Comcast offers live TV without cable subscription—though with a big limitation

Comcast's live-TV-over-the-Internet only works on Comcast Internet connections.

Read the whole story

 

[Wickwick]

For me, at least, it's far cheaper to buy a 'Triple Play' bundle from Comcast than to get just internet access. Dumping my cable subscription and subscribing to this would actually be more expensive than just sticking to my current cable + internet + phone. I'm not sure who the target audience would be.

 

[arkiel]

Live TV channels can only be watched while customers are on their home Internet connections.

 

[Danathar]

I wonder if this will work with a VPN connection into your home network? I'd guess yes but it would be interesting to see if somebody can get it working remotely that way.

 

[jandrese]

With Stream, Xfinity Internet customers can watch live TV from about a dozen networks—including all the major broadcast nets and HBO

If it includes HBO by default in the $15 base price then it's a bargain, but otherwise this looks like the online only version of the federally mandated "local" tier of programming. Usually that tier runs about $15 as well, although they will happily add as many fees as they can think of to push it up.

 

[xWidget]

I love paying to watch advertisements.

 

[SuperSpy]

The interesting details will be how many simultaneous streams it supports, as well as if it magically doesn't count against your monthly data cap.

 

[THavoc]

In a first for Comcast, the package will not require a cable TV subscription. But it still has a major limitation. Live TV channels can only be watched while customers are on their home Internet connections.

Comcast later disclosed that in order to keep the service, a customer must only say nice things about Comcast Customer Service and not tall to the FCC. Ever.

Edit: Comcast later clarified that it's ok to talk to only Ajit Pai at the FCC to encourage him to keep up his fine work in promoting ISP competition.

 

[Deleted member 192806]

In a first for Comcast, the package will not require a cable TV subscription. But it still has a major limitation. Live TV channels can only be watched while customers are on their home Internet connections. When customers are on the road, they'll be able to watch on-demand and recorded videos but not live TV through Comcast's service.

Sounds like TWC's app.

xWidget[/url]":3e7ghyym]I love paying to watch advertisements.

Ah, a Hulu+ subscriber.

 

[Deleted member 14629]

Wow, this is almost a great idea! Almost.

 

[Deleted member 192806]

Danathar[/url]":3p1y0cdu]I wonder if this will work with a VPN connection into your home network? I'd guess yes but it would be interesting to see if somebody can get it working remotely that way.

Didn't work for me. They might have picked up on the mobile I was using.

 

[Dirtman16]

Happysin[/url]":2hec34re]Wow, this is almost a great idea! Almost.

I'm fairly certain it's a trick of some sort!

 

[ethd]

In classic Comcast fashion, they take a good page out of their competitor's book (Sling TV) and completely screw it up by forcing Comcast Internet.

 

[fenris_uy]

So, is this Comcast late response to Aereo?

 

[armwt]

Dirtman16[/url]":1v0bugk9]

Happysin[/url]":1v0bugk9]Wow, this is almost a great idea! Almost.

I'm fairly certain it's a trick of some sort!

So... how many hours minutes of TV do you get to watch before hitting your data cap?

 

[TimmyD]

But it won't be on your TV, because Comcast Stream works on phones, tablets, and computers...

So they're offering live TV, but you can't watch it on your TV. And they wonder why it inevitably fails.

They just don't get it, do they?

 

[tyler_g_1]

An important note:

"Stream will be available to our Xfinity Internet customers for only $15 per month and will first launch in Boston at the end of the summer," Comcast wrote. "We’ll take it to Chicago and Seattle next, with plans to make it available everywhere in our footprint by early 2016. To find out when Stream is available in your area just email us here."

Given the above, we should be clear that while no cable package is needed, a Comcast-only internet connection is needed.

 

[hertzsae]

Wickwick[/url]":1mrkd1et]For me, at least, it's far cheaper to buy a 'Triple Play' bundle from Comcast than to get just internet access. Dumping my cable subscription and subscribing to this would actually be more expensive than just sticking to my current cable + internet + phone. I'm not sure who the target audience would be.

Are you on a full priced triple play bundle, or a promo rate? I was paying $45/month for an internet only promo rate when I had comcast. That plus another $15 would have been a little cheaper than the double play bundle, but it would be way cheaper if you didn't need the set top boxes. When I paid for cable, the set top boxes were a large part of my bill. If they come out with Android TV, Roku and Apple TV apps, you would be able to no longer be burdened by Comcast's horrible boxes. I believe Android TV on the upcoming Android M will be able to DVR live streams as well.

