Comcast launches its own cable-free TV with Stream

The latest (and most interesting) entrant to the cord-cutting TV wars is here: Comcast. Tonight the company announced Stream, a service that delivers TV exclusively over the internet (Correction: it is “IP-based managed network” connection, check after the break for why that matters). The catch? You’ll need Comcast internet service to subscribe, and the live TV feeds only work in your home (at least for now). It’s also only available in select areas to start, and will launch in Boston this summer. For $15 a month, subscribers get about a dozen channels, including all broadcast networks and HBO (but not ESPN or any other cable channels, according to the New York Times). It also has access to the usual TV Everywhere cable authenticated-streaming for when you’re away from home, plus Comcast’s Netflix-like Streampix service for movies.

Developing…

As for the at-home restriction on TV service, that’s because, as a Comcast representative tells Engadget, this is “an IP-based cable service that offers live, on demand and cloud DVR delivered over our managed network in the home.” In case you’re somehow not familiar with what that means, it translates to this service not using the same internet connection everyone else uses to reach subscriber’s homes, even though it runs through the same wiring and modem. Comcast made the same distinction when it launched video on-demand streaming to the Xbox 360 a few years back, and Reed Hastings was not happy with the explanation. Given the current climate around net neutrality, we can’t imagine this launch will go over without any controversy, and expect to hear more about that bit soon.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Comcast