Cable operator Breezeline said that it has completed the rollout of its Stream TV video service.

Breezeline Stream TV has been launched in the South Carolina counties that are part of the MSO’s service area.

First launched in January 2022 in New Hampshire, Stream TV is now available across Breezeline’s entire U.S. footprint.

We are pleased to have completed the deployment of Stream TV across our U.S. footprint,” said Shaun Blake, VP, products and programming for Breezeline, previously known as Atlantic Broadband. “Stream TV provides unparalleled features and convenience for viewers who can easily access live TV, On Demand, DVR and content from streaming apps for viewing on TV or mobile devices at home or on the go.”

Cable operators are moving away from traditional pay TV and moving toward providing streaming video services to their highly profitable broadband customers.

Also Read: Mediacom Signs On With Comcast-Charter JV To Distribute Xumo Stream Box

The cloud-based Stream TV platform allows for an array of features including Live Rewind, Start Over and Catch Up during programs in progress, including live sports, and the ability to stream content on up to five devices at once.

The service’s Voice Command capability via Google Assistant allows users to find a show, open an app, or receive program recommendations. Viewers also have access to thousands of TV apps from the Google Play Store. 

A year ago, Verizon Communications introduced an Android TV-powered connected TV device, which one leading tech blog pondered was “possibly the worst option for streaming,” based largely on the fact that the $70 gadget didn’t give users access to Netflix. 

Twelve months later, Verizon is debuting the latest iteration of Stream
TV, updating the user interface, the device profile and the silicon inside. There’s a
nifty new wall mount included, and a cool new feature that lets you press a button
on the set-top that chimes the remote when it’s lost. 

And this time, Verizon Stream TV didn’t leave out support for the world’s most popular subscription streaming service, Netflix. 

“Stream TV features the top streaming apps from the Google Play Store,” Verizon said in its product announcement, specifically touting support not just for Netflix, but also Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu, YouTube TV and “much more.”

It was unclear as to why the first iteration of Verizon Stream TV didn’t support Netflix. Ostensibly, an Android TV device should allow access to any app available within the vast selection of Google Play. Then again, Verizon is using the operator tier version of Android TV, which lets set-top and gadget suppliers customize the OS. 

We asked a Verizon rep if that latter assertion holds true for version 2.0 — for example, is Peacock supported? "Peacock is not preloaded, but it is listed in the Play Store, and I'm not aware of any compatibility issues that prevent it from working," the rep said.   

Subscriptions are managed through the individual streaming services, Verizon confirmed, but there is also an on-demand store that gives access to video rentals and purchases billed through Verizon. If users want to use another transactional service, say Vudu, they’ll have to hunt for it and download it within Google Play. 

As for finer technical details, Verizon Stream TV supports 4K Ultra HD, HDR10 and HDR 10+ display formats.

It also supports WiFi 6 (802.11ax) dual-band 2.4 GHz/5GHz connectivity.

Verizon is giving the device away free to new Fios Gigabit Internet customers and to fixed 5G wireless customers, the latter through a promotion that will launch Thursday. 

Otherwise, Verizon Stream TV is available for purchase at verizon.com/streamtv.

Bucking a trend amplified by a small but growing cord-cutting trend and the popularity of over-the-top video options, Comcast just came off first quarter in which the MSO added 53,000 subs, its best Q1 video result in nine years.

A sizable portion of the credit goes to X1, Comcast’s IP-capable next-gen video offering, but, according to Matt Strauss, Comcast Cable’s executive vice president and general manager, video services, the results are due to a confluence of efforts and initiatives that span not just the core product but also areas such as improved customer care.

Multichannel News technology editor and Next TV editor Jeff Baumgartner recently caught up with Strauss to discuss Comcast’s ever-expanding video strategy, including  X1, usage trends for mobile and TV everywhere applications, what’s next for the operator’s IP-delivered “Stream” product, some hints at the MSO’s ambitious plans for the Rio Games, and how Comcast is positioning itself as consumers continue to adopt new TVs that are capable of supporting 4K video and high dynamic range (HDR) formats.

The following edited transcript ran in two parts earlier in the week in Multichannel News dailies distributed at the INTX show in Boston.

