(excerpted from the 6/20/05 edition of Multichannel News)

Hurricane season is blowing new local ad-sales revenue to several Comcast Corp. systems. They're collecting money from advertisers in exchange for letting them provide subscribers with on-demand advice on how to prepare for the storms.

Earlier this month, Comcast systems in the hurricane belt added a "Hurricane On Demand" section to their free video-on-demand offerings. The clips, which run from 90 seconds to four minutes, range from a car dealer giving tips on how to prepare for an evacuation to homebuilders discussing how to rebuild if a major storm destroys dwellings.

Also among the national advertisers: State Farm Insurance and Ryland Homes.