Comcast to unveil Netflix, Apple TV+, Peacock streaming bundle
3:32 pm Tuesday, May 14th, 2024
(Reuters) – Comcast is set to launch a streaming bundle combining its Peacock service with Netflix and Apple TV+, as the media and broadband company looks to retain subscribers in the face of stiff competition.
The new bundle, StreamSaver, will be available to all its broadband, TV and mobile subscribers and at a “vastly reduced price to anything in the market today”, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference on Tuesday.
The tie-up follows a similar one announced last week between Warner Bros Discovery and Walt Disney – to offer a bundle of the Disney+, Hulu and Max streaming services.
“We’ve been bundling video successfully and creatively for 60 years. And so this is the latest iteration of that, and I think this will be a pretty compelling package,” Roberts said.
Broadband subscriber loss has been a sore point for Comcast as it faces intense competition from telecom firms such as T-Mobile and Verizon . The trend is expected to continue with the end of a federal internet subsidy program this month.
Churn – the percentage of customers who have stopped using a company’s services – has also long been one of the key problems facing the streaming industry, with more companies turning to bundling to combat subscriber losses and to better compete with industry leader Netflix.
Peacock, the streaming service of Comcast’s unit NBCUniversal, reported 34 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter, compared with Netflix’s 269.60 million subscribers and 117.6 million at Disney+, excluding Hotstar.
In an effort to attract more customers, Comcast in April launched a low-cost prepaid service plan called “Now” for broadband, TV and mobile, with flexible monthly options.
More details about the Comcast streaming bundle are expected to be released later this month.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