Multichannel News: As you look at the second half of the year, what are your top priorities? 

Matt Strauss: We're really focused first and foremost on continuing to execute against the deployment of X1. We're seeing a lot of very positive benefits from X1, both on the churn and on the increased consumption side. We're now at about 35% penetrated, and it's even higher if you just look at triple-play subs -- about 50% of our triple-play subs now have X1. 

What goes hand-in-hand with that is that we also want to finish out the deployment of our cloud infrastructure. We've been deploying cloud across our footprint -- both cloud streaming and cloud DVR – and we are very close to getting 100% deployment. We want to finish that up by the middle-to-end of this year. 

Finally, we want to continue the penetration and usage of our products and services. We’ve got a very ambitious deployment for our new consolidated Xfinity app. With the upcoming Olympics [in Rio] we want to use that as an opportunity to shine a light on this new application, which we think is a tremendous value to our customers. 

MCN: For X1, you've been deploying about 40,000 boxes a day. Is that a comfortable clip for you or are you looking to push the needle even harder? 

MS: I think there are always opportunities where we want to accelerate. But at the same time, there's a bit of a cadence where we've gotten into where we want to make it easier for customers to get access to X1, which includes self-install kits. But there are segments that prefer a professional install.

I think we're at the right pace and speed based on what we're forecasting. We're installing between 40,000 to 50,000 [X1] boxes per day. At that run-rate, our goal is to get close to 50% by the end of this year. 

MCN: With respect to the pay TV momentum, how much credit does X1 get, even as you continue to improve other areas like customer care and customer experience? 

MS: It certainly is contributing. When you look at X1, we're seeing improvements in churn. X1 customers are also consuming more video. They also have a higher attachment rate to DVRs and typically they take additional outlets in their home. There's no doubt that X1 is contributing, but I don't know if there's any one silver bullet. 

When it comes to growing the video business, it's really a combination of several factors and investments that we've been making over the past few years, both in how we've been improving our infrastructure, moving more to IP.

We're also equally focusing on reducing call volume. We've had some of the lowest agent call-in rates in years. We've taken more than 11 million calls out of the system.

MCN: How is X1 impacting viewing habits? Comcast has talked about the impact on VOD usage, but how is it affecting viewing of live, linear TV?

With X1, we're now seeing 85% usage of on-demand among X1 subs. That equals about 25 hours of on demand consumption per month. We've expanded the number of series that are stacked where you can get access to all the episodes in a season. We went from a few series a few years ago to now over 700 series that we offer fully stacked. 

When you incorporate this seemingly infinite amount of content and ultimate control and you also marry in with this recommendations and voice navigation and a level of personalization, we actually have seen an increase across the board in video consumption -- live, on demand and DVR. 

When you track an X1 households from a year ago to 2015 to 2016 we've seen an increase of over 3% in total video consumption on average across the board. 

When you marry together those things together with choice and control, we're seeing a lift. That doesn't mean that viewing habits aren't changing and shifting. But we think X1 is becoming in many ways a better mousetrap. 

[READ MORE: Xfinity TV App Starts to Support NBC, ABC Live Feeds Out of Home]

MCN: What kind of usage patterns are you seeing with the Xfinity TV app? Is the big challenge getting the message out to customers so they understand the app's full capability? 

MS: I'd almost characterize it as we're in a moment in time because we have the Xfinity TV in-home app and we have our Xfinity TV Go app. We are in the process of consolidating those into just one app, which will be the Xfinity TV app. This unification…will provide this unprecedented access to content both in the home and out of the home. And I think those lines are going to continue to get more and more blurred. 

When you look at the usage of our app in general, we have about 42% penetration of our mobile app among our double-play customers on a monthly basis. On a quarterly basis, it's almost 60% who are using one of our apps, and that's up about 16% year-over-year. 

MCN: How far along are you with this app unification plan?

MS: If you download the Xfinity TV app today, we've already started. We've already incorporated all of the TV Everywhere content and the in-home content into the app. It's primarily been targeted at X1 customers. For the Rio Olympics this summer you'll see a much more concerted effort to increase awareness around the availability of that app to the broader base. 

