TV? What TV? Comcast Gearing Up Online Streaming Service
By KYW Newsradio tech editor Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Cable "cord cutters" are getting a new option for watching television from what might seem an unlikely source: Comcast, the cable behemoth, is testing a streaming service that's expected to be offered in the Philadelphia area early next year.
The service from Comcast, called simply "Stream," offers broadcast networks such as CBS, ABC, and NBC, plus HBO -- about a dozen choices in all.
The live and on-demand content costs $15 per month on top of a Comcast Internet subscription, and includes an online DVR.
Stream works on computers, smartphones, and tablets, but watching on an actual TV isn't supported. And you're out of luck if you want to see ESPN or certain other cable channels, though adding packages might be an option down the road.
Such a move makes sense for Comcast, which this year for the first time counts more broadband subscribers than traditional video customers.
The Philadelphia-based company joins a crowd of streamers, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, CBS, Sony, Dish, HBO, and Showtime.
Stream is expected to be up and running in Seattle, Chicago, and Boston by the end of the summer, with service offered in our area in early 2016.