Last week we learned that Comcast was planning to take on cord cutting with their own live TV streaming service called Instant TV. Now we have learned a lot more about the service.
Free Trial
If you are a Comcast internet only customer you can now subscribe to their live TV streaming service starting at just $18 a month for a package of local broadcast networks. We can now confirm that Comcast is offering a 30 day free trial of their live TV streaming service.
Soon You Won’t Need Comcast Internet
According to the new Instant TV help page “Comcast plans to offer compatible equipment to non-XFINITY Internet customers in the future.” According to this and other reports, you may not need their internet service to use their live TV service soon.
Number of Streams
You can use Comcast Instant TV on up to two devices at once.
DVR limitations
You can store up to 20 hours of HD programming with your cloud DVR. You are limited to two simultaneous recordings at once. Watching DVR recordings does count toward your 2 stream limit.
Equipment
When Comcast’s Instant TV was in beta they required you to have their own modem to use the service. Now they have updated their help pages to says:
- An XFINITY-compatible cable modem or Wireless Gateway (Customers with XFINITY Internet service will have such compatible equipment already.)
From reading the help page you will no longer need to rent their modem to use their live TV streaming service. You just need a XFINITY-compatible cable modem.
Pricing
The service starts with a $18 a month core package that includes locals like ABC, FOX, and NBC. You will also find C-Span, QVC, and HSN. From there you can add additional packages on top of the $18 a month core package to get more channels.
Here are all the add-ons Comcast currently offers:
- Sports and News ($30 per month): CNBC, CNN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPNU, Fox Business, Fox News, Fox Sports 1, Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports, NFL Network and regional sports networks based on market.
- Entertainment ($15 per month): A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, BET, Bravo, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, E!, Food Network, FX, FXX, Hallmark Channel, History, HGTV, Lifetime, OWN, Syfy, TBS, TNT, TV One, USA, VH1.
- Kids and Family ($10 per month): Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, MTV, National Geographic Channel, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, NickToons, Universal Kids, TeenNick, TLC.
- Latino ($5 per month): BabyFirst, CNN en Español,Cine Dinamita, Cine Latino, Cine Mexicano, Cine Sony Television, Discovery Familia, Discovery en Español, Galavisión, History en Español, Pasiones, Viendo Movies, Vme Kids.
- Deportes ($7 per month): beIN, beINñ, ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes, LAS, NBCUniverso, Univision tDN. (Telemundo, Unimas and Univision are provided when not included in the broadcast tier)
So if you want ESPN the Comcast package will cost you $48 a month plus taxes. It will be interesting to see how Comcast’s Instant TV holds up to competitors like DIRECTV NOW, PlayStation Vue, Hulu, and more with their far higher price tag for many users.
Availablity
Comcast has now launched a website to let you check if Comcast Instant is now available in your area. Just visit xfinity.com/Instant-TV and enter your address to find out if you can get Comcast’s Instant TV service.
Comcast did say that they plan to “roll the service out across our footprint over the next few weeks.”
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