MCN: What's next for Comcast with respect to 4K? You've got the app for Samsung TVs but we've seen some recent reports that you'll really be focusing more on a strategy that puts an emphasis on High Dynamic Range (HDR)? 

MS: We are highly focused on ensuring we're delivering the best video quality. The realty is we're at the very early stages of 4K. There's arguably more marketing and messaging going on around 4K than actual content and choice. 

When we evaluated this -- while there's hyper-attention on 4K, when we look at the total video experience, we think 4K is part of the offering. But HDR, which is not necessarily getting the same amount of attention, is in many ways more immersive and, we think, impactful.

When you marry that with Dolby Atmos [an immersive three-dimensional audio platform], it's the combination of 4K, HDR and sound that we think is really the right combination of transcending to an almost Ultra HD experience. That's what we determined was the right experience and focus that we want to lean into. 

Instead of deploying maybe a half-baked solution, which we're starting to see a little bit of in the market, we thought it was more prudent to deliver the complete experience... and that's what's being developed with our Xi6 box, which we'll be testing this year, but it's going to really be deployed next year. 

We will be experimenting with the Olympics with 4K. There's going to be a couple of hours a day of 4K content that we will be delivering. We're also sponsoring the opening ceremonies in 4K, but we're also shooting it in HDR with Dolby Atmos sound. [Note: Comcast showed off the wireless, HDR-capable Xi5 box at INTX, and plans to start shipping it on July 4. A 4K-capable HDR box, the Xi6, is also in the works].

MCN: The video market continues to be abuzz about skinny TV bundles. Comcast has been going after that segment with the Stream TV product in some select markets. What have you learned so far and what's next on the rollout plan? 

MS: In many ways X1, we think, is satisfying the demand for how many of watch television. The average person watches about 130 hours of video every month.

But there are changes in how other segments are consuming video. When we look at skinny bundles, we believe that they are in some ways a manifestation of the economy as anything else. It's rare that you hear someone say that they want fewer choices. What’s more likely is that you might hear someone say they want to pay less. 

We have been experimenting with skinny bundles and experimenting with ensuring we're getting the right product to the right customer at the right time in their life, whether that's Internet Plus or the Xfinity On Campus product, or Stream. 

Stream, though, in many ways is not really just about a skinny bundle. In many respects, it's us looking at new ways at how we market, how we activate a video subscription, and, for instance, if you're a high-speed data customer and you are in one of the markets where we've deployed Stream you can instantly add Stream. It doesn’t' require a truck roll, it doesn’t require additional equipment. We're able to instantly activate it for you. 

Stream has a different buy flow. You can cancel it at any time. You can use a credit card. The care is primarily self-help. 

MCN: So, it's designed to be low friction. 

MS: While Stream is, at the moment, comprised of a skinny bundle, the strategies behind Stream is much more around how we're going to transform the overall end-to-end customer experience, and Stream is just one example of how we are expanding into that terrain. 

You will not only see us deploy Stream into additional markets, but we'll also evolve the Stream product which will include additional tiers of content and you'll also see us expand streams to additional platforms. 

It was initially launched for mobile and Web, but we've always known that access to the TV is going to be critical. [On April 20], we announced a deal with Roku. As part of that you will see us enabling Stream and other parts of our video subscription onto Internet-connected TV devices. 

It would be a mistake to think of Stream as a skinny bundle. It's much more comprehensive strategy in how we're looking to evolve that over time. 

MCN: Let's talk a bit about the results you’ve seen with electronic-sell through, which you launched in 2013. Also, Fandango (part of NBCUniversal) just bought M-Go and rebranded that EST service as FandangoNow. Do you see some opportunities for Comcast to align its EST product with that? 

MS: Since we've launched electronic sell-through, we've had over 5 million customers make digital purchases and it has also unlocked the ability for us to access content in earlier windows. It's not uncommon for studios to release movies digitally, in some cases, three or four weeks before physical. It's given us the ability to market to those customers in advance of some other distributor's that have not launched electronic sell-through. 

We continue  to refine the product; we're introducing bundling and pre-buys. You'll see us test different ways to add value. For example, we're testing these enhanced content offerings that when you purchase  movie digitally it unlocks companion experiences. And we're looking at gaming as another way that we can add more value to digital purchases. We're working closely with the studios to continue to find ways to evolve the product and look at ways to [support ] earlier windows. 

