Adding another OTT option to the mix, Comcast will soon start to offer content from National Public Radio on its X1 set-top box platform.
Comcast, in the "coming weeks," plans to offer a TV-optimized version of the NPR One app, along with its mix of local and national news and podcasts, to X1 customers. About 60% of Comcast’s 21.3 million residential video subs are on X1.
The app via X1 will be available for free, though users have the option to login and create accounts (also free) that can personalize the experience.
As part of the integration, customers can use the X1 voice remote to launch the NPR One app (by saying “NPR” or “NPR One”), and NPR content will also be searchable and integrated with the X1 VOD menus, appearing along with other related content. Comcast said customers can also access content from their local NPR Member Station via the NPR One app on X1.
Further out, X1 customers will also be able to find specific NPR programs or podcasts by name or topic by saying, for example, “Show me Ask Me Another on NPR One.”
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NPR One will be streamed over the internet to X1 boxes, making that content subject to Comcast’s internet data usage policies. Examples of other OTT services that have been integrated with X1 include Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and iHeartRadio.
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“We continue to focus on putting people’s favorite content and experiences on a single platform, Xfinity X1,” Nancy Spears, VP of strategy and execution, Comcast Cable, said in a statement. “NPR has created a very personal listening experience with the NPR One app and we look forward to giving longstanding and new fans the ability to access the public radio programming they want directly on the TV, with just the sound of their voice.”
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“Every day, people are finding new ways to listen to public radio,” added Joel Sucherman, senior director of digital products at NPR. “NPR One feels right at home on X1, bringing the best local and national news, along with your favorite podcasts, in a personalized experience that gets smarter the more you listen.”
