Comcast quietly lowers X1 upgrade fee to $19.99 for select customers

Looking to accelerate the deployment of its cloud-based X1 video platform, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has quietly lowered the upgrade cost for select existing customers from $49.99 to $19.99.

As revealed on the DSL Reports message boards, existing Comcast TV service customers on the East Coast were quietly notified in March that they were eligible for the discounted upgrade, citing "changes in business costs."

It's unclear as to how widely available the $19.99 rate is across Comcast's footprint. The MSO has been charging fees ranging from $49.99 to $99.99 for the upgrade.

Comcast isn't publicly commenting about the price change, and it still lists at $99.99 on its website.

Comcast executives have raved about the impact of X1 on its bottom line, noting dramatic improvements in ARPU and reductions in customer churn.

Deployment, however, has been slow, with roughly 25 percent of Comcast's 22.4 million U.S. video subscriber footprint upgraded to X1 as of the fourth quarter of last year.

For more:
- see this DSL Reports message board
- read this Multichannel News report

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