Comcast and Charter, two of the best cable TV operators in the United States, form a streaming joint venture based on Comcast’s popular Xfinity Flex devices.
The 50-50 Partnership will make the service available on both connected 4K devices and smart TVs sold in national outlets, as well as directly through Charter and Comcast. It will be a licensing deal for Flex, which now has nearly 4 million homes after launching in 2017.
Comcast is also contributing to Xumo, an ad-supported free streaming service it acquired in 2020, a joint venture, as well as its fledgling retail business for XClass TVs. Charter provides $ 900 million, pays in installments over several years, and will begin offering Flex-based streaming services starting in 2023.
Streaming offerings featured in the joint venture include Peacock, a service launched in 2020 by Comcast NBCUniversal, and Xumo.
The XClass TVs, launched last year in partnership with Walmart, will expand to more retailers and possibly as a direct purchase item through Comcast and Charter.
“We are delighted to partner with Charter to bring this platform and its award-winning experience to millions of new customers. “These products are designed to make searching and discovering live, on-demand and streaming video easy to use and incredibly simple,” said Dave Watson, CEO of Comcast Cable. “This partnership uniquely combines more than a decade of technical innovation with new national monetization opportunities and our joint investments.”
Charter CEO Tom Rutledge said the new company “will bring a complete operating platform, new devices and smart TVs with a powerful app store that provides a leaner and more integrated user experience.” The executive added that the goal of collaborating in an emerging market is “to compete on a large scale with established national platforms”. The Flex offering will become part of the Charter Options menu for the Spectrum TV app, available at various distribution points.
The closure of the joint venture is subject to customary closing conditions. This joint venture does not involve Comcast or Charter broadband or cable video businesses which remain separate.
Source: Deadline
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