Comcast Offering "Instant TV" Streaming Service for $18

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If you’re using Comcast for your Internet Service, you can add rudimentary TV streaming for $18. The channel lineup basically amounts to OTA fare, all the usuals (Comet, Justice, Joe, WE, Antenna TV, ION, Quest,Heroes & Icons, Movies, etc., Plus the Local Affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC).

They are offering a free, one-month trial, so I logged into my account and signed up, Getting about 35 (real) channels, once I scrape away all the PBS, kids, shopping and local access channels … I’m pulling in over 60 channels on my antenna, by the way.

Quality is GREAT, Interface is a little rough, but Cloud DVR is outstanding and easy (20 hours, complimentary). You can add blocks of programming for anywhere between $10 - $25 (depending upon category), and Streampix commercial-free movies for five bucks.

There are mobile apps for Android and apple, but the only TV process is Roku. It’s brand-new, still in Beta, so much of this will change, of course. For right now, it’s a great Opening.

This is not something I’d (personally) benefit from, as my OTA setup pulls in everything they offer and much much more. But for people living in dorm rooms, stationed temporarily, short-term renters and those who just don’t watch much TV, it’s fantastic.

They make it EASY to cancel, no tricks, no phone calls and no hassle. I’m sure they’ll send me a few email reminders before my trial month ends, but I’ve created a reminder just in case. Not quite sure who the target audience is (and I’m definitely not one of them) but I think it’s great when a company offers a thin, cheap no-frills TV package to go with their Internet service.

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  • Broadcast fees? Regional Sports fees?

Definitely nice to see an offering, but I’m sure there will be some price inflators knowing Comcast.

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Still not worth $18 … a month I presume… ? … would have to be under $10 to be interesting (to me anyway) and I would have to be in a situation where I couldnt get OTA … like you I get a ton more channels from my antenna …

My other “beef” with comcast is its always some “limited time deal” that expires in 18 or 24, etc months then they jack up the bill and screw you over with the sudden rate increase … if it was $5 a month permanently for life with no contracts and no strings then I might consider it …

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It’ a flat $18, period.

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Till they send you a letter stating they have to increase the price by $2 in a couple years… :smiley:

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This isn’t intended as a primary cable package, just a simple add-on for internet subscribers. There are people like myself who get more than this from current OTA configs and would not benefit. There are others who would. No time limits on this, no contracts, no extra fees and no boxes.

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My sister rents in an apt complex and this might be suitable for her situation… Ill mention it to her but I still have a healthy dose of skepticism for comcast pricing.

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That’s precisely the type of person who could benefit from this. It’s offered as an add-on to Xfinity internet subscribers, not as a dedicated service of any kind. No cable box, so there’s no added cost and tax is figured into the $18.

When I signed up for the one-month trial, they made it clear each step of the way: what I was paying, when it would be billed if I continued and how to cancel. You do this by logging into your account, select the service and click “cancel”.

They’ve got a bunch of add-on choices such as Sports & News package, Lifetime essentials, things like that. Much the way Sling does. You can select these add-ons during sign up for Trial, or go back into your account later and add them on. I just ignored / skipped all of that, as I wanted to see what the barebones package was comprised of.

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I just moved in to a new house and didn’t want to deal with hooking up my antenna and running an ethernet cable to my Tablo device, so I signed up for this. Besides all the local channels, they also threw in Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz free for 12 months. I hate Comcast with a passion, but this isn’t a bad deal. And just to clarify the price, it’s technically $10 a month PLUS an $8 “broadcast fee”, so the fee is built in but it truly is $18/month with no surprises. One downside so far, you can’t pause live TV on the fly without scheduling it to record first.

After the year is up, maybe sooner, I’ll hopefully have the energy to wire up my Tablo again, but this is great in a pinch…while the deal lasts anyway.

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Cinemax and Starz for free is very generous, represents a huge savings and a ton of free entertainment. I’m still on my free month, they said I’d be given that choice if / when I decide to continue (and pay).

Yes it IS $18, no tricks, no boxes or anything else. The Interface and overall feel needs some work, it seems a little “beta-like” but with their resources, this will obviously change and improve. I’m not crazy about the DVR, but have gotten used to it during my one-month experiment. All things considered, definitely worth 18 bucks. In your case, with the free Cinemax and free Starz … SCORE.

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My short honeymoon phase with Comcast Instant TV is over. It worked pretty horribly on Roku. The quality would come and go as streaming services do, but it was hardly ever in HD for some reason. My internet speed is around 130mbps so that wasn’t the issue. Also during long shows like football games, it would just cut off and the channel wouldn’t start again. I would have to set the game to record, but that only worked sometimes. Also, you couldn’t pause unless you were recording something. And the DVR service was pretty bad. It would sometimes restart me at the beginning of the recording for no reason, and fast forwarding didn’t always work - it would just start where I was originally when I would hit play.

Anyway, all of these issues made me disconnect and hook my Tablo back up and it’s working great again.

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My experience with this (beta) product has been quite different. The free month was remarkable, no glitches, no problems. So much so, that I gave them the $18 to continue and I’m on my second month. The only thing I don’t like is the interface / GUI, it is (to my eye) very poor. Am told it will be markedly different, once the product is out of beta.

Additionally, I subscribed to their Streampix offering for $5 more. It is a TV and Movies-on-Demand product I had never heard of, something like Hulu, Netflix, etc. I was not offered the Cinemax / Showtime bonus that you were, I had thought it would be available (again) if I chose to continue. Still worth it (for me) it’s $23 well spent (less than I spend at Starbucks in a week).