Comcast is taking a stab at the streaming video business with a
service named Xfinity Streampix, which will launch on February 23rd. The
service will be included for free with Blast! and Blast! Extra TV /
internet plans as well as most triple-play packages (TV, phone, and
internet), and will only be available to cable subscribers. If you don’t
have one of the higher-tier plans it will carry a $4.99 premium over
your existing service.
The cable operator says Streampix will be a separate but
complementary service to Xfinity TV, which lets cable subscribers stream
a limited selection of shows and movies from Comcast’s video on demand
offerings to computers and iOS devices. Streampix will differentiate
itself from Xfinity TV by maintaining a backlog of shows from previous
seasons, although it, too, will be available across multiple devices —
with Android and Xbox 360 support coming down the road. Movies and TV
shows from NBCUniversal, Disney, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, and
Cookie Jar Entertainment are going to be available at first, though
Comcast promises more are to come soon (see below for a list of some of
the first offerings).
