinima and Vice access to a broadcast TV audience for the first time, as Comcast Xfinity subscribers are able to watch the service through the X1 DVR set top box.
The free service includes short clips of NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” but the majority of the videos are more independently-produced web-based content such as Fullscreen’s “Black Nerd Comedy.”
We took a look at a video from GTChannel where the late Paul Walker takes Mine’s R35 GT-R for a test drive in Japan. While the content isn’t exactly produced for prime-time, it’s candy for niche audiences.
