Comcast’s broadband-only product Xfinity Flex crossed the 3 million box mark, according to CEO Brian Roberts.
“That’s a great milestone for us, said Roberts, speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference Wednesday. “We’re going to have announcements also this year around Flex and streaming aggregation, so stay tuned for that.”
Comcast launched Flex in 2019. In some ways, Flex lets Comcast broadband subscribers watch streaming content instead of signing up for its Xfinity pay TV service. But Roberts said Comcast now believes in doing what’s right for the customer and many consumers want to stream. “It is the new television,” he noted.
Flex has had many benefits for Comcast, Roberts said. “We get a 15%-20% reduction in churn in customers who engage,” he said. And the company has engagement with about 50% of the people who have Flex.
“It’s a platform for future relationships and opportunities and R&D,” Roberts said. “We have the best aggregation tools in the business.”
Comcast last week made its Stream App available to Flex customers, giving them an easy way to access Comcast’s pay TV products.
And there has been speculation that Comcast may be looking at ways to distribute Flex beyond its cable footprint.
Comcast reportedly had talks with Walmart to include Flex in smart TVs.
Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.
