At the Multicultural TV panel, Comcast announces it will begin IPTV test in 2012

(Maribel Ramos-Weiner, Chicago). During the Cable Show’s Multicultural TV panel, organized by B&C and Multichannel News, David Jensen, VP of International Programming and Content Acquisitions of Comcast, announced that in 2012 the company would begin testing IPTV, which would give it the upper hand over the competition.Jensen, indicated this platform could be the distribution outlet for more niche signals such as the ethnic channels, which include Spanish-language TV.The panel also included Mark Aronson, Senior VP and Head of Distribution of Mnet; Marissa Freeman, Senior VP of Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications of Time Warner Cable; Rodrigo Lombello, COO of GolTV; Jessica Rodríguez, Senior VP of Univision Cable Networks; and Michael Schwimmer, CEO of nuvoTV.One of the most talked about topics was the relevance of Spanish-language programming for Hispanics in the U.S. Schwimmer said that most Hispanics in the U.S. watch English-language TV, and he argued that is why channels such as SíTV (soon to be nuvoTV), which is 100% in English, was placed in the cable’s basic tier while niche Spanish-language channels belonged to a more expensive Hispanic tier. Rodríguez of Univisión defended the quality and relevance of the network’s programming and emphasized they are not a niche channel but a mainstream one.