Having HBO as part of the bundle at $15/month would have gotten me if I still had their internet. Lucky for me, I'm on a local provider enjoying fiber at a lower price than a much slower Comcast connection.

 

[Deleted member 192806]

Dirtman16[/url]":1cbfolhv]

Happysin[/url]":1cbfolhv]Wow, this is almost a great idea! Almost.

I'm fairly certain it's a trick of some sort!

*handwave*

This is not the deal you're looking for.

 

[vogelabv]

Let's see how restricted of an internet package we can make that people will actually buy... if it becomes popular, let's slowly add more restrictions. /s

That's one way to embrace the internet.

Edit: This is pretty much the definition of monopolistic behavior. A user can easily imagine a better service, but it's never coming, and shit like this is released that's hopefully "good enough". If it wasn't monopolistic behavior, disruption in the industry should be possible and we'd leave this crap for the history books.

 

[ChaoticUnreal]

Wickwick[/url]":3nccix4c]For me, at least, it's far cheaper to buy a 'Triple Play' bundle from Comcast than to get just internet access. Dumping my cable subscription and subscribing to this would actually be more expensive than just sticking to my current cable + internet + phone. I'm not sure who the target audience would be.

That price typically goes away after a year or so. Personally for me I'm currently paying 44.99 for internet and a very quick search shows that the triple play would cost 90$ vs 60$ for this service.

The lack of a set top box option (I have PS3, XBox360, and WiiU hooked up to my TVs) means its a non-starter but the price is right.

 

[Dcmasta]

Or you can get a digital antenna get all those channels minus HBO for free and not give any money to those assholes.

 

[THavoc]

Ostracus[/url]":2muh9uy5]

Dirtman16[/url]":2muh9uy5]

Happysin[/url]":2muh9uy5]Wow, this is almost a great idea! Almost.

I'm fairly certain it's a trick of some sort!

*handwave*

This is not the deal you're looking for.

*starts to look at Comcast deal*

*changes mind after coming in proximity to stranger*

*needs a drink*

 

[THavoc]

Dcmasta[/url]":3lytx8tu]Or you can get a digital antenna get all those channels minus HBO for free and not give any money to those assholes.

Depending on how good the OTA signal is, of course.

There are quite a few people that cannot do that.

Luckily, I'm not one of them.

 

[GreetingsEarthling]

TimmyD[/url]":39w89rfo]

But it won't be on your TV, because Comcast Stream works on phones, tablets, and computers...

So they're offering live TV, but you can't watch it on your TV. And they wonder why it inevitably fails.

They just don't get it, do they?

 

[jandrese]

ethd[/url]":3qkzbsr8]In classic Comcast fashion, they take a good page out of their competitor's book (Sling TV) and completely screw it up by forcing Comcast Internet.

There is at least a reason why it would be Comcast Internet only: Comcast doesn't want to find itself in Netflix's position where it's serving up tons of data to other ISPs and gets blackmailed into paying more for peering.

Plus, except for (maybe) HBO, the content and bandwidth they're using here are basically free.

 

[jandrese]

Dcmasta[/url]":jz11ribc]Or you can get a digital antenna get all those channels minus HBO for free and not give any money to those assholes.

Seems like a thin wrapper over a HBO streaming deal to me.

 

[nononsense]

I've been looking at possibly going back to Comcast from AT&T because you can watch recorded videos on your mobile devices and now that they are using everyone's routers as WiFi hot spots, there isn't a restaurant in Houston I can go to that doesn't have Xfinity WiFi.

But it's Comcast, and I'll never voluntarily go back, no matter how sweet the deal.

That bridge was burned.

 

[dbox1983]

Danathar[/url]":16badtis]I wonder if this will work with a VPN connection into your home network? I'd guess yes but it would be interesting to see if somebody can get it working remotely that way.

I might just give that a shot. I have a vpn back to the house so I can watch my security cameras.

 

[billyk]

I wonder if it will work with my Comcast business account? Xfinity logins work. It would be nice. OTA is fine but I am on the fringe so when the trees have leaves my reception can get spotty, so pretty much half the year.

 

[neodorian]

Considering how (relatively) little they charge to add some basic cable package and HBO to an internet access plan, this seems more like paying about the same price to get it streaming instead of via a cable box.

We've got some package with "ZOMGBlast!" internet access and a basic channel lineup with a handful of them in HD plus HBO for about the same price. It looks like the main savings would be not having to rent a cable box for access. Otherwise, it seems more like an addon for people who travel and simply must have access to their Comcast TV lineup and DVR.

