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Comcast Advances Digital Home Portfolio with Three Services
| Jun 16, 2011 | Consumer Services U.S.
| Analyst: Larry Hettick
Event Summary
June 14, 2011 -- At the 2011 NCTA Cable Show, Comcast announced a partnership with Skype to provide home video conferencing, audio calls, and text messaging between the Comcast Xfinity-connected TV set and the global Skype user community. Comcast further announced and demonstrated a next-generation user interface for its video subscribers. It also showcased its latest portfolio addition with a home security services demonstration, recently expanded from market trial to commercial deployment.
Quick Take
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Positive on Comcast’s latest move to add a troika of new services, including a Skype audio/video/message service to the TV screen, a more interactive interface that adds Internet apps and content to the TV screen, and a home monitoring and security service. Individually, each portfolio addition adds revenue potential to the company and makes Comcast’s video and broadband connectivity more valuable to the end user, thus making customer churn less likely for core Comcast services.
• Vendor Importance: High to Comcast, because Verizon already has a home monitoring service deployed and it has announced a video conferencing service (coming soon) with a Cisco umi partnership. Both AT&T and Verizon have advanced interactive capabilities that meld their respective wireline pay TV services (U-verse TV and FiOS TV) with the subscriber’s broadband Internet connection, while DISH and DIRECTV have only limited Internet content and applications access.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the digital home services market, because consumers can also purchase video conferencing service directly from Skype without buying it from Comcast, although the Comcast version does allow equipment rental and it includes some other interactive features not available with standalone Skype video conferencing. Interactive services that mix and match broadcast video and Internet content are on every Tier 1 triple play providers’ development roadmap, while Verizon and all Tier 1 MSOs have or plan to have a home security/home monitoring service.
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Current Perspective
Competitive Strengths and Weaknesses
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Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts to Unveil Next Generation Television Experience and New Generation Television Experience and New Broadband Speeds
Comcast Taps Industry Leaders Facebook, Intel Corporation, Pace plc and thePlatform
New Xfinity TV Experience Delivers Advanced Search, Personalization and Interactivity
PHILADELPHIA, PA and CHICAGO, IL - June 14, 2011
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) today announced that it is working with leading technology and content providers to deliver the company’s next-generation Xfinity® TV experience. This new experience transforms the way consumers watch television with a new guide and user interface that makes the TV screen more interactive, personal and social. Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts will demonstrate this new service and new speeds at the 2011 NCTA show in Chicago on Thursday, June 16 during the General Session that begins at 9 am CT.
Now available in a market trial in Augusta, GA, Xfinity TV brings an entirely new user experience to television that makes it easier to search and select from tens of thousands of choices. Through this experience, customers enjoy:
Fast, intuitive search that lets users find what they want to watch in seconds from thousands of choices on TV, On Demand, on their DVR, or from a selection of additional content.
A more personalized TV experience called MyTV® where users can see and access all of their recordings, favorites and recommendations in one place that reflects their interests, favorite series, sports teams, movies and music.
Interactive apps that are easy to access and enhanced for TV, like traffic and weather, and social apps like Facebook® that let users share and discover what to watch with their friends.
“We’ve made great progress on providing better tools – first on the web, then on tablets and mobile devices – to make it easier to find what you want to watch, when you want it from thousands of choices. We’re excited to bring those advanced capabilities to the TV set to enable a richer, more personalized experience,” said Sam Schwartz, President of Comcast Converged Products. “This is a new platform for continuous innovation and new product development. We are just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible and we look forward to working with industry leaders like these as we continue to evolve what it means to watch TV.”
Xfinity TV integrates technology, content and applications from industry leaders including:
Integrating with Facebook to bring social apps to TV, making it easy for people to share their TV experience with friends, wherever they may be.
Intel Corporation provided the Intel® Architecture-based CE SoC for the new set-top boxes, delivering the CPU and graphics performance required for the service’s advanced user interface, fast responsive performance and new interactive applications.
Pace plc, a leader in digital TV technology, developed the powerful hybrid set-top box with tru2way and IP capability that enables the new television experience.
thePlatform®, a leading video publishing company wholly owned by Comcast, is bringing its cloud-based video publishing system, mpx, as the content management infrastructure for the service.
This is the first of a series of products made possible by Xcalibur, an advanced application and video platform that uses cloud computing services in the Comcast network to bring new, more innovative television services to consumers, faster.
