It seems the streaming live TV market is about to get even more crowded. We already have Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and DIRECTV NOW all offering live TV online. Hulu and YouTube will be joining that market this year.
Now Comcast is also working on a live TV streaming service. According to a Bloomberg report and people familiar with the negotiation, Comcast has acquired rights from cable network owners to offer their channels nationwide.
These rights will allow Comcast to sell a video service outside of its regional territories and allow streaming online. According to the report, Comcast sees these rights as a backup plan against the success of their main competitors; Dish Network and AT&T’s streaming services Sling TV and DIRECTV NOW.
Comcast is already well setup for a new online streaming service. Recently, they rolled out an Xfinity app for Roku Players. This is allowing Comcast to test out their streaming service and stress test it before a possible live TV server launch.
However, there seems to be some possible hold ups for Comcast. According to reports, Comcast is locked into long term deals with CBS and ESPN that wont end till 2020. Bloomberg says that Comcast does not have rights to these networks and the loss of ESPN will put it at a great disadvantage to other streaming networks.
For now we will have to wait and see what happens, but its starting to look like Comcast and others are looking for a backup plan to their traditional TV services.
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