WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: Annual FREE Xfinity Watchathon Week Is HERE From April 8 - 14, 2019

COMCAST GIVES VIEWERS FREE ACCESS TO THOUSANDS OF MOVIES AND SHOWS INCLUDING GAME OF THRONES, THIS IS US, BILLIONS AND THE HILLS

Annual Xfinity Watchathon Week Includes Every Episode of Every Season of More Than 200 Shows and Access to More Than 70 Networks and Streaming Services

Available For Free to All Xfinity TV Customers From April 8 - 14

We've been in a quandary. We have been an Xfinity X1 family forever, but we let HBO lapse. But my husband and I have been eagerly awaiting the return of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and season eight premieres on April 14th! What's a GOT fan to do?! Thanks to Xfinity's Watchathon Week, we'll likely be binge watching all the past episodes again, re-upping HBO, and inviting the neighbors to a watch party. What's your plan?

Comcast recently announced that the seventh annual Xfinity Watchathon Week taking place from April 8 - 14 will offer thousands of free movies and shows including more than 200 complete series. Xfinity TV customers can watch any and every episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones leading up to the season eight premiere on April 14th plus catch up on other fan-favorite series such as A&E’s 60 Days In, Acorn TV’s Manhunt, EPIX’s Punk, HBO’s Veep, MTV’s The Hills, NBC’s This Is Us, and SHOWTIME®’s Billions from start to finish.

In total, thousands of TV and movie choices will be available during the weeklong free event, which has driven more than 340 million hours of on demand viewing over the last six years, and includes more than 70 networks and subscription video on demand (SVOD) services such as A&E, ABC, Acorn TV, Adult Swim, AMC Premiere, BET, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, EPIX, FOX, Hallmark Movies Now, HBO, HGTV, HISTORY Vault,  Lifetime Movie Club, Paramount Network, SHOWTIME, TBS, TLC, TNT, truTV, True Royalty TV, Urban Movie Channel and VH1. Additionally, a selection of programming from networks and SVODs will be available for Internet-only customers to sample on the Xfinity Stream app and Xfinity Flex.

“Last year, our highest day of on demand viewing happened during Xfinity Watchathon Week and we are excited to once again offer this event to our customers with more great content to enjoy across networks, studios and streaming partners,” said Daniel Spinosa, Vice President, Video Entertainment Services, Comcast Cable. “As we continue to bring more of the entertainment our customers love to Xfinity TV platforms including X1, Watchathon Week is more exciting every year for both our customers and partners and its continued success is a testament to X1’s ability to make search and discovery of content fast and easy—all customers have to do is get to watching.”

This year, customers tuning in on X1 can make their Watchathon experience better than ever by:

Turning on the “auto play” functionality within Comcast Labs to automatically start the next episode of a series once the former one ends
Saying the voice command “Xfinity Home Watchathon” to prep the room for a viewing session by dimming all connected lights and locking connected doors if they have an Xfinity Home subscription and compatible devices
Saying “Watchathon” to explore a personalized curated destination highlighting content recommended just for them throughout the week
Picking up where they left off on a show or movie more quickly by saying “Continue watching Billions”
Rewatching the most memorable moments from a series by saying for example, “Show me the episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm about Namaste”

During Watchathon Week Xfinity TV customers can:

Get in on buzzworthy shows such as Bravo’s Southern Charm, EPIX’s Deep State, HBO’s Big Little Lies and Deadwood, TBS’s Search Party and from SHOWTIME Ray Donovan and The Affair by watching the full series before they return to TV

Catch up on popular movies across genres such as Deadpool 2, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and Mamma Mia Here We Go Again on HBO; A Quiet Place and Spy Who Dumped Me on EPIX; and I Feel Pretty and The Dark Tower on SHOWTIME

Explore almost two dozen SVODs - no sign in required- including world class mysteries, dramas, and comedies from Britain and beyond from Acorn TV; award-winning documentaries from CuriosityStream on science, history, wildlife, adventure, travel and more; Lifetime movie favorites of all genres from Lifetime Movie Club; PlayKids’s cartoons, games, books, and activities for kids aged two to eight; Stingray Qello’s full-length concerts and music documentaries; and True Royalty’s original shows and documentaries about the British Royal Family and monarchies around the world

Xfinity TV customers can enjoy Watchathon Week across devices using the Xfinity Stream app and web portal.

For more information on Watchathon Week, visit https://watchathon.xfinity.com/ or join the conversation on Twitter and Instagram by using #XfinityWatchathon and following @Xfinity. 

Content availability could vary across Xfinity TV platforms (X1, XfinityTV.com and the Xfinity Stream app). Of note, the full SHOWTIME service will be available on Xfinity on Demand and the Xfinity Stream app and portal for only a portion of the event - April 11 – 14.

