Comcast is the latest major US pay-TV provider to plow ahead with a slimmed-down programming package focused on sports and news.
Comcast's new package, branded as Sports & News TV, starts at $70 per month and initially offers a lineup of more than 50 broadcast, cable news and sports channels, a cloud DVR with 300 hours of recording capacity, and a subscription to Peacock Premium, an NBCU streaming service that sells for $7.99 per month as a standalone.
Notables in the Sports & News lineup include top local broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo and Univision), a mix of news channels (CNBC, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC) and sports networks such as ESPN, FS1, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, FS1, Golf Channel and SEC Network.
Comcast's new contract-free package also includes more than 100 free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels powered by Xumo Enterprise, a unit of the Comcast-Charter Xumo streaming joint venture.
Customers who sign up for Sports & News will have the option to add a More Sports & Entertainment package that includes NFL RedZone, MLB Network, NBA TV and NHL Network for an additional $9.95 per month. They can also tack on Netflix and Apple TV+ for another $15 per month, Comcast said.
Focus on home broadband customers
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Comcast's new Sports & News TV package is tailored for the cable operator's home broadband customers, but is also being offered to video-only customers. The new package is available via the Xfinity Stream app on several retail streaming platforms, including Apple TV boxes, Amazon Fire TV devices, Roku streaming players and TVs, and on iOS and Android mobile devices.
The Sports & News package will also be accessible via the Xfinity Stream app on Xumo Stream Boxes and Xumo TVs, a Comcast official said in response to questions. However, customers who want to use a Comcast device with the new sports and news package will be offered an X1 box, which Comcast uses for its traditional pay-TV service. But customers who already have a retail Xumo Stream Box or Xumo TV will be able to sign in and access their channels via the Xfinity Stream app on those devices, Comcast said.
Comcast has no plans at this time to make this new package available outside its cable broadband footprint. But the cable op will undoubtably try to use the new sports/news package to help it curb pay-TV cord-cutting and build on the pricing and packaging optionality it has brought to the table with Now TV, its relatively new prepaid video streaming service.
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Comcast shed 365,000 domestic video subs in Q3, ending the quarter with 12.83 million video customers. Comcast doesn't break out how many video-only subs it has, but the vast majority of Comcast's pay-TV subs also take broadband service from the operator. Comcast is scheduled to post Q4 results on Thursday, January 30.
Sports packages are all the rage
Comcast's new streaming package also comes online as pay-TV providers seek to develop and launch new sports-focused TV packages following the demise of Venu Sports, a proposed streaming service from Disney, WBD and Fox that was originally set to offer a package of more than a dozen channels (and ESPN+) starting at $42.99 per month.
Last week, DirecTV introduced MySports, a slimmed-down tier for the DirecTV Stream service featuring 40 national and local channels, with plans to soon add ESPN+, for the introductory price of $49.99 per month – $20 off the regular price of $69.99 per month.
Fubo, the sports-focused streaming pay-TV service, is working on a new Sports & Broadcasting package amid its agreement to merge with Disney's Hulu + Live TV service. The proposed Fubo-Disney deal also aims to settle litigation between Fubo and Disney that pertained to the planned launch of the Venu joint venture.
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Editor's note: The story has been updated to reflect that the price for the new video package is $70 per month for Comcast customers who bundle in the operator's home broadband service as well as customers who only take video service from the operator. Comcast initially said the cost of the new Sports & News TV package rises to $90 per month when it's not bundled with the operator's home broadband service, but later clarified that the $70 price also applies to video-only customers.