Comcast CEO: iPad, tablets give us ability to ‘start from scratch’ on TV interface
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts was decidedly upbeat about tablets such as Apple's iPad and how it can drive demand for the cable giant's Xfinity Web video efforts. — Speaking on Comcast's third quarter …
Context & Ripple Effects
Brian Roberts has spent years casting Comcast as a broadband-first company rather than a cable operator, from his 2007 profile as broadband's 'Tomorrow Man' to the 2008 CES roadmap that promised a huge on-demand film menu. February's XFINITY rebrand was the product expression of that pitch — a Web-style video layer bolted onto the cable bundle.
On the Q3 2010 earnings call, Roberts extended the argument to hardware he doesn't control: the iPad and other tablets give Comcast license to 'start from scratch' on its TV interface, with tablet demand feeding the Xfinity Web video effort. It is an unusual framing for a distributor — treating someone else's device as the catalyst for rebuilding its own front door.
First-order effects
- Comcast's near-term product work shifts toward a tablet-native Xfinity interface — an admission that the existing cable guide, built around the set-top box, is the constraint on its Web video ambitions.
Second-order effects
- Every major cable and satellite rival faces the same math: if Comcast ships a credible tablet experience, pay-TV providers without one look antiquated, forcing a round of me-too app development across the industry.
Third-order effects
- If distributors keep rebuilding around third-party screens, the set-top box loses its position as the industry's default interface, and control of the viewer experience migrates toward whoever owns the tablet OS — a leverage shift Roberts is embracing rather than resisting.
The trend: Pay-TV distribution is reorganizing around multi-screen apps rather than the set-top box, with cable operators adopting the platforms of device makers they once treated as rivals.