Watch CBS News

Comcast Connects Troops With Home For The Holidays

PLYMOUTH -- Comcast has announced the launch of Troop Greetings On Demand, a service that delivers special holiday greetings from military personnel stationed overseas to their loved ones back home to watch whenever and as often as they wish.

For the eighth consecutive year, Comcast is offering Troop Greetings On Demand at no additional cost to its digital cable customers through the end of January 2012.

The video greetings are now accessible under the "Get Local" section of Comcast's Xfinity On Demand menu.

This week, Comcast began reaching out to the 42 families in Michigan who have messages waiting for them to tell them how to view their holiday salutes.

"This special time of year is about family, friends and good will in the community, and we are proud to use our Xfinity On Demand technology to bring holiday greetings from our troops overseas to their loved ones back home as part of our commitment to powering dreams in the communities where we live and work," said Mary Beth Halprin, vice president of public relations and community affairs for Comcast's Heartland Region.

To compile Troop Greetings On Demand, Comcast secured hundreds of videotapes from the Army/Air Force Hometown News Service and edited them into short video greetings for viewers. Each message includes the service member's name and hometown, and in some cases, messages from the serviceperson's spouse and children.

Featured messages are from military personnel and civilian staff stationed around the world at bases in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Japan, Alaska, Korea and other remote locations.

Xfinity On Demand allows digital cable customers to watch the personalized holiday greetings at a time most convenient for them, and as often as they want.

Troop Greetings are grouped together and categorized by state.

Comcast customers can access the greeting just by going to the Xfinity On Demand library from their remote control, clicking on the "Get Local" section and then selecting "Troop Greetings." Individual greetings are found by region within Michigan and are approximately five to 25 seconds each.

The troop greetings can also be viewed online at  http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/playlist/Comcast/2174078353/.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.