Comcast has taken the wraps off an online video streaming service, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Amazon, Google and Netflix.
Called Stream, the service offers the U.S. cable giant’s Xfinity Internet customers access to live content from major TV networks including HBO, as well as a cloud-based digital video recorde r (DVR). In addition to live content, it also provides access to an extensive video on demand (VoD) catalogue.
To get the service, Xfinity customers sign up online and download an Xfinity TV app.
Stream will be available initially in Boston by the end of the summer with a price tag of $15 per month.
"We’ll take it to Chicago and Seattle next, with plans to make it available everywhere in our footprint by early 2016," said Matt Strauss, EVP and general manager of video services for Comcast, in a blog post on Sunday.
Launching Stream ramps up Comcast’s rivalry with over the top (OTT) TV providers like Netflix, Amazon and Google, which have disrupted the traditional TV model by making premium content available on any device connected to the Internet for a low-cost monthly fee.
Amazon, Google and Netflix have in recent years encroached further onto the cable industry’s turf by commissioning original content.
At $15 per month, Stream is considerably more expensive than Netflix, which starts at $8.99 per month, so content and quality of service will likely play a key role in the battle for streaming supremacy.
Comcast will also hope that Stream will help it maintain its strong position in the fixed broadband market.
The company had 22.4 million Xfinity customers at the end of March, but rivals are bulking up.
AT&T is close to securing regulatory support for its $48.5 billion acquisition of satellite provider DirecTV, while Charter in May agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable (TWC) in a deal worth $56.7 billion.
