Comcast Prepping Q Launch of Xfinity Instant TV

Industry sources confirmed that Comcast is eyeing a Q3 commercial launch of Xfinity Instant TV, an in-footprint, managed IPTV service that will feature a variety of packages and initially target broadband subscribers who don't take a pay-TV package from the MSO.

Reuters reported this week that the app-based Xfinity Instant TV will be priced starting at about $15 per month and include packages that could sell for up to $40 per month and allow for add-ons such as ESPN. Comcast has not announced pricing or expected launch timing for Xfinity Instant TV and whether the new offering will support the MSO's cloud DVR service.

Xfinity Instant TV, expected to be a no-contract offering that won't require truck rolls, will initially be targeted to consumers who get broadband service from Comcast but have yet to take a pay-TV service, with the hope that they will eventually upgrade to Comcast's primary X1 pay-TV platform. However, Comcast could eventually develop a version of the product that doesn't require a broadband service, as it is already developing a video-only IP video gateway that could support Xfinity Instant TV.

Xfinity Instant TV also represents a rebrand of Stream TV, a skinny-bundle IPTV package that Comcast has been testing in select markets, including Boston and Chicago. Multichannel News reported last month that a rebrand was in the works ahead of a commercial launch later this year that would have customers access those subscriptions via the newly unified Xfinity Stream app.

For the full story go to Multichannel.com.

LINK:	http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/technology/comcast-prepping-q3-l...
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