Almost as if the two events were orchestrated, the FCC has pulled its Set Top Box proposals, just as Comcast has cut a deal to allow cable TV viewing through a Roku box. This week new FCC Chairman Ajit Pai dropped the FCC rule-making vote off his agenda, although technically this does not mean it is entirely dead, just not on his current agenda.
Comcast then followed the DirecTV Now initiative, which released a service which won’t necessarily need a set top, with an App of its own, initially just for Roku. The Comcast Xfinity TV App for Roku does, however, get its signal at present, from in-home WiFi, which means that Comcast customers will need at least one other set top box that is sourced from Comcast in order for the App to work.
But that may not be the final outcome from Comcast, which has released this purely in beta, and limited it conservatively to existing Comcast Xfinity homes. It could later combine a Roku box with a DOCSIS modem or home gateway or even allow it to work with any other ISPs internet service.
Right now, Comcast is insisting that the service does not go over the internet, but over its private managed network, although it is IP delivered and over the same in-home wiring. As such, Comcast has said that data that travels to and from the Roku box will not count towards its fixed broadband data cap.
The news was released in a blog from Andrew Ferrone, VP at Roku, and Michael DelCiello, VP Strategic Partnerships at Comcast.
The fact that this still requires ownership of a Comcast set top box will do little to re-assure consumers about the $19.5 billion a year US set-top box rental revenue that this brings US cable firms, which sees consumers charged $231 a year on average for each set top rental, which the FCC rule-making was designed to eliminate. However, the new FCC chairman is seen as anti this type of regulation, and as long as US cable operators drift towards a retail cost for set tops, we doubt this subject will come up again during this administration.
The App is controlled by Comcast, which was where the set top box proposal was headed – insisting that operators make such an app available – but it does not give access to in-home DVR content, only to cloud DVR held content. Essentially, at present, this is a way of providing a second TV connection using a retailed box, although Comcast admits that at some stage it would charge something for the privilege – although not during the beta, and it has not worked out how much.
The app will run on any Roku TV, most recently launched Roku boxes and on Roku Streaming stick models. Comcast allows up to five devices to connect to its Xfinity broadband to watch TV, and the Roku will be considered just one of these.
“We plan to officially launch the Xfinity TV app later this year, but for now we can’t wait for people to try it out and enjoy more choice and flexibility in accessing their Xfinity cable subscription on their Roku device. Your feedback is important during this beta trial and you will be helping the Comcast team improve the experience,” a statement said.
Not only did AT&T shift to devices of this type for DirecTV Now, but in the UK last week Sky (who uses Roku boxes to access its Now TV) said it would launch its entire 270 channel bouquet over a new OTT set top by 2018 – but a Roku has not yet been considered for this service. The Xfinity TV Beta app will not include the ability to rent or buy programming or play back previously purchased programs.
While technically feasible, it will be interesting to see if after this Beta, Comcast chooses to allow a home to obtain access purely through an app on a Roku box and not require a rented set, top which drives those costs mentioned earlier. Security will be a huge consideration also, with MovieLabs insisting that a hardware root of trust is established for 4K content.