Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), the largest U.S. cable operator, will offer a Web-based TV service with about a dozen channels for $15 a month to its Xfinity Internet customers, in response to challengers like Dish Network Corp. and Netflix Inc.
The service, called Stream, will include HBO and live broadcast networks including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, Comcast said on its website.
Stream will be introduced in Boston at the end of the summer, followed by Chicago and Seattle, and will reach its entire service area early next year, the company said.
The new service represents a bid from a mainstream cable company to stay relevant to a new generation of viewers. Many consumers — especially younger ones — are willing to pay for Internet service but are ditching cable packages in favor of streaming services that are often cheaper and offer more flexibility than the typical cable bundle.
Stream "furthers our goal to provide TV choices for everyone," said Matt Strauss, Comcast's executive vice president and general manager of video services, in a blog post on the company's corporate web site. "So if you love TV and spend most of your time with the screen in your lap as opposed to the one on the wall, Stream may just be the thing for you."
Comcast is the largest U.S. pay-TV provider and has the most exposure to cord cutting as viewers explore alternatives such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Dish.
Last week, Showtime launched its own standalone streaming service, following the April arrival of HBO Now, that premium network's service.
Earlier this year, Dish Network launched Sling TV—the first service to live stream a package of major sports, news and other traditionally pay-TV shows without being tethered to a cable subscription—for $20 a month.
Cablevision Systems Corp., meanwhile, is offering cord-cutter packages starting at $34.90 a month, while Verizon Communications offers FiOS TV services priced at $55 a month.
Shares of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company gained 1.4 percent to $64.05 at 10;42 a.m. in New York, expanding this year’s gains to 10.6 percent.