Comcast has begun to introduce service bundles featuring Netflix a few days after the cable operator and the OTT video giant announced a new deal that paved the way for new packages and for Comcast to put Netflix on the customer’s cable services bill.
RELATED: Comcast to Add Netflix to Service Packages, Handle Billing
At the time, Comcast said it would introduce a variety of initial offers later this month that include a Netflix subscription, and that offers would vary by market and be open to new and existing customers.
Comcast will launch a variety of initial offers this month that include a Netflix subscription. Offers and availability will vary by market and be open to new and existing customers. Netflix-related billing will be handled directly by Comcast, giving customers one, simple monthly statement
According to a consumer in the New Jersey entering as a new customer, packages with Netflix tied in are starting to appear for certain “Signature” and “Super” double- and triple-play service bundles:
-Signature Triple Play: Includes broadband (up to 400 Mbps), 219-plus TV channels, phone service, DVR service and Netflix, Starz and Showtime for $119.99 per month (with a two-year agreement).
-Super Triple Play: 1 Gbps (downstream) broadband, 250-plus TV channels, phone service, DVR service, along with Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax and TMC, for $149.99 per month (with a two-year agreement).
-Signature Double Play: Broadband up to 100 Mbps, and 219-plus TV channels with Netflix, Showtime and Starz, for $99.99 per month for the first 12 months (rising to $119.99 per month for months 13-24).
-Super Double Play: Broadband up to 150 Mbps, and 250-plus TV channels, with Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, and TMC, for $129.99 per month (with a two-year agreement).
Update: A Comcast customer in the Philadelphia area noted on the DSL Reports message boards that a package with Netflix that also includes an upgrade to 1-Gig broadband (from Blast 250) will result in a $10 savings, but was told by a customer rep that the promotion won’t get underway until May 9.
Update (April 9, 9:10 a.m. ET: Another consumer, this one based in Massachusetts, also posted several bundling options that became available to new customers on April 17, and are expected to become available to existing Comcast customers on May 10. Bundles with Netflix are again part of "Signature" and "Super" double- and triple-play packages, but not part of Comcast's "Standard" and "Select" two- and three-product bundles.
Comcast has also posted some details about Netflix billing through Comcast. It notes that Netflix customers can also opt to have the SVOD service billed directly through Netflix at any time.
The FAQ also provides some info on how Netflix usage can impact the consumer’s broadband data usage plan, noting that Netflix estimates that about 1 Gigabyte of data per hour is used for each stream of standard definition video, and up to 3 GB per hour for each stream of HD. To reach the monthly 1 Terabyte threshold, the estimate is roughly 1,000 hours of SD video streaming or 333 hours of HD video streaming of Netflix, or more than 10 hours a day of HD streaming in any given month.
RELATED: Comcast Deploys 1-Terabyte Data Plan
Last week, Comcast said nearly 50% of its X1 customers are actively using Netflix on that platform. Roughly 60% of Comcast’s 21.3 million residential pay TV subs are on X1.
Netflix, which added 7.41 million streaming subs worldwide in Q1 2018, reiterated this week that it will remain primary a direct-to-consumer business, views bundling with MVPDs, wireless service providers and other partners “as an attractive supplemental channel.”
RELATED: Netflix Adds 7.41M Streaming Subs in Q1
“Based on what we've seen with these new bundle models that we referred to with both Comcast and Sky, announcing in the last quarter, we've seen the economics of those -- if you take in the retention, the acquisition characteristics -- to be very, very beneficial,” Gregory Peters, Netflix’s chief product officer, said Monday (April 16) on the earnings call.
RELATED: Sky to Offer Netflix in New ‘Entertainment TV’ Package