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
Comcast and Skype Announce Agreement to Bring a New HD Video Calling Experience to the Television
Partnership Will Enable Comcast Customers to Bring Family and Friends Together Via Clear, Widescreen Skype Video Calls Using Their Existing HD Television and Broadband Connection
PHILADELPHIA and LUXEMBOURG - June 14, 2011
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and Skype today announced that the companies have entered into a strategic partnership that will enable Comcast customers to communicate with family and friends through HD video calling on their television. They will soon be able to make and receive Skype video calls from their television, whether their friends and family use Skype on their home TVs, PCs, compatible smartphones or tablets.
Through this arrangement, Comcast customers will be able to experience widescreen HD video calling that is immersive and natural. With Skype, they can share in the excitement of a big game, a birthday party or holiday, a bedtime story, or a casual conversation with loved ones, and have the ability to communicate with hundreds of millions of Skype users across the globe. As real-time video communication becomes a more integral part of the way people connect, Skype and Comcast will bring a simple, affordable, high-quality video calling experience to millions of homes.
“Our unique relationship with Skype not only will change how our customers interact with their TV, but also will create new and meaningful ways to bring our customers closer to the people they care about,” said Neil Smit, President, Comcast Cable. “TV has evolved into a social experience, and Comcast and Skype will be delivering a product that personalizes the TV experience even more, and brings friends and family together through the biggest screen in their homes.”
Tony Bates, CEO, Skype, said, “We are pleased to announce this partnership with Comcast. By combining Comcast’s broad living room reach with Skype’s innovative communications platform and worldwide community of users, we can bring video calling into the heart of the home allowing people to share life’s experiences both big and small.”
Here are a few things customers will be able to do through this offering:
Make and receive Skype video and audio calls, or send instant messages via Skype on a television while watching their favorite TV show at the same time, and accept incoming calls during a TV show with the help of Caller ID.
Make and receive video and audio calls, or send instant messages via Skype on a compatible mobile phone or tablet.
Import friends to their address book from their Facebook, Outlook, Gmail and smartphone contact lists, find them on Skype and see when contacts are online and available to talk.
This service will be delivered on the Comcast customer’s HDTV through an adaptor box, a high-quality video camera, and a specially designed remote control that enables customers to text on Skype as well as control their television. The other calling party does not need any special equipment beyond what is needed to use Skype.
In addition, customers will be able to access mobile features conveniently through Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile app, and continue to enjoy conversations by switching from one compatible device (e.g., smartphone, tablet or television) to another.
Customer trials for this offering will begin in the coming months, and further product details will be made available later this year.
Comcast Helps Power the Digital Home with New Xfinity Home Security Service
Broadband-Based System Enables Customers to Remotely Monitor Their Home and Control Digital Thermostats and Lights in Real Time
Available Today in Several Market Areas Including Philadelphia, Houston, Portland and Jacksonville with Additional Markets Launching Before End of the Year
PHILADELPHIA, PA - June 8, 2011
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information, and communications products and services, today announced it has expanded its new home security business into six additional U.S. market areas. Xfinity Home Security offers traditional home security components, like police and fire alarm protection backed by 24/7 professional monitoring, as well as the ability to adjust digital thermostats, turn lights on or off and watch secure live streaming video from wireless cameras while away from home. The service also comes with a new Xfinity Security app, which is available for free on Apple’s iTunes App Store®.
“Xfinity Home Security brings digital home monitoring to a new level,” said Mitch Bowling, Senior Vice President and General Manager of New Businesses for Comcast Cable. “It comes with a range of broadband-based technologies that empower customers to stay better connected to their home virtually anytime, anywhere.”
Xfinity Home Security offers consumers the ability to create personalized settings that can do things like provide real-time e-mail or text alerts when doors open or close or when motion detectors report activity occurring inside or outside of the home. In addition, the service comes with a tablet-like touch screen with a menu of widgets that allow access to the latest weather, news, traffic, and sports scores.
In addition to 24/7 professional monitoring, Xfinity Home Security provides customers the ability to:
watch live streaming video of their home via video wireless video cameras;
access security controls remotely via a Web portal or the Xfinity Security app for the iPhone;
manage home utilities like digital thermostats and lights;
have more peace of mind since both battery and cellular backup helps ensure customers remain fully protected even in the event of a power outage;
access features from some of Comcast’s existing services. For example, an Xfinity Voice customer could listen to a voicemail through an app on the security interface.
Today, Comcast is selling the Xfinity Home Security Preferred Package for as low as $39.95 per month. Xfinity Home Security customers will also be eligible to receive up to a 20 percent discount on their homeowners’ insurance. Visit www.xfinity.com/homesecurity for more information on pricing, equipment and additional features.
The service was first unveiled in Houston in mid 2010 and is now being rolled out in parts of Philadelphia, Portland, Jacksonville, Sarasota/Naples, Chattanooga and Nashville. Additional markets will be introduced on a rolling basis.
Source: Comcast
