Comcast To Allow TV Customers To Ditch Set-Top Box (usatoday.com)

An anonymous reader writes: In response to the FCC's efforts to open up the pay-TV set-top box market, Comcast said today it will allow some of its subscribers to watch TV without leasing a set-top box. Customers with a Roku TV, Roku streaming media player, or 2016 Samsung Smart TV will be able to watch Comcast's TV programming through the Xfinity TV app embedded in the TV set or Roku devices later this year. However, customers will still have to subscribe to a standard cable TV package from Comcast's Xfinity brand. "We remain committed to giving our customers more choice in how, when and where they access their subscription," said Mark Hess, a Comcast senior vice president, in a prepared statement. The FCC has responded to Comcast's recent announcement saying in a statement, "While we do not know all of the details of this announcement, it appears to offer only a proprietary, Comcast-controlled user interface and seems to allow only Comcast content on different devices, rather than allowing those devices to integrate or search across Comcast content as well as other content consumers subscribe to."

Comments

Re:Nothing new to the customer

[The New Guy 2.0]

Set-top boxes were built too-soon by companies hoping Digital Cable would have been more popular. Therefore, most have low-end chips that were high-priced back then, now they're obsolete leading to the unacceptable performance.

Re:Here's a brain fart for ya

[fustakrakich]

economic realities

Yes, the economic realities of kickbacks... how to make a monopoly not look like a monopoly...