Comcast says third parties interested in licensing Xfinity Flex platform

Comcast already licenses a white-label version of its X1 video platform to other providers like Cox, and that could soon be the case for the company’s Xfinity Flex product as well.

Matt Strauss, executive vice president of Xfinity services for Comcast Cable, said during a press conference Wednesday that Comcast’s initial focus is on increasing the value proposition for broadband-only subscribers in its footprint. But, he said that the company’s X1 syndication partners like Rogers and Shaw in Canada have expressed interest in potentially licensing Flex.

Strauss also confirmed that for now Xfinity Flex requires a Comcast gateway, but that in the coming weeks the service would be opened up to all internet customers regardless of the gateway they use.

Comcast today announced that Xfinity Flex, which previously cost $5 per month, will now be included at no cost for the company’s internet-only subscribers. Flex is based on X1 technology and offers combined access to free content and subscription streaming services like Netflix.

Comcast for years has offered Netflix as an integrated app on its X1 platform, and Strauss said that in Comcast’s footprint, X1 has become the top connected device for accessing Netflix. He said that effort to reduce the complexity on X1 has driven more video consumption.

RELATED: Comcast makes Xfinity Flex free for its broadband-only subscribers

“We believe there’s that same complexity in the streaming market,” said Strauss. “This is where Flex is going to add a significant amount of value for our customers.”

During the press conference, Strauss did a live demo of Flex. The top row on the Flex platform is always what customers were most recently watching, and the row continues to become more personalized as users spend more time with Flex

Below that is “Free to Me,” which highlights all the free content on Flex along with all the different services like Netflix and Hulu that users subscribe to. Below that are sections for recommendations and trending content.

Strauss also referred to something called “snapping,” which he said is Flex’s ability to more clearly show all available options for watching content.