With Comcast kicking off beta trials of Netflix integration into X1 this week, CEO Brian Roberts told investors today that it is only the first embedding of a major SVOD service into the cloud-based video platform.
“We are in discussions with other SVOD providers,” Roberts said at the Goldman Sachs Communicopia Conference. “We decided to focus on this one — the biggest one, and the most important to get right. Now, we have a nice template.”
Roberts also presented some of the functionality of the integrated Netflix app. Notably, the integration attempts to solve the common viewer problem of having seasons of a respective series scattered all over the on-demand universe.
Roberts showed off a search in X1 for the ABC drama Scandal, for example. The unified search shows the viewer that the first four seasons are available on Netflix. All episodes of the current season can be found in Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand catalog.
Meanwhile, speaking the term “political dramas” into the Xfinity Voice Remote, Roberts was able to pull up series selections across Netflix and Xfinity On Demand.
Roberts said Comcast expects to have Netflix integration dispersed across its footprint before Thanksgiving.
Asked how the deal between the two fierce rivals came together, Roberts said that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings “and myself spent some time together. We always had tremendous respect for each other’s organizations. We didn’t always see eye to eye on everything, but we really found a way to think of the consumer.”
Beyond commenting on the Netflix integration, Roberts said Comcast has begun deploying its 4K- and HDR-capable Xi5 wireless set-tops, as well as its DOCSIS 3.1-capable XB6 modem.
“Both are rolling out and available” in Xfinity retail stores for self-installation, Roberts said.
For more:
Related articles:
Comcast to launch wireless product by the middle of 2017
Comcast says Netflix usage on X1 will count against data cap
Comcast's Burke: Smaller cable channels are going bye-bye