Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Legacy cable company invents $180-a-year streaming bundle

Add as a preferred source on Google
A handout image of a TV showing the logos of Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV Plus.
Comcast

If you’re a customer of Comcast’s Xfinity internet or TV business, you now have a new bundle of streaming apps available at a discount. For $15 a month, Xfinity StreamSaver (because you can’t sell something that already exists without giving it a funny name, apparently) brings together Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV+. It’ll all be available through Comcast’s hardware, of course, but also on other platforms.

On their own, the three services would cost a minimum of $23 a month. That’s $7 for Netflix with ads at 1080p resolution, $6 for Peacock Premium with ads, and $10 for Apple TV+. And as it turns out, that’s the same level of service you’ll get with StreamSaver, saving you about $96 a year. And if you want to get rid of ads or get 4K resolution on Netflix, you can pay the difference for that higher service tier.

Recommended Videos

Comcast also says that