Comcast is launching a live TV streaming service that rivals Sling, FuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and everyone else. It’s called Now TV, and it has something the competition lacks: an extremely attractive price. Now TV includes 60 live channels and a Peacock subscription, all for $20 a month.
There is a small catch. Now TV is only available to Comcast Xfinity Internet customers and works as an add-on to any existing service plan. A basic Comcast cable plan costs $50 to $60 per month and doesn’t include internet, so this is still a good bargain.
The platform offers access to 40 premium cable channels including top channels like AMC, Discovery, A&E, IFC, The History Channel, TLC, Lifetime and many more. It also has 20 hours of DVR storage and allows for three simultaneous streams. You also get 20 free ad-supported TV channels (FAST), such as NBC News NOW, Sky News and a number of genre-based channels. However, the service has some glaring gaps as it doesn’t offer local TV or sports channels.
Of course, Now TV also includes an ad-supported premium subscription to Peacock, so you can watch the insanely wacky Mrs. Davis, the hangout comedy Grand Crew, and nearly 1,000 SNL episodes.
When the service launches in a few weeks, it will be accessible through the Xfinity Stream app and supported gadgets like Xfinity Flex, Amazon Fire TV, iOS devices, and Android devices. As for why Comcast would underprice its competitors here, the company’s cable division was hit particularly hard by cable cutters, losing over 600,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2023 alone.