[Infowarrior] - Comcast's laughable new cord-cutter package

[Richard Forno]

(Translation: Get SlingTV, it's a much better deal and includes some useful channels.  --rick)

Comcast Offers Its Alternative to Cable TV, Using the Web
By EMILY STEELJULY 12, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/business/media/comcast-offers-its-alternative-to-cable-tv-using-the-web.html

Comcast, the country’s largest cable operator, is responding to the rush of new streaming television alternatives with the start of its own web-based offering that includes a bundle of broadcast networks and the premium cable network HBO.

The new service, which costs $15 a month, represents a bid from a mainstream cable company to stay relevant to a new generation of viewers. Many consumers — especially younger ones — are willing to pay for Internet service but are ditching cable packages in favor of streaming services that are often cheaper and offer more flexibility than the typical cable bundle.

For an extra $15 a month added to a Comcast Internet subscription, viewers will have access to live and on-demand programming on computers and mobile devices from about a dozen networks, along with cloud DVR storage and Streampix, Comcast’s movie offering. Called Stream, the new service will be available in Boston, Chicago and Seattle later this year and across the company’s coverage areas in the United States in 2016

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There are limitations, however, that could curb the new service’s appeal to potential subscribers. To start, Comcast’s streaming service will not include any cable networks beyond HBO. That excludes networks like the sports hub ESPN and AMC, home to the zombie-apocalypse hit “The Walking Dead.” The broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS — along with several other networks, are typically available free via high-definition antennas that cost about $25.

Subscribers to the Comcast app will not be able to stream the service to their television sets, an option for most other rival streaming services. (There is a workaround. Customers could use their account details to unlock access to network apps, like HBO Go, that are available for streaming to television sets.) Also, people who live in areas where Comcast is not the cable provider will not be able to subscribe to the service.

Mr. Strauss said that people seeking a broader lineup of channels and the ability to watch on their TVs had the option of subscribing to Comcast’s standard cable package. He added that the new offering was aimed at younger consumers keen to watch TV on computers and mobile devices.



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It's better to burn out than fade away.