There certainly may be opportunities where we collaborate at some point [with Fandango], but my sense is that Fandango is interested  in exploring ways to expand and enhance their ticketing business and electronic sell-through may provide new models for them like super tickets. That has not been as high a priority for us.

Who knows? There could be some shared learnings that allow us to find ways where we could better work together. 

Stream TV, Comcast’s in-home, managed IPTV service that’s being offered in two markets, has entered the news cycle again, and again there seems to be some confusion about how it’s being delivered into the customer’s home.

The latest round got started this week when TV Predictions noticed that Comcast’s FAQ about Stream TV, a $15 per month skinny TV service tailored for mobile devices, mentions now that the operator is working on new option that would allow consumers who wanted that skinny bundle service to get it if they happened to get broadband service from another provider, and not from Comcast. Actually, Ars Technica made note of this coming option earlier in the month.

Here’s that language: “If you're not an XFINITY Internet customer, we are working hard to make the required equipment available in 2016.”  It also reiterates that  Stream TV – an in-home service (Stream TV subscribers also have access to some authenticated TV Everywhere content that's available when they are on the go) -- will only work if the supported video viewing device (a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet, in this instance) is connected via the Comcast-supplied in-home network (wired or via WiFi).

Early on, Comcast has been offering Stream TV to customers who also get broadband from the MSO. The plan is to add an option whereby customers who get high-speed Internet service from another provider can still subscribe to Stream TV as a stand-alone pay TV service, though those customers will still need a new IP gateway (the new piece of the puzzle) to obtain the managed IPTV signals from Comcast's network.

Comcast isn’t saying much about this gateway, but it would seem that the operator is working on a new type of “headless” gateway – headless in the sense that it doesn’t support direct video outputs like a set-top or a “headed” gateway (like the XG1) do. The video output device, in the case of Stream TV, would be the laptop, tablet or smartphone. Bottom line: it would give Comcast a way to market and sell Stream TV to consumers who get broadband from another ISP – however big or small that part of the market is.

The confusion is coming about because there have been some suggestions made that this means Comcast will be delivering Stream TV into the subscriber's home via someone else’s access network, which is false and would sure be a neat trick (of course that could change someday if Comcast decided to offer an over-the-top video pay TV service that travelled the public Internet, which would be an explosive, market-changing thing for sure).

But as of today, the Stream TV service will still come into the home via Comcast's managed IP network using bandwidth that does not mingle with the bandwidth it has set aside for the MSO’s public Internet service (in some ways this is akin to how AT&T U-verse delivers U-verse – some IP capacity is set aside for the broadband service, while other IP capacity is set aside for its managed IPTV service; they are kept separate).

So, this means that Stream TV does use IP transport, but it isn’t delivered into the home “over-the-top” like Netflix, Sling TV or PlayStation Vue, for example.

This is all of supreme interest, of course, because Stream TV streaming (just like Comcast’s legacy QAM-based video services, which is also managed but uses a different kind of transport technology, MPEG) is exempt from the usage-based data policies that Comcast is testing in several markets for its high-speed Internet service.

Critics believe this violates network neutrality rules (Public Knowledge filed complaint to the FCC about it in earlier this month), while Comcast argues that it doesn't because Stream TV doesn't use the Internet to get into the customer's home. Bu critics also say such policies put OTT services at a competitive disadvantage. And this discussion is also somehow being tied into the debate around new, controversial “zero-rated” and sponsored-data services from mobile providers such as T-Mobile (Binge On) and Verizon (FreeBee Data). If anything, it’ll make for an interesting debate for both sides of the argument.

Zero-rating plan foes got together over the weekend to collect signatures on a letter they plan to send today (March 28) to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler urging him to crack down on zero-rating plans before they "break the Net."

The FCC is currently investigating zero-rating plans -- in which some video content does not count against usage caps -- from a handful of top ISPs as part of its Open Internet general conduct standard of review for business practices that could impede a free and open Internet, including Comcast's Stream TV, which has a complaint filed against it.

The groups appear to have no doubt the practice violates both the spirit and the letter of the new FCC Open Internet rules.

