Comcast is "responding to the rush of new streaming television alternatives with the start of its own web-based offering that includes a bundle of broadcast networks and the premium cable network HBO," according to Emily Steel of the N.Y. TIMES. The new service "costs $15 a month" on top of a Comcast Internet subscription. Viewers will "have access to live and on-demand programming on computers and mobile devices from about a dozen networks, along with cloud DVR storage and Streampix, Comcast’s movie offering." Called Stream, the new service "will be available in Boston, Chicago and Seattle later this year and across the company’s coverage areas" in the U.S. in '16. Comcast’s streaming service "will not include any cable networks beyond HBO," meaning it "excludes" ESPN. Subscribers to the Comcast app "will not be able to stream the service to their television sets, an option for most other rival streaming services." Comcast Exec VP and GM/Video Services Matthew Strauss said that the service "could eventually include the option to substitute other premium cable networks for HBO and to add packages of children’s, sports, lifestyle and movie programming for an extra" $5-10 a month (N.Y. TIMES, 7/13).
CORD TRIMMING? RE/CODE's Peter Kafka wrote the cable company now "wants to sell you Web TV, too," and there is "a catch." Comcast for now "only plans on selling the service to the 23 million people who get broadband service from Comcast," which means Comcast’s cord-cutting TV service "only works if you don’t cut Comcast’s cord." Comcast's Stream is a "much more modest offering" than other Web TV services, "aimed at a subset of Comcast's customer base." It is possible that Comcast "wants to step in before Sling, or HBO, or eventually Apple, gain significant traction with their own online-only offerings." But one might also conclude that Comcast is "really trying to make old-fashioned TV more attractive to cord-cutters" (RECODE.net, 7/12). ENGADGET's Richard Lawler wrote Stream "carries a surprisingly long list of restrictions, even for a brand new service." While Stream "has a DVR, network TV and HBO, it doesn't have quite enough to make me interested without a hook-up to real TVs or options for popular cable channels," and will not be available in many areas anyway (ENGADGET.com, 7/12).