 

[IronTek]

SuperSpy[/url]":1o1csdu5]The interesting details will be how many simultaneous streams it supports, as well as if it magically doesn't count against your monthly data cap.

Indeed. At the same time, if it doesn't count against the data cap, I'm curious (hoping) this will run afoul of some FCC provision.

"Why does your paid service not count against a user's data cap but your competitor's does?"

 

[Evan E]

jandrese[/url]":3jkzrl56]
There is at least a reason why it would be Comcast Internet only: Comcast doesn't want to find itself in Netflix's position where it's serving up tons of data to other ISPs and gets blackmailed into paying more for peering.

And the last thing they want to do is provide a clear example of how peering arrangements are anti-competitive.

 

[blitzertidus]

Being a Comcast customer in the Atlanta area (one of the areas they are trialing usage caps) - I don't see how this is going to work. It's just myself, my wife, and our daughter, and we regularly go over the 300GB allotted to us due to video streaming as it is. Unless this service doesn't count against Comcast's data cap plan, in which case I would wonder about Net Neutrality issues...

I guess we'll see how this plays out as it approaches production.

 

[Xipher]

TimmyD[/url]":15y5f8uv]

But it won't be on your TV, because Comcast Stream works on phones, tablets, and computers...

So they're offering live TV, but you can't watch it on your TV. And they wonder why it inevitably fails.

They just don't get it, do they?

It's revenue protection. They get it entirely, and it's intentional. It's not just Comcast either, these limitations are common stipulations by the content companies.

 

[jandrese]

blitzertidus[/url]":226e97cy]Being a Comcast customer in the Atlanta area (one of the areas they are trialing usage caps) - I don't see how this is going to work. It's just myself, my wife, and our daughter, and we regularly go over the 300GB allotted to us due to video streaming as it is. Unless this service doesn't count against Comcast's data cap plan, in which case I would wonder about Net Neutrality issues...

I guess we'll see how this plays out as it approaches production.

This assumes Comcast gives a flying flip about Net Neutrality. The major ISPs treat net neutrality the same way the RIAA/MPAA treat fair use: they pretend it doesn't exist and send the attack lawyers against anything that threatens the bottom line.

 

[Hack-n-Slash]

Xipher[/url]":kanzytyu]

TimmyD[/url]":kanzytyu]

But it won't be on your TV, because Comcast Stream works on phones, tablets, and computers...

So they're offering live TV, but you can't watch it on your TV. And they wonder why it inevitably fails.

They just don't get it, do they?

It's revenue protection. They get it entirely, and it's intentional. It's not just Comcast either, these limitations are common stipulations by the content companies.

Eh? There are quite a number of phones, tablets, and computers with HDMI-out capability... just because they're willfully ignoring Roku and Apple TV doesn't mean it's not easily doable.

 

[Violynne]

I absolutely love how the cable industry promotes it's products:

"We hate the internet. Our customers are leaving by the bus load, and we're losing advertising revenue faster than any time in our history. So, we've formulated another brilliant idea: not giving a damn what customers want, controlling the price, and adding more strings than a garment factory.

With Comcast Stream, we'll reduce the capabilities of your current hardware platform, offering much fewer channels, and requiring you be on our IP network. Thus, if you have VPN because you're afraid we'll continue selling your surfing habits, well, another 'screw what you want' is our way of addressing this issue.

We do this because we don't want customers. If we removed the restrictions, provided a service based on what channels customers wanted, and provided both on-demand and streaming options, we would probably see a growth of our market, even if the new customer isn't a current Comcast customer.

Why do we do this? Because you still need our overpriced broadband to access this service, genius.

So, thank you for allowing us to step into the internet age. We look forward to taking your money and giving you the worst service it can buy.

See you, suckers!

Sincerely, Your Friendly Neighborhood Comcast Corporation."

Too bad we can't upload evil laugh tracks.

 

[TimmyD]

Xipher[/url]":2gysoh9y]

TimmyD[/url]":2gysoh9y]

But it won't be on your TV, because Comcast Stream works on phones, tablets, and computers...

So they're offering live TV, but you can't watch it on your TV. And they wonder why it inevitably fails.

They just don't get it, do they?

It's revenue protection. They get it entirely, and it's intentional. It's not just Comcast either, these limitations are common stipulations by the content companies.

What's the point of buying an Internet Streaming service if you can't stream it on your TV?

 

[lewax00]

Well...it's a step in the right direction I guess. They still have some bits to work out though. Still not enough to interest me in live TV though, there are only a handful of shows I'm willing to watch with ads, and only because they're on free services.