"As currently offered, these plans enable ISPs to pick winners and losers online or create new tolls for websites and applications," they wrote.

Referring to the Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile plans being vetted by the FCC, the groups say the services "distort competition, thwart innovation, threaten free speech and restrict consumer choice." Those are all harms the FCC's Open Internet rules were meant to prevent, they argue, and allowing them would be "a serious threat to the Open Internet."

The groups also made a point of saying the FCC's Open Internet order "ensures that Internet users control the content they access, not their ISPs."

"The Open Internet rules say that ISPs cannot pick winners and losers online by slowing down some applications and services while speeding up others," they added.

The net-neutrality rules do not hold edge providers to the same standard, however, since, as Wheeler has pointed out pointedly, the rules to not apply to them.

That disparity hit the fan last week when Netflix conceded its users did not have control over the Netflix content they accessed over AT&T and Verizon broadband service -- Netflix said it was limiting the quality to keep users under bandwidth caps, though the company added it was working on a technology to give users control over bit rates vis-a-vis bandwidth caps.

A spokesperson for those groups calling for no zero-rating plans was checking at press time whether they were also concerned about Netflix throttling online video without telling customers or the companies.

Among the groups signing on to the letter were MoveOn.org, ColorOfChange, Center for Media Justice, Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, Free Press and Open Technology Institute.

Free Press policy director Matt Wood said he sees a clear difference between ISPs as carriers subject to neutrality rules, and Netflix, which is not.

"The bottom line for me is that net neutrality prevents carriers from dictating what we say to each other,” he told Multichannel News. “It doesn't dictate what we say to each other ["we" including Netflix as a speaker]. Netflix is free to transmit its content however it wants. If users want to leave that behind because they don't like that, that's fine. I'm not here to defend anything Netflix is doing, but you can't shoehorn this into net neutrality because it is not about the carrier in the middle interfering with content."

"Free data services are pro-consumer, innovative offerings that we should all embrace," said Brad Gillen, EVP at CTIA, which represents wireless ISPs. "It should also come as no surprise that mobile consumers love free data so they can watch videos, listen to music or use the Internet without charges to their monthly data allowance. The FCC should reject efforts to take away from consumers these free data services and options."

“To claim that zero rating is anything other than good for consumers makes zero sense," says Mobile Future board chair Jonathan Spalter. "It is almost as ridiculous as defending Netflix on Friday (March 25) for secretly throttling video to millions of unsuspecting customers and turning around on Monday to attack consumer-friendly free data offerings. "New service options that make it easier for consumers to afford access to more content is a good thing. Free mobile data offerings give consumers more than they pay for, which is particularly important for price-sensitive consumers. If the FCC is trying to encourage competition and consumer choice, it will reject efforts to thwart carriers from vying for customers with differentiated new service offerings. Doing anything less will make America’s wireless consumers the ultimate losers.”

Mobile Future members include Samsung, Verizon, and Qualcomm.

WASHINGTON — Depending on who’s doing the talking, zero-rating plans are either potentially anti-competitive violations of the Federal Communications Commission’s new network-neutrality rules or an innovative business plan that could help drive broadband adoption and benefit low-income Web users.

But the key to the future of those toll-free or sponsored data plans, which are becoming increasingly attractive, is what the FCC decides they are after it completes an inquiry into the practice.

The FCC is still vetting the information it requested in December from major Internet-service providers — the mid-January deadline for data in the inquiry was pushed back by Winter Storm Jonas, which buried the nation’s capital.

The inquiry appeared to be a reaction to pressure from zero-rating plan critics after FCC chairman Tom Wheeler in November praised T-Mobile’s new “Binge On” offering, which allows the mobile phone provider’s subscribers to access video from certain providers without it counting against subscriber data caps, as just the type of innovation the FCC’s new Open Internet order would not discourage.

When Wheeler seemed to backtrack on that praise and said the agency wanted more information about Binge On, Comcast’s Stream TV service and AT&T’s sponsored data plans, AT&T responded, “We remain committed to innovation without permission, and hope the FCC is too.”

