If Comcast can whet these people’s appetites, maybe it can up-sell them on its bigger TV packages that include cable channels they can’t watch via Stream. This apparently isn’t just semantics-a Comcast spokesperson told Ars that Comcast Stream is delivered as a managed service over the Comcast IP gateway in customers’ homes. “And make tuning in to a show as simple as opening an email”, said Comcast in a statement. That includes one live channel, as well as its Video-On-Demand (VOD) content. HBO launched its stand alone HBO Now a few months ago and Showtime recently followed suit.
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The move comes after USA pay TV rival Dish TV full launched its similar Sling TV OTT TV service in the USA in February.
Comcast Chairman-CEO Brian Roberts speaks during a news conference at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association Cable Show in Washington, D.C., in June 2013.
Comcast Stream on an iPad. If you get your broadband with Comcast already, and you’re thinking about cutting the cord and snagging HBO NOW, for instance, this option could be more attractive as it also throws in some other networks and bonus content. “We’ve created skinny bundles like Internet Plus and developed services that cater to students, like Xfinity on Campus”.
Of course, for $15 a month, don’t expect a huge potpourri of premium channels.
Unlike Sling TV, though, Xfinity Stream won’t provide access to popular cable networks like Disney Channel or ESPN. The $15 a month service will let users stream content from HBO, Fox, NBC, and other networks on laptops, tablets, and phones – but only inside the home. And Stream is an experiment at this point, so Comcast could tweak it down the road based on audience reaction.
The Stream service works without a television or cable box, instead bringing a live video stream directly to a customer’s in-home devices over the Internet via a cable modem, according to Strauss’ post. Called Stream, the service will arrive in Seattle, Boston, and Chicago later this year, and be available to the rest of the country in 2016.
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It’s Comcast pitch to cord-cutters to retain service; and will only available to Comcast broadband customers. The service won’t require a visit from a technician.
