Comcast is facing a tough 2023 when it comes to its traditional TV business. In Comcast’s 2022 Q4 earnings report released this morning, the company reported a 440,000 video customer loss. Hopes that internet would offset TV losses ended when they added just 4,000 broadband customers for the quarter. Now Comcast has a plan to fight cord cutting in 2023 and come out on top.
Comcast seems to have a three-part plan for 2023. First, to take on Roku, the second is to make its internet service more profitable, and lastly, to grow its streaming services.
So let us break down Comcast’s three-part plan to fight cord cutting in 2023.
#1 Comcast Wants to Become Roku
Comcast has for years made a huge amount of profit from its set-top boxes. Now Comcast wants to keep making money off of hardware, this time by selling a streaming player similar to what Roku does. According to Comcast, sometime in 2023, it plans to start selling its a new version of its Flex streaming player in Walmart stores.
The Xumo Box will be a rebranded version of their Comcast Flex streaming player running their X1 OS. Xumo is likely a name you may know, as it is also the name of the free ad-supported streaming services Comcast purchased back in 2020.
Comcast also plans to roll out a new version of its X1 OS to its streaming players and cable boxes this year. The hope is this upgraded X1 interface will get people to switch from Roku to Comcast.
No word on pricing yet, but Comcast has confirmed they do plan to launch Xumo Box sometime in 2023 at Walmart stores. When it goes up for sale, we will make sure to have a full review of the streaming player here and on our YouTube channel.
#2 Make Internet More Profitable
Comcast has long argued that losses in TV can be offset in part by the internet. Recently though, subscriber growth was lower than expected, with just 4,000 new customers added in the 4th quarter of 2022, and many are saying Verizon and T-Mobile’s home internet is taking a bite out of Cocmast business.
To help improve internet profitability and grow a user base, Comcast has a few plans in the works for 2023.
First, Comcast plans to offer a new modem that will offer a battery backup and cellular backup. This modem will target customers who need to stay online no matter what. This device could attract customers who work from home and need to make sure they don’t go offline.
Look for Comcast to charge extra for this new modem with cellular backup options to drive up revenue.
Second, Comcast plans to offer 10G internet, far faster than any home internet it currently offers. This 10G service will, of course, come with a higher price tag.
By offering new options, all with new price tags, Comcast seems to have hopes it can drive up revenues on its internet business.
#3 Make Streaming Profitable
Comcast has been making a lot of movies with streaming. Recently Peacock stopped offering a free option for new subscribers. We also learned that this summer, Xfinity customers who get Peacock for free will lose access to it and need to pay up if they want to maintain access to Peacock.
Comcast is also hoping that putting sports on Peacock will help the service grow. Recently they struck deals with the Big 10 to bring some of its game to Peacock. There is also talk that Comcast plans to bid on NBA games with the hope that a few may end up on Peacock.
Comcast’s plans don’t stop there a few years ago, they bought the free streaming service Xumo and renamed it Xumo Play. Slowly this service is becoming the backbone of their ad push. Comcast even plans to build it further into their X1 experience, giving users of its set-top boxes the ability to easily access a large collection of ad-supported movies and TV shows.
It seems that Comcast has two plans for streaming. First, try and find content that will drive subscribers to Peacock. Second, to build its ad-supported service up to help grow its ad revenue. The question now is will this strategy work?
Other Comcast Plans
Beyond fighting cord cutting, Comcast is also looking to devise its business. Recently Comcast has been pushing hard to grow its mobile business and get customers to switch over to its wireless service. Comcast’s wireless push has to now be seen as one of the main focuses of Comcast and, someday, maybe even its main push alongside its internet business, replacing its focus on traditional TV services.
What do you think of Comcast’s plans to fight cord cutting? Leave us a comment and let us know if you think it will work.