Comcast Touts 3.8 Million Xfinity Flex Deployments

Xfinity Flex
(Image credit: Comcast)

Comcast said it now has 3.8 million Xfinity Flex set-top boxes deployed, up from 3.5 million it announced in May

Of those deployments, “about half” are being “actively used and engaged,” said Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson, speaking to telecom-media-technology equity analysts during the operator’s Q2 earnings call Thursday. 

Comcast hands out Flex thin-client streaming boxes, which run a slimmed down version of its X1 software while using the X1 platform voice remote, free to its broadband-only customers. 

Comcast engaged in talks with Walmart late last year about the possibility of marking smart TV’s powered by the Flex OTT platform. But for his part, Watson had little to share on the progress of that potential endeavor. 

“We'll explore outside of footprint opportunities, ways of doing even more over time,” he said. 

Also read: Comcast's Xfinity Flex Adds Support for Hulu + Live TV

Watson did say that Flex is generating an additional $2 a month per user of incremental revenue on pay-per-view titles.

“We absolutely include it as part of the broadband subscription,” Watson said. “It’s a key part of now that with broadband. You get this great streaming platform. So we're doing that. If you're a traditional video customer, we have devices that enable full home, the X1 experience throughout. So we have that. But we are not bashful about letting our customers, broadband customers, in particular, that really important streaming segment know that this is included.”

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!