William Gallagher
Comcast's CEO has announced that the Apple TV+ app will launch on its Xfinity X1, Flex, and XClass TV platforms, and in conjunction, Comcast's Stream app will be on Apple TV hardware.
Despite previously appearing to not be interested in the Apple TV app, Comcast will now adopt Apple's app and users of its TV streaming platforms will get access to it.
According to Variety, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts made the announcement during the company's Q3 earnings call. Few details were released, but subsequently a Comcast spokesperson said that the Apple TV app would join the service "in the coming months."
The move brings Apple TV to Comcast's Xfinity X1 subscribers, and will also appear on the company's new XClass TV range of smart television sets. At the same time, it will join existing channels and apps viewable on the Apple TV 4K.
Specific integrations are not yet clear. While the Apple TV app will provide access to Apple TV+ and other subscriptions made through the app, like CBS, HBO, and more, details about if pay TV services from other competing cable networks will be allowed.
The terms of the deal are unknown.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
7 Comments
The Spectrum app has been on Apple TV for several years.. I use it everyday instead of having to rent their digital box.
At some point Comcast must have realized that losing people who wanted a TV package to YoutubeTv (Google) or Hulu (Disney) wasn't a good long term strategy. But limiting that strategy to only Roku boxes made even less sense. I'm not sure just what the problem was with making a deal with Apple. Maybe it was revenue sharing on the premium channel subscriptions. Maybe it was lack of customer data from tvOS's ability to block this just like iOS does. And Comcast had never participated in the single sign-on feature of iOS/tvOS which has always been a major pain in the rear with apps constantly asking for reauthorization, especially if you hadn't used them in a while.
The irony is that Comcast legacy TV has a winning package compared to the cord cutting options, especially for things like sports and regional sports networks. I looked at this in the last couple of weeks and complained bitterly to my local Comcast store in that I wanted to consolidate my streaming boxes to just one thing....an Apple TV 4K. Why I would still need a Comcast box at all is nuts and their recommendation of getting a Roku box wasn't an option for me in a hour full of Apple tech. One issue I know the had to be worked out is DVR where Xfinity customers are still storing shows locally and everyone else does this in the cloud now. And here's the big surprise....my monthly Comcast bill has a cheaper TV component than Internet...and its cheaper than Youtube or Hulu once you upgrade them for nickel and dimming you on 4K and/or DVR features.
And now I'll just have Apple streaming boxes so I can return the two Comcast boxes which Comcast is already discounting their fees for in order to keep my business. Everybody wins, except for Technicolor or Arris that makes these boxes. But for the customer that want to use the Comcast equipment, they will have more options now.
Comcast's refusal to support single sign on has been annoying. They made me fight tooth and nail to get an "accidental" charge removed from my bill. They took FOREVER to switch to IMAP. They... well, they just everything. There's a reason I have this username.