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Comcast Will Let Netflix Onto Its X1 Platform

Posted by msmash on from the talk-of-the-town dept.

Kara Swisher, reporting for Recode:Cable giant Comcast will allow popular web video streaming service Netflix onto its X1 platform. (Editor's note: both the companies confirmed the move to the publication.) Sources said the deal to be on the cable giant's set-top box would be akin to the arrangement that Netflix has cut with smaller cable operators in the United States and bigger ones across the globe. Netflix also has deals with Apple, Roku and Google's Chromecast; its app is offered on these Internet TV services. It also is embedded in smart televisions.It's an enormous step, given the long and sometimes contentious history between the two companies against a backdrop of increased consumer usage of internet-delivered video. From the report:Back in 2012, for example, Peter Kafka reported that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was "once again accusing Comcast of violating 'net neutrality' principles by favoring its own web video service over those from Netflix, HBO and Hulu, when it comes to data usage."

6 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. It honestly does not compete by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I never understood why Comcast considered Netflix a competitor instead of something like another channel. Netflix has very little that would be playing currently on most cable channels people pay to watch, and it has nothing live like cable can offer... they are very complementary to each other.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:It honestly does not compete by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      Or people like me who dropped $100 cable tv service for a Hulu/Netflix/Amazon Prime and can watch most anything out there for less. Cable in general sucks.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:It honestly does not compete by brewthatistrue · · Score: 2

      > Netflix has very little that would be playing currently on most cable channels people pay to watch

      At one time, Netflix digital content was full of grade A movies instead of the mix of A, B, and C movies it has now.

      Then the MPAA wised up and learned from the RIAA's deal with Apple's iTunes and decided they didn't want to cede content distribution to a single mammoth provider ultimately ending up with DRM-free music sales.

      Netflix tried to split DVD and digital into two companies (Netflix and Qwikster) to allow them to bargain better with the studios, but the split failed and Netflix ultimately caved to MPAA demands to delay new releases on DVD in exchange for discounted DVD prices and the opportunity to be allowed to negotiate for streaming rights. (Notable competitor Redbox has not agreed to this release window and just pays retail price for new release DVDs.)

      The studios renegotiated their contracts to make digital content prohibitively expensive for Netflix.

      http://abovethecrowd.com/2011/...
      https://www.techdirt.com/artic...

      This is why there are so many web sites with competing catalogs and no one place to easily watch anything you want. Hulu, Vudu (Wal-Mart), Amazon, Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Daisuki, iTunes, Crackle, Google Play, etc.

      Some sites have tried to catalog into an easily searchable interface:
      https://www.justwatch.com/
      http://www.flixfindr.com/
      http://www.canistream.it/

      But still, there are some shows that are just not available anywhere (e.g. Rawhide tv western with Clint Eastwood).

      tldr: Netflix would compete with cable television if it could.

  2. Re:Can't beat them, join them by tripleevenfall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They'll lose if they take Netflix on head-to-head. But they can treat them like HBO, take a cut off the top, and then later start capping bandwidth and charging overages, or making people buy premium service in order to use Netflix.

  3. Re:Who won? by CaseyB · · Score: 2

    Both, neither, pick one. It's not a win for net neutrality though.

    Netflix: "Comcast is preferring their own services over others! Net neutrality, net neutrality!!"
    Comcast: "Alright, let's cut a deal."
    Netflix: "Comcast is preferring their own services and ours! All is right with the world! Screw you, video streaming startups!"

  4. Re:The question is is there payola involved? by frank_adrian314159 · · Score: 2

    Whenever someone "reaches an agreement" payola is involved.

    Not necessarily. In this case, Comcast got another bauble for it's array of X1 services and Netflix probably gets closer to some metric like "Integrate to profitable platforms". If both are seen as advantageous by the respective parties, there may not have been any money that changed hands. That may be unlikely, but it is possible.

    The part I find odd is that you somehow assume that, outside of providing you with the contracted service for the given price, that the companies involved have some responsibility to run their businesses without other external financial interactions. Does this extend to the other vendors Netflix deals with (like Samsung)? After all, you paid for the TV and so you deserve a rebate from Netflix? I feel dumber for having to type that, but that's what you're saying.

    --
    That is all.