THE ORIENTAL THEATRE TO HONOR JAMES M. NEDERLANDER AND HIS BROADWAY LEGACY IN CHICAGO WITH FEBRUARY 2019 NAME CHANGE

BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

HONORS THE LATE 
JAMES M. NEDERLANDER 

BY RENAMING THE ORIENTAL THEATRE

Over the past decade that I've been reviewing theatre in Chicago, and for twenty years before that as a performer and theatre fan, I've enjoyed numerous productions at Chicago's iconic Oriental Theatre. It's my favorite for ornate decor and mythical creatures, not to mention some of Broadway in Chicago's finest pre-Broadway world premiers and touring shows. As of February 2019 it will be sporting a new name with a long legacy, the JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE. 

Broadway In Chicago proudly announced their plans to honor the late James M. Nederlander, the legendary Broadway theatre owner and producer, patriarch of Broadway and champion of Chicago’s Downtown Theatre District, by renaming the Oriental Theatre as the JAMES M. NEDERLANDER THEATRE. As founder of Broadway In Chicago, it is appropriate for the name James M. Nederlander to grace the marquee of Chicago’s iconic theatre at 24 W. Randolph. The new marquee and signage will be unveiled as the NEDERLANDER THEATRE, on Tuesday, February 12, 2019, with the opening of DEAR EVAN HANSEN.   

“In 1954, James M. Nederlander had faith in Chicago as a long-run theatre town and has supported Chicago getting the best of Broadway since then. He brought his shows to the finest theatres in Chicago including the Blackstone, the Studebaker, the Shubert and the Michael Todd, and in creating Broadway In Chicago, changed the landscape of Chicago theatre, making this great city one of the most successful commercial homes for Broadway outside of New York. Renaming the theatre gives us a way to say thank you and to acknowledge the extraordinary difference he made for Chicago in his lifetime,” Lou Raizin, President of Broadway In Chicago, said.

Upcoming productions for the new NEDERLANDER THEATRE include DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Feb. 12 – March 10, 2019), A BRONX TALE (March 12 - 24, 2019), ANASTASIA (March 26 - April 7, 2019), TAP DOGS (April 16 - April 21, 2019), RENT 20th Anniversary Tour (May 10 - 19, 2019), FALSETTOS (May 28 - June 9, 2019) and CATS (July 16 - August 4, 2019).

James L. Nederlander, now president of The Nederlander Organization, said, “The renaming of the theatre on Randolph, in honor of my father, is something he would have been so proud of, as he had a love for Chicago that manifested in his steadfast support of Chicago’s theatre community until the day he died. I am lucky to have inherited his love for Chicago and I am moved by this acknowledgement of his work on Broadway and his commitment to Chicago as a beacon for theatre across the country.”

ABOUT JAMES M. NEDERLANDER
1922-2016
The late James M. Nederlander was a visionary theatrical impresario who built his family business into one of the largest private live entertainment companies in the world that now encompasses venue ownership and management, theatrical producing and concert presentation, merchandising, concessions and patron services, including Broadway In Chicago.

Beloved by the industry, Jimmy produced over 100 of the most acclaimed Broadway musicals and plays. He was the recipient of many distinguished honors including the United Nations Foundation Champion Award (2012), The Broadway League's Schoenfeld Vision for Arts Education Award (2010), the New York Pop's Man of the Year (2008), the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement (2004), The Actors' Fund Medal of Honor (2002), The Broadway League's Distinguished Lifetime Service Award (2002), United Jewish Appeal-New York Federations' Bernard B. Jacobs Excellence in the Theatre Award (1997) and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located outside the Pantages Theatre at 6233 Hollywood Blvd. In 2009, the National High School Musical Theatre Award was established and named the Jimmy to celebrate his career-long dedication to supporting young talent.

In Chicago, he is responsible for bringing hundreds of shows to Chicago since 1954.  After creating Broadway In Chicago in 2000, he was able to lure long-run shows to Chicago beginning with the success of WICKED and its three-and-a-half-year run, followed by two and a half years of JERSEY BOYS, a year of LION KING, and many more and including the current run of HAMILTON for over two years. As a legendary theatrical producer, he was able to establish Chicago as a breeding-ground for Pre-Broadway including the premieres of THE PRODUCERS, SPAMALOT, MOVIN OUT, KINKY BOOTS, to name only a few, and most recently PRETTY WOMAN THE MUSICAL and TOOTSIE.  For more information about the Nederlander Organization or James M. Nederlander, visit www.nederlander.com

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 18 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country.  A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining over 1.7 million people annually in five theatres. Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including the Cadillac Palace Theatre, CIBC Theatre, Oriental Theatre, and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place and presenting Broadway shows at The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

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