It’s easy to shrug off last week’s announcement that Comcast and Charter have started a joint venture to gain market share nationwide in streaming-video distribution. But the two largest U.S. cable companies may be playing a long game that could lead to a new chapter in the streaming wars.
Comcast and Charter said they had developed a 50/50 venture to push Comcast’s Flex streaming platform into more homes across America. Comcast will license Flex to Charter, giving Charter’s Spectrum subscribers access to the interface. Comcast also will contribute its smart TV business (XClass) and free ad-supported streaming service Xumo to the venture
Charter, in turn, will make an initial contribution of $900 million to fund expenses and expansion. In addition, Charter will offer Flex-operated devices and associated voice-controlled remotes, beginning in 2023. While Flex isn’t a new product, the partnership nearly doubles the device’s potential install footprint.
On the surface, it looks like Comcast and Charter started this partnership years too late. Roku, Amazon, Apple and Google have been making streaming aggregation devices and software for more than a decade. Samsung’s smart TVs come with their own built-in streaming platform. What’s more, Netflix’s revelation last week that it lost customers for the first time in more than a decade suggests streaming subscribers may have peaked in the U.S., at least for the moment.
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