Get ready for the next cable-like streaming bundle: Comcast later this month will launch a three-way bundle — with Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ — offered at a deep discount, Comcast chief Brian Roberts said.
Dubbed StreamSaver, the bundle will be available to all Comcast broadband and TV customers, Roberts said, speaking Tuesday at MoffettNathanson’s 2024 Media, Internet and Communications Conference in New York.
The three streaming services, Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+, will “come at a vastly reduced price to anything in the market today,” Roberts said, although he didn’t reveal any pricing details. “And that’s an everyday pricing, not an introductory pricing.” The goal is to “add value to consumers” and at the same time “take some of the dollars out of” other companies’ streaming businesses, Roberts added, while reinforcing Comcast’s broadband service offerings.
“We’ve been bundling video successfully and creatively for 60 years, and so this is the latest iteration of that,” Roberts said. “I think this will be a pretty compelling package.”
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The cheapest way to get all three streamers separately today is with the ad-supported Peacock Premium ($5.99/month, going up to $7.99/month in July); Netflix Basic with ads, which costs $6.99/month; and the standard Apple TV+ plan at $9.99/month. Note that to get Comcast’s StreamSaver discount, you will need to already subscribe to Xfinity Internet and/or Xfinity TV.
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Comcast’s impending launch of the StreamSaver bundle come as other media companies have been assembling similar offerings.
Last week, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a three-way bundle comprising Max, Disney+ and Hulu, to be available starting this summer in the U.S. (with pricing TBA).
In addition, Disney, WBD and Fox Corp. have formed a joint venture to launch a streaming sports bundle stocked with ESPN+ and linear TV networks from each, slated to debut this fall. Critics have alleged the venture, which some have dubbed “Spulu” (a mash-up of “sports” and “Hulu”), is anticompetitive and violates antitrust law.
Like the other streaming bundling strategies, Comcast's forthcoming Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+ package is an effort to reduce cancelation rates (aka "churn") and provide a more efficient means of subscriber acquisition -- coming as the traditional cable TV business continues to deteriorate.
Comcast's StreamSaver bundle will hit the market ahead of another price hike for the standalone Peacock service, which goes into effect for new customers prior to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. Beginning in mid-July, the price for Peacock Premium (with ads) will increase by $2 to $7.99 per month and Peacock Premium Plus (mostly ad-free) is also going up by $2 to $13.99 per month. The new prices will be effective starting July 18 for new Peacock customers and for existing subscribers with their next billing date on or after Aug. 17.
Also at the MoffettNathanson conference, Roberts was asked by analyst Craig Moffett about NBC's reported bidding for NBA media rights but Roberts declined to discuss the status of the negotiations.
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