Cox kills myFlare, FlarePlay and FlareKids OTT services.

Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video

February 22, 2016

1 Min Read
Cox Snuffs Out  'Flare' OTT Services

It's the end of the road for Flare.

Less than a month after Light Reading discovered that Cox Communications Inc. was closing down its Flare MeTV online video service, the cable company has now turned the lights off on all of its Flare-branded digital applications. Cox did provide details on user sign-ups, suggesting there was some interest in the storage, gaming and video apps… just not enough. (See also Cox's Fledging OTT Service Flares Out.)

The official Cox statement:

  • With Flare, we tested an over-the-top platform that supported several different digital services -- myFlare for storage, FlarePlay for gaming, FlareKids for Web videos -- each designed to make it easier to discover and consume digital entertainment. This attracted more than 300,000 users. However, as market conditions within which these services continued to harden, we were unable to monetize the user interest and web traffic to the level we needed to sustain the business. As a result, we've made the decision to shut down all Flare products and will begin to notify customers today. We will work to make the transition for these customers as smooth as possible. We'll start shutting down services next week and all Flare services will be turned down by mid May.

Don't forget, Cox is now licensing the Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) X1 platform, so expect other IP services to appear out of the last large private cable company in the US. New services with a distinctly Comcast flavor. (See Cox Takes Comcast X1 Platform National.)

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Cable/Video, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Mari Silbey

Senior Editor, Cable/Video

Mari Silbey is a senior editor covering broadband infrastructure, video delivery, smart cities and all things cable. Previously, she worked independently for nearly a decade, contributing to trade publications, authoring custom research reports and consulting for a variety of corporate and association clients. Among her storied (and sometimes dubious) achievements, Mari launched the corporate blog for Motorola's Home division way back in 2007, ran a content development program for Limelight Networks and did her best to entertain the video nerd masses as a long-time columnist for the media blog Zatz Not Funny. She is based in Washington, D.C.

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