The next big thing? Comcast is preparing to launch a streaming subscription package that'll be vastly cheaper than any comparable bundle currently on the market. During a recent speaking engagement at an industry conference in New York, Comcast CEO Brain Roberts said the upcoming bundle will be available to Comcast TV, broadband, or mobile customers.
Dubbed StreamSaver, the package will include access to Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock at a deep discount compared to what you'd pay for subscribing to each service individually. Roberts stopped short of revealing specifics on pricing, but it could be an interesting proposition if Comcast is able to deliver a compelling bundle.
As Variety highlights, the cheapest path to all three services today looks like this: Netflix Basic with ads for $6.99 a month, Apple TV+ at $9.99 a month, and Peacock Premium with ads for $5.99. That works out to $22.97 a month for all three, but Peacock will receive a $2 price hike to $7.99 per month starting in mid-July. How low could Comcast cut this down to? And are we talking ad-supported plans or ad-free memberships, because that'll make a huge difference.
Ultimately, it will all come down to pricing. If Comcast can price StreamSaver at a monthly rate that is truly unbelievable (something in the ballpark of $9.99 per month, like MoviePass, for example), then they have a good shot at being truly disruptive and shaking up the existing model. If it's a mild discount we're looking at, well then, move along as there's nothing to see here.
We've already seen that streaming bundles can work, and the Disney bundle is a good example of this. Newcomers can get Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ starting at $14.99 per month – a 44 percent savings over individual rates. Comcast could make waves by undercutting Disney, although I doubt very many broadband or mobile customers are going to make the switch to Comcast just for the bundle.
Comcast is expected to launch StreamSaver later this month.
Image credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters