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Comcast Takes Aim At Netflix With 'Streampix'

Movies, Full TV Show Seasons Available from Disney-ABC, NBCU, Sony, Warner Bros.

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 2/21/2012 1:03:40 PM

Comcast -- looking to take a bite out of Netflix's hide -- this week is launching Xfinity Streampix, a new multiscreen subscription video service that provides movies and full series of past-season TV shows that will be included in several premium bundles and offered for $5 per month with other video packages.

To launch Streampix, the cable operator has cut licensing agreements with Disney-ABC Television Group (for TV shows only), NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Cookie Jar.

Comcast said Streampix will be included as part of many Xfinity triple-play packages, Blast!+ and Blast! Extra video/high-speed Internet packages, as well as separately for $4.99 a month with other video packages.

Like Netflix's streaming-video service, Streampix will be available to customers in and outside the home on multiple devices including TVs (as a subscription VOD folder), computers and mobile devices. The new service is separate from the 75,000 TV shows and movies currently available to Comcast video subscribers on VOD, on XfinityTV.com and through the Xfinity TV app.

"Our goal is to consistently deliver greater value to our customers and to bring the best anytime, anywhere entertainment on multiple platforms," Comcast senior vice president and general manager of video services Marcien Jenckes said. "Streampix is another step moving ‘TV Everywhere' forward by giving customers access to an even greater library of popular choices to watch."

Initially, Streampix will offer full past seasons of: NBC's 30 Rock, Heroes and The Office; ABC's Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty; ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager; and Sony's Married... with Children.

Movies on Streampix will include: Warner's Analyze That, Ocean's Eleven and When Harry Met Sally; Universal's Brokeback Mountain and The Big Lebowski; and Sony's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Stuart Little.

Kids' programming is set to include Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Wizards of Waverly Place; and Cookie Jar's Inspector Gadget, Paddington Bear and Strawberry Shortcake.

In the coming year, the Streampix service will be available on additional devices such as Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Android-powered devices, Comcast said.

Xfinity TV also offers a suite of tools to personalize and manage viewing across screens for no additional charge through XfinityTV.com and the Xfinity TV app.

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• “Thanks for sharing this information, Todd. It’s interesting to see all of the innovation currently underway in the TV industry. I think that Comcast’s Streampix demonstrates how OTT providers like Netflix and Hulu, as well as new Internet streaming services from companies like Boxee and Aereo, are pushing traditional CATV operators to innovate and develop new offerings. It’s great to see all of this innovation in TV technology, but I also think it’s important that CATV operators, OTT providers and streaming services alike take into consideration the importance of quality as they make headway in the market. Cable companies like Comcast should have an advantage here because they have more experience delivering content, and the experience they deliver over a multiscreen Internet service should be at the same level as their traditional cable. As cable companies push to innovate and take on the OTT services, I think we will see video quality become a top concern for consumers and a competitive advantage for providers in the quickly evolving video market.”

  
  Steve A. Day - 2/23/2012 10:11:41 AM EST
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