Comcast Launching New Options for ‘Cord Cutters’

Comcast is the latest cable TV giant to step up its lineup of Internet-based TV services in an effort to attract younger customers who have ditched traditional TV.

Dish Network now offers Sling TV, a $20-a-month Internet-based TV service launched earlier this year. And Comcast will soon offer Stream, a $15-a-month Internet TV service expected to start in Boston this month, the Associated Press reports:

It’s the latest effort by the TV industry to attract younger customers at a time when ratings are sliding and more millennials are becoming “cord cutters” by ditching traditional cable entirely.

Stream will be available to Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers. The service will enable them to watch live TV from about a dozen networks, including all the major broadcast networks and HBO, as well as on-demand content on computers and mobile devices, according to Comcast.

The company is also working on a YouTube-like mobile app and website called Watchable, which will be accessible to anyone, the AP reports.

Comcast also recently announced that its subsidiary NBCUniversal will make a $200 million investment in BuzzFeed, an online media company whose content is popular with younger audiences.

The two companies will also explore partnerships. Kenneth Lerer, BuzzFeed’s executive chairman, says in a news release:

“BuzzFeed and NBCUniversal will be great strategic partners and we both have a lot to offer the other. We look forward to collaborating on television content, movies, the Olympics, and joint partnerships with ad agencies and brands.”

To learn more about Internet TV services like Sling and Stream, check out “How to Choose the Right Cord-Cutting TV Service.”

Do you pay for traditional cable TV? Or do you use an alternative like Internet-based TV? Tell us your story in our Forums. It’s a place where you can swap questions and answers on money-related matters, life hacks and ingenious ways to save.