Comcast this week is rolling out a new video streaming service called Streampix, an offering that will be available only to subscribers of the giant cable company.
The offering, which includes access to past seasons of TV shows such as 30 Rock, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and The Office as well as movies like Brokeback Mountain, Ocean’s Eleven and The Big Lebowski, will cost $4.99 per month when bundled with other Comcast video packages. It will also be included for free with many Xfinity “triple-play packages.”
Netflix and Hulu Plus, on the other hand, charge $7.99 per month.
Of course, the kicker here is that Streampix is only available to existing customers of Comcast.
Streampix will compete with Amazon.com, Netflix, Hulu Plus and Coinstar’s Redbox unit, which earlier this month inked a deal with Verizon.
Comcast says that Streampix — available on the Web and certain mobile devices — is designed to offer “greater flexibility with packaging and bundling options.”
Content partners include Disney-ABC; NBCUniversal; Sony Pictures; Warner Bros.; and Cookie Jar Entertainment. Later this year, Comcast plans integration with Xbox 360 and Android.
UPDATE: Here’s more from a Comcast statement on the new service:
“We have always offered current and popular entertainment content. We recognized there was also a market for popular library content and extensive past TV seasons. What differentiates this service from others is that we are offering a convenient one-stop source for video entertainment on multiple screens, eliminating the need to subscribe to multiple video services, with multiple bills and passwords.”
