Comcast has been offering their Xfinity TV app on Apple products for a while, and now they’re going a bit bigger. Xfinity TV is basically TV on demand on a mobile device for people who already use Comcast. Tomorrow, Comcast will be releasing Xfinity Streampix, a Netflix competitor that works like the more familiar program. Instead of video on demand, users will be able to instantly stream TV and movies. Xfinity Streampix will be included with other Xfinity packages, and it will apparently be available separately for about five bucks a month. Given how much lower that price is than having a cable package, it’s likely that there will be a lower selection or ads (or both), like Hulu.
There’s another similarity to Hulu: because of Comcast’s pull, there will be a lot of different TV shows available that Netflix doesn’t have, what with their owning NBC. Thursday’s launch will include past seasons of popular NBC shows and some big-name Universal movies. It’s possible that future updates will allow for faster release of new content by Comcast affiliates. Xfinity Streampix should be available on Android devices and various consoles within a year.
Jesus goddamned Christ, how many terrible-sounding proper nouns can you fit into one article? The answer is as many times as I had to type “Xfinity Streampix.” Seriously, it sounds like a low-rent X-Men offshoot team in the mid-nineties where everyone’s got a different movie themed mutant power. Rosebud can instantly know the meaning of a dead man’s last words! Magical Black Man can solve any problem with folksy wisdom! Everyone’s always trying to find Mr. MacGuffin, who can turn normal items into totems of mystery and power!
Seriously, though, if Comcast pushes their service and actually bothers to obtain worthwhile content with the same voracity of Netflix streaming, the same voracity Hulu always lacks, this could be a serious contender.
[Phandroid, via Comcast]
