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The service, dubbed Xfinity Instant TV, will be priced as low
as $15 a month to roughly $40 a month, sources said. It will
include major broadcast networks as well as add-on options for
sports channels like ESPN and Spanish language channels such as
Telemundo and Univision.
Xfinity Instant TV is expected to be available in the third
quarter to more than 50 million homes within Comcast's
footprint, which includes cities such as Philadelphia,
Washington, D.C., and Chicago.
The company is changing its video offerings to be more targeted
as viewer habits evolve. Xfinity Instant TV will be aimed at
high-speed Internet subscribers who cannot afford or do not want
to pay for bigger cable bundles, sources said. The hope is that
subscribers will eventually upgrade to Comcast's X1 platform.
Comcast has already given a $15-a-month streaming video service
known as Stream a trial run in Boston and Chicago, sources said.
Xfinity Instant TV is a revamped version of that offering and
will be rolled out nationwide in Comcast's territories.
Other pay-TV providers including Dish Network Corp and AT&T Inc
have started online streaming services for “cord cutting”
consumers, or those who are dropping their cable packages for
other options.
Comcast's service is different in that it is limited to its
territories and to its own broadband subscribers. It has yet to
offer an over-the-top streaming service more broadly nationwide.
(Reporting by Anjali Athavaley; Editing by Bill Trott)
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