Comcast has launched its commercial-free subscription channel FX+.
The channel, a partnership with 21st Century Fox, is available to Comcast Xfinity TV users for $5.99 a month through the “Manage Channels” section of their interface—the same place customers go to buy subscriptions for premium channels like HBO and Showtime, as well as AMC Premiere, a $4.99-a-month commercial-free version of AMC.
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FX+ will offer in-season stacking of episodes for current FX series as well as access to an on-demand library housing most of FX’s and FXX’s original series.
FX said that the shows will be rolled out “over a period of time” and that all series will be added to the FX+ on-demand library by 2018. FX+ subscribers can get at the FX+ content through Xfinity On Demand, the Xfinity Stream app and website, and FXNOW. FX+ is planning to offer select series in 4K and to offer downloads for some of the content.
FX is following a trail blazed by AMC Networks, which also launched an ad-free version of AMC on Comcast earlier this summer. AMC Premiere runs $4.99 per month and airs new series at the same time as the linear cable network.
Both networks are taking similar approaches as traditional premium networks like HBO and Showtime, offering live viewing and on-demand access without commercials for a premium price. And apparently the response from consumers has been positive thus far.
“We have been diligent about recapturing the in-season stacking rights for all current original programming and recapturing the rights to all seasons of a large portion of our legacy of great original series," FX CEO John Landgraf said last month in a statement announcing FX+.