Sources: Watchable to be available on the web for Comcast subscribers and and non-subscribers, in addition to set-top-boxes, Android, and iOS
Context & Ripple Effects
Mid-2015 finds Comcast testing how much of its video business can live outside the set-top box. Weeks after announcing Stream, a $15/month web TV add-on for internet subscribers, the company is now reportedly opening its free Watchable service to the web for both subscribers and non-subscribers, joining existing set-top-box, Android, and iOS delivery.
The follow-through came fast: by September, demo images of Watchable showed an emphasis on editor-driven curation and featured playlists, and by 2017 sources reported Comcast planning a fuller online video service built on NBCUniversal hit shows. This move matters because it extends Comcast's distribution to audiences with no Comcast relationship at all.
First-order effects
- Non-subscribers gain direct access to Watchable on the web, decoupling the service from the X1 set-top base and letting Comcast court viewers it cannot bill for cable.
Second-order effects
- A two-tier web portfolio takes shape around Comcast's internet subscribers: free, curated Watchable content on top of the paid Stream add-on, giving advertisers a bigger addressable audience across both.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, pay-TV distribution shifts from box-locked walled gardens toward open-web apps that serve subscribers and non-subscribers alike — the structure Comcast was reportedly formalizing with its planned NBCUniversal-powered service.
The trend: Cable distributors are moving video distribution off proprietary set-top boxes and onto the open web, using free services to reach audiences their subscriptions never touched.