Evaluating Comcast's X1 at 3

Speaking to FierceCable for its latest special report, Matthew Strauss, executive VP and GM of video services for Comcast Cable (NASDAQ: CMCSA), said he wants give the TV the same sort of priority status the smart phone has in the mind of the consumer. 

Just as folks check their Galaxy or iPhone sometimes hundreds of times a day, Strauss envisions Comcast's X1 platform as a kind of "connective fiber" of the home, blending entertainment experiences like ubiquitous on-demand viewing and video gaming with home automation features.

In a world dominated by X1, you'll check your TV compulsively, relying on X1's search and guide features to tell you how to best entertain yourself, getting quick updates on things like ball scores and news headlines, and making sure the garage door is closed.

Still, three years after its debut, X1 is still a work in progress. Comcast said it's now deploying 30,000 X1 boxes a day, but there are no metrics at this point to suggest the expensive-to-deploy platform is in even half of Comcast's 22.3 million pay-TV homes. 

In FierceCable's latest special report, we examine the state of the X1 platform at three, looking at the many challenges it still faces to achieve what remains very lofty potential. You can read it here. --Daniel