AN INQUIRY, NOT A FIAT

Wheeler insisted two weeks ago that the FCC’s inquiry was merely that, telling reporters he had not sat in on any of the meetings, nor had any of the members of his staff.

But the chairman controls the agency’s bureaus, Republican commissioner Michael O’Rielly countered. “We do all know that the bureaus are at his discretion because otherwise, I would get a lot more information,” O’Rielly said.

O’Rielly said he is still trying to find out more information about the inquiry, but said that he was troubled by the direction in which the FCC was heading. He said he was troubled by the “mother may I” approach of the agency’s having to bless — or reject — new business models. That was concerned him about the net-neutrality rules, he said.

The new Open Internet rules do not prevent zero-rating plans, but they do prevent paid prioritization and also give the FCC some wiggle room through a general-conduct standard with which it can essentially review any business practice it thinks might have the effect of favoring some content over others for anti-competitive purposes.

“Because the Internet is always growing and changing, there must be a known standard by which to determine whether new practices are appropriate or not,” Wheeler said back when he proposed the Title II-based rules.

At the Internet Education Foundation’s 12th annual State of the Net conference in Washington two weeks ago, people on both sides of the issue were trying to help the FCC decide.

Roslyn Layton, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy, made the case for why zero rating plans were not the threat to Internet openness that some have claimed.

She said that there is no good or service that is not subject to a differential price and said it was “strange” to her why Internet service would be singled out.

She said the one of the best things about the history of TV, radio and the Internet was that advertisers and sponsors were allowed to lower the cost to end users. That’s a key difference between media industries in the U.S. and Europe, she said, saying Europe’s license-fee model has meant fewer channels and less content.

The Internet also benefits from third-party subsidization, she said, pointing out that edge provider Google effectively zero-rates its search by displaying ads.

One criticism of the FCC’s approach to its new Internet rules is that they target ISPs while leaving edge-provider business practices alone. ISPs aren’t explicitly asking the FCC to regulate the edge, but point out that there are opportunities for edge providers to interrupt the virtuous circle that the FCC appears to gloss over in focusing on regulating ISPs. Wheeler has said edge providers are outside the scope of the rules.

On the other side is Stanford University law professor Barbara Van Schewick. The key to the issue is whether a zero rating plan has the effect of “picking winners and losers online,” she said. The bright-line net neutrality rules are about doing that with technology, via slowing or blocking traffic or by buying a technical advantage for a fee, aka paid prioritization.

Zero-rating is just a different form of favoring some content over others, she argued — via business plan, rather than technical limitations or advantages.

WATCHING FOR ‘COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE’

Comcast’s Stream TV, for example, was not about subsidizing access, but instead about “giving a competitive advantage to [Comcast’s] own application,” she said. That is a key net-neutrality concern, she said.

Kevin Martin, former FCC chairman and now an attorney for Facebook, which has its own zero-rating program to try and boost basic connectivity, said he didn’t have any problem with the FCC taking a case-by-case approach to vetting business plans under its new rules, but said zero-rating can be beneficial.

Martin signaled the FCC was right to be vetting the plans, but did not throw cable operators under the bus. He said MSOs would argue their customers have already paid for the programming ISPs are zero-rating.

But unlike cable operators, which have issues with the FCC’s case-by-case approach under the general conduct standard, Martin was all for it. “I think an analysis of what’s actually going on with each program is appropriate, and the FCC got that component right,” he said.

Layton argued zero rating plans aren’t just for the big dogs. She said they benefit smaller network providers who can’t compete with larger providers in terms of speed, but need another way to differentiate themselves.

It's déjà vu all over again.

As it did in 2012 when Comcast introduced a managed IP VOD app for the Xbox 360 that was exempt from the MSO's data usage policies for public high-speed Internet service at the time, the MSO found itself on the defensive again this week as it expanded the reach of Stream TV, its new skinny bundle, IPTV package for smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Some question whether Stream TV, a service for broadband-only customers tailored for so-called cord-cutters, violates network neutrality rules or puts other online video services at a disadvantage because the MSO’s new IP video offering is exempt from usage-based data policies that Comcast is testing in several markets.

