Comcast (CMCSA) has launched the beta version of its new entertainment portal Fancast.com.
The site is an obvious response to the Internet Movie Database run by Amazon.com (AMZN) which the company says receives about 50 million online visitors a month.
At this stage it looks like there will be some additional services on the site that will at least in the beginning offer a different feel to the experience than IMDB offers.
One thing they have is an ability to personalize the show someone is interested in by teaching the site what an individual prefers. It's done through a nine-point rating system beginning with "dreadful" but reaching up to "amazing."
Another feature added by the site is called "Six Degrees," which allows a user to l
ook at content related to what you searched for. It could be similar genres, content or even people connected to the search which will appear to see if you want to dig deeper into the subject matter.
The site will also offer television shows in the future from their own networks' content, to content offered by the yet-to-be-named venture between Fox (NWS-A) and NBC (GE).
One key element that may help the initiative gain more scale is its inclusion of listings of TV shows from any cable, telephone or satellite provider, something its TVplanner.net doesn't do.
Eventually it will be integrated with its ticket site Fandango.com.
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