Comcast, Verizon Wireless Start Co-Marketing Run In Pacific Northwest

Comcast and Verizon Wireless this week will launch a marketing program in Seattle (WA) and Portland (OR) promoting their respective services to the other's customers, ahead of regulatory approval of the deal.

Under the trial promotion, customers who sign up for two-year contracts for Comcast and Verizon Wireless services will be eligible to receive a prepaid Visa card of $100 to $300, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. To qualify for the prepaid card, customers must purchase the Comcast and Verizon services within 14 days of each other, and must activate a smartphone or tablet device, according to Seattle-based tech blog GeekWire. The initial joint offer is scheduled to end in May. Under their co-marketing deal, Comcast will promote Verizon Wireless services through its call centers and the carrier will pitch the MSO's Xfinity triple-play in its retail stores. Eight Verizon Wireless stores in the Seattle area involved in the initial retail launch. Comcast and Verizon Wireless expect the marketing program to roll out to other markets this year and into 2013.