As it argued three years ago about an app for the Xbox 360 that drew the ire of Netflix (Comcast pulled the plug on its Xbox 360 app earlier this year), the operator maintains that it’s well within the rules because the Stream TV service uses separately provisioned bandwidth to deliver the service to the home, and isn’t prioritizing traffic or delivering it “over-the-top” using bandwidth that’s set aside for its high-speed Internet services.  In essence, Stream TV treats tablets, PCs and smartphones like a regular set-top box, but uses an IP path into the home (DOCSIS 3.0 modems are flexible in that some tuners can be used for regular high-speed Internet service, while others can be used for managed IP services, while still keeping the traffic from each approach separate).

It’s the same principle that Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications are using for their managed IPTV apps that are being delivered to Roku boxes. Similarly, AT&T dedicates separate IP capacity for its managed IPTV U-verse service to the home, and uses other capacity for its public high-speed Internet service.

"Stream TV is an in-home IP-cable service delivered over Comcast’s cable network, not over the public Internet,” Comcast said in a statement issued Thursday, the same day it launched Stream TV to its second market – Chicago. “IP-cable is not an ‘over-the-top’ streaming video service. Stream enables customers to enjoy their cable TV service on mobile devices in the home delivered over the managed cable network, without the need for additional equipment, like a traditional set-top-box.”

The FCC does address the idea in rules released in December 2014, which explain that “an entity that delivers cable services via IP is a cable operator to the extent it delivers those services as managed video services over its own facilities and within its footprint…IP-based service provided by a cable operator over its facilities and within its footprint must be regulated as a cable service not only because it is compelled by the statutory definitions; it is also good policy, as it ensures that cable operators will continue to be subject to the pro-competitive, consumer-focused regulations that apply to cable even if they provide their services via IP.”

Even outside of Comcast and Stream TV, streaming video policies continue to be a hot topic. T-Mobile’s “Binge On” offering gives mobile customers the option to stream video (at 480p resolution, optimized with a proprietary bandwidth system) from about two dozen content partners, including Sling TV and HBO, without it counting against their cellular data usage caps.

During that announcement, T-Mobile CEO John Legere held that Binge On is “completely in line” with the FCC’s  network-neutrality rules, as no money changes hands, the program is available to any OTT provider, and that the feature is optional -- customers can turn it on or off.  

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler weighed in on Binge On today, praising it as “highly innovative and highly competitive” and an offering that is within the bounds of the commission’s Open Internet order.

Stream TV, Comcast’s mobile-first IPTV service for cord-cutters, launched Thursday in Chicago, a move that follows the service’s debut earlier this month in the Greater Boston region, which includes eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

The no-contract, $15 per month service, targeted to broadband-only customers, features the major broadcast networks, HBO, access to “thousands” of VOD titles and the MSO’s Cloud DVR service. Comcast has plans to make Stream TV available across its footprint by early next year. The service FAQ notes that the new service is also available in select areas of Indiana and Michigan. Comcast has previously identified Seattle among cities that will get Stream TV in the early phases of the rollout.

The Cloud DVR component of Stream TV lets subs record up to two shows at once and holds 100 GB of storage (about enough for 20 hours of HD programming). Stream TV subs can watch on up to two devices at the same time.

Stream TV, delivered to the home on Comcast managed IP network, supports Web browsers, smartphones and tablets via the Xfinity TV app. Using their credentials, Stream TV subs can view some programming from ABC, Fox and HBO (via their respective apps) on connected TV devices such as Roku players, Apple TV boxes, the Amazon Fire TV, gaming consoles and via the Chromecast streaming adapter.

Update: Comcast's FAQ also reiterates that the in-home Stream TV service is exempt from the MSO's monthly Internet data usage allowance policies, which have recently been expanded to several markets, though not yet in Chicago or Boston. "Stream TV is a cable streaming service delivered over Comcast's cable system, not over the Internet. Therefore, Stream TV data usage will not be counted towards your XFINITY Internet monthly data usage," the MSO notes.

This approach came up with Comcast's original Xfinity TV app for the Xbox 360 (Comcast recently discontinued that app), which was also delivered over separately managed IP capacity, and not "over-the-top," meaning that the traffic did not co-mingle with spectrum and capacity set aside for the MSO's high-speed Internet service. Comcast has also been careful not to label Stream TV as an OTT service. However, the same can't be said for TV Everywhere apps that Stream TV subs can access in or out of the home.  

Comcast introduced Stream TV in July, and is launching it as it continues to improve its video sub losses. It shed 48,000 video subs, nearly half the 81,000 it lost in the prior year period and marking its best Q3 in nine years.

While Stream TV allows Comcast to target a different set of consumers, the MSO’s primary video focus is on X1, it next-gen video offering. “X1 has been transformative for us,”  Matt Strauss, Comcast Cable’s EVP and GM of video services said last week at the Wells Fargo Tech, Media & Telecom conference in New York. He said  VOD usage on X1 is 45% higher than on Comcast’s legacy video platform. About 25% of Comcast’s video sub base is now on X1.

Strauss acknowledged that Comcast must be careful not to cannibalize its base video offerings with slimmed –down offerings like Stream TV and Internet Plus.

“You have to monitor that very, very closely,” he said. “This isn’t about putting things in the market to get consumers to downgrade.”

Dish Network (via Sling TV, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems are among other MVPDs that have launched or are testing streaming products geared for the cord-cutting crowd and consumers who have never taken a traditional pay TV service.

Following a trial period that ran several months, Comcast has gone live with Stream TV, an IP-based skinny bundle service for broadband-only customers that features the major broadcast networks, HBO, access to “thousands” of VOD titles and the MSO’s Cloud DVR service.

The rollout covers the Greater Boston Region, which includes eastern Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.  Comcast expects to make Stream TV available across its footprint by “early 2016.”

Comcast introduced Stream TV in July, and at the time said it expected to debut the service in Boston in late summer and then bring it to Chicago and Seattle.

Comcast is delivering Stream TV via its managed IP network (meaning it's not a pure "over-the-top" service) to Web browsers, smartphones and tablets via the MSO's Xfinity TV app. While the offering does provide access to some TV Everywhere apps that work on TV-connected platforms, the core Xfinity TV app is not currently offered on devices like Roku players, the Apple TV, and Amazon  Fire TV, making it a mobile-first type of offering. 

Update: A Comcast official said the Stream TV service support two concurrent video streams per subscriber. The Cloud DVR component lets Stream TV subs record 20 hours of programming. According to the fine print on the new site dedicated to Stream TV, it appears that Comcast is targeting its next launch at Chicago. 

Comcast said Stream TV, which does not require a costly truck roll is offered on a contract-free basis, includes the broadcast TV fee, plus local taxes and fees, which vary by market.  To prime the pump, Comcast is offering the first month of Stream TV for free.

Targeted to cord-cutters and young, millennial audiences, Comcast’s new offering emerges at it and other MSOs look to turn the tide on video subscriber losses. Even without Stream TV, Comcast’s video metrics have been improving. In the third quarter, Comcast shed 48,000 video subs, nearly half the 81,000 it lost in the prior year period and marking its best Q3 in nine years.

Comcast is the latest MVPD to branch out with skinny bundles and offerings tailored for the cord-cutting and cord-nevers crowd.

Dish Network has Sling TV, which offers a core package for $20 per month that does not include broadcast TV stations. Time Warner Cable has pushed ahead with an IPTV trial in New York City, Mt. Vernon and New Jersey that relies on Roku players and delivers three different video service tiers to customers who take the MSO’s residential broadband service.  Charter is  testing a service called Spectrum TV Streamthat starts at $12.99 per month, and Cablevision Systems has created a set of tiers geared for cord-cutters.

"We want to make ordering and accessing Stream TV as simple as possible for our customers and let them start watching favorite content as quickly as possible," said Matt Strauss, EVP and GM, video services at Comcast Cable, in a statement. "It's an exciting time to be a TV fan – there is more quality content than ever and seemingly limitless ways to keep up with all the shows and movies people are talking about. We'll continue to experiment by creating offerings like Stream TV so that users can choose the service that works best for them."

"Interested Xfinity Internet-only customers can immediately start enjoying the service by using the Xfinity TV app or the online portal.  Stream TV is yet another choice for consumers to enjoy entertainment on their terms,” added Steve Driscoll, VP of sales and marketing for Comcast’s Greater Boston Region.