Comcast Is Planning a Netflix Rival Using NBC Shows

Several of NBC’s peers have responded to the shifting landscape by introducing online TV services of their own to satisfy viewers who don’t pay for cable or satellite packages. CBS sells All Access, an online-only version of the CBS broadcast network that includes a live feed, and created a new streaming service for premium cable network Showtime. Time Warner Inc. did the same for its premium cable network HBO.

None of these services have attracted customers at the same rate as Netflix, Amazon or Hulu. CBS said in February its services each have more than 1.5 million subscribers, while HBO Now has surpassed 2 million.

Comcast’s new service may take a while because the cable provider is still hamstrung by restrictions imposed by regulators in the deal for NBCUniversal. The rules make it difficult for Comcast to sell services entirely comprised of its own content. The last of the prohibitions expire in September 2018.

Comcast added video subscribers last year for the first time since 2007 after weathering the loss of hundreds of thousands of customers fleeing for cheaper online video services. The largest U.S. cable operator has struck recent deals to accommodate changing viewing habits, incorporating Netflix into set-top boxes and making Comcast’s Xfinity TV service available on Roku Inc.’s devices.

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