Charter, Comcast to launch streaming service
STAMFORD — Charter Communications, the Stamford-based provider of Spectrum-branded services, and Comcast are teaming up to create a streaming service.
The telecommunications giants announced Wednesday a 50-50 joint venture to develop and offer a “nextgeneration” streaming platform for a number of branded 4K streaming devices and smart TVs to customers across the country — including those in Connecticut and the 40 other states in Charter's footprint.
“Our new venture will bring a full-featured operating platform, new devices and smart TVs with a robust app store providing a more streamlined and aggregated experience for the customer,” Charter CEO and Chairman Tom Rutledge said in a statement. “As the video landscape continues to evolve, this venture will increase retail consumer options, compete at scale with established national platforms and join our existing lineup of options for the Spectrum TV App available on most customerowned streaming devices.”
Charter said it would offer the 4K streaming TV devices and voice remotes beginning in 2023.
To support the joint venture, Charter committed to making an initial contribution of $900 million, funded over multiple years.
Comcast, whose assets include Stamford-based NBC Sports, said it would license Flex, its aggregated streaming platform and hardware to the partnership, contribute the retail business for XClass TVs and also provide Xumo, a streaming service it acquired
in 2020.
The XClass TVs would be available through national retail partners and potentially direct from Comcast and Charter, the companies said. Xumo would continue to operate as a free global streaming service available through the joint venture's products and third-party devices. Comcast would also continue to offer the Flex streaming platform as a streaming device and service to its customers.
“We're thrilled to partner with Charter to bring this platform and its award-winning experience to millions of new customers. These products are all designed to make search and discovery across live, on-demand and streaming video seamless and incredibly simple for consumers,” Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said in a statement. “This partnership uniquely brings together more than a decade of technical innovation, national scale and new opportunities to monetize our combined investment.”
The products would feature hundreds of free “content choices” through Xumo, a free, ad-supported service that delivers more than 200 streaming channels. Among the offerings on the streaming platform would be Peacock, the streaming showcase for NBCUniversal programming, including NBC Sports shows such as Sunday Night Football.
The companies said their platform would offer app developers, streamers, retailers, operators and hardware manufacturers “the opportunity to reach customers in major markets across the country.”
The joint venture does not involve Comcast or Charter's broadband or cable video businesses, which will remain independent, the companies said.
Charter, the No. 64 company on last year's Fortune 500 list, serves through its Spectrum brand more than 32 million cable, internet, voice and mobile customers.
The company is headquartered in a two-building complex opened last year at 400 Washington Blvd., next to the downtown Stamford MetroNorth Railroad station. About 1,600 employees are based there.
Philadelphia-headquartered Comcast, No. 26 in the Fortune rankings, has 57 million customers across the U.S. and Europe.