San Antonio, Texas — AT&T and Internet video service Akimbo Systems, based in San Mateo, Calif., announced an agreement to offer Akimbo’s video-on-demand service to subscribers of AT&T’s forthcoming Homezone TV service.
Homezone is scheduled to launch later this summer, offering subscribers “converged set-top boxes” to access thousands of video programs and movies, AT&T said. The service is currently in trials in several states, and will integrate AT&T Yahoo! high-speed Internet and DISH Network programming distributed through AT&T to provide video on demand, digital video recording and Internet content, including photos and music. All will be accessible via a single integrated set-top box.
AT&T Homezone will be available to customers who purchase both AT&T DISH Network satellite television and AT&T Yahoo! DSL services.
Under the new deal, AT&T will make available to subscribers more than 10,000 television programs and movies on demand from Akimbo’s library and partner IPTV service providers.
Akimbo offers videos and movies from more than 165 content partners throughout the world. Each week, the service said it adds more than 150 new mainstream and niche titles in 85 different categories. Titles include music, sports, independent film, anime, major motion pictures, education, children’s programming and foreign films.
Akimbo videos and movie listings will be integrated into an online guide that AT&T Homezone subscribers will use to make viewing selections. The onscreen guide will include a video search function, and will list full program descriptions.
AT&T said customers will also be able to 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.
