Comcast Unveils Streaming Service

PHILADELPHIA: Cable giant Comcast has begun a beta test of a new streaming service that will offer its internet customers access to a number of live channels, on-demand offerings and a cloud DVR for $15 a month.

Stream will be available to Comcast's Xfinity internet customers, delivering about a dozen channels, including HBO and the major broadcast networks, on laptops, tablets and phones in their home. For the $15 monthly fee subscribers will also have access to on-demand movies and TV shows, as well as a cloud DVR service.

Matt Strauss, the executive VP and general manager of video services for Comcast Cable, announced in a blog post that Stream will first launch in Boston at the end of the summer. It will then expand to Chicago and Seattle, rolling out to the entire Comcast footprint by early 2016.

"We want to make ordering Stream as easy as buying a song online," Strauss said. "And make tuning in to a show as simple as opening an email. It’s an exciting time to be a TV fan—there is more quality content than ever and seemingly limitless ways to keep up with all the shows and movies people are talking about. We’ll continue to experiment by creating offerings like Stream, so that users can choose the service that works best for them. So if you love TV and spend most of your time with the screen in your lap as opposed to the one on the wall, Stream may just be the thing for you."