The post-Venu pay TV landscape is starting to take shape, with Comcast Xfinity launching a new skinny (or at least skinny) streaming bundle of channels focused on sports and news programming.
The service, Sports & News TV, is available to Xfinity Internet customers for $70 a month and includes all major broadcast networks, as well as most (but not all) cable sports and news channels. Also included is a subscription to NBCUniversal’s Peacock, 300 hours of cloud DVR storage, and direct in-app access to FAST channels.
So what’s included? ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Univision, Telemundo, and all other local broadcast channels, as well as sports channels such as ESPN, Fox Spots 1, Big Ten Network, Golf Channel, and SEC Network. What am I missing? The most notable examples are TNT, TBS, and TruTV’s Warner Bros. Discovery Channel, but NBCU’s USA Network is also absent.
It also includes all the major cable news channels, including Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, NewsNation, and, somewhat perplexingly, CNN, which appears to be the only WBD channel included in this package. Masu.
Veenu’s untimely death earlier this month ushered in a new world order for pay TV, with Disney (whose ESPN channels form the basis of its sports TV programming) offering smaller, more targeted bundles. We are looking forward to sales.
DirecTV was the first to offer MySports. It’s also $70 a month and has many of the same channels (also TNT, TBS, and USA). Cable industry officials say they expect other pay-TV providers to follow suit with their own twists.
Still, $70 a month is a lot compared to Venu’s goal of less than $45 a month, and it’s not much of a savings compared to something like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV, which cost about $83 a month. But consumers seem to want leaner options, so Comcast is following DirecTV into the fray with something a little more targeted. You can get your entertainment elsewhere, but come to us for live stuff.
“Sports & News TV brings together the top live sports and news networks and Peacock.
The best streaming service for sports fans. Create new video bundles packed with your best content.
All accessed within a premium viewing experience that is easy for customers to watch, at an unbeatable price.
Find out what content they are most interested in. ” said John Dixon, Comcast’s senior vice president of entertainment.
“Sports & News TV is a great option for customers looking for great value in their entertainment.
Their favorite live sports and news channels will be sacrificed. ”
