Netflix has been streaming on Comcast’s X1 cable boxes since late 2016, and now the companies are taking things a step further. Later this month, Comcast will start offering Netflix as part of its pay-TV packages, though it’s unclear what these packages will look like or how much they’ll cost. In any case, Comcast will handle all the billing itself.
Netflix is still being treated as an internet service, and so it isn’t getting any bandwidth priority or exemption from Comcast’s data caps as part of this deal. But one could imagine such an arrangement is on the table now that the FCC has dismantled net neutrality rules.
While Netflix might be seen as a threat to cable TV, the company has long insisted otherwise, and with Netflix reaching more than half of U.S. households now, its subscriber base certainly overlaps with lots of cable subscribers. This new tie-in gives Netflix a chance to reach even more homes and makes Comcast’s TV bundles just a little harder to drop.
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