On Tuesday, Comcast launched Xfinity Streampix, a new streaming video subscription service . Steampix features movies and full seasons of TV shows, and comes bundled with certain TV/internet and TV/internet/voice packages, or can be added for $5/month for current Comcast TV customers.
Comcast’s licensing partners at launch include ABC/Disney, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Cookie Jar, with some of the TV series featured being Lost, Married…with Children and The Office. Movies include The Big Lebowski, Ocean’s 11, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Streampix supports on-demand content for PCs, game consoles, tablets and smartphones, and AnyPlay, which allows customers stream live TV to multiple devices on their home networks.
Streampix is an ad-on service, cheap or free, but it’s catalog is a bit lacking compared to Netflix in regards to top movies, and doesn’t offer as many TV shows as Hulu Plus. The question is whether or not Comcast customers will ditch the aforementioned services to save a bit of money. Marcien Jenckles, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Video Services, Comcast, states, “Xfinity TV is a one-stop source for the most video entertainment on any screen and it just keeps getting better. Our goal is to consistently deliver greater value to our customers and to bring the best anytime, anywhere entertainment on multiple platforms. Streampix is another step moving TV Everywhere forward by giving customers access to an even greater library of popular choices to watch.”
Though Streampix is an add-on, combined with a cable TV service, it at least matches the amount of content Netflix and Hulu can offer. Interestingly, Porter Bibb, managing partner at Mediatech Capital Partners LLC, recently told Bloomberg Television that Comcast has “little confidence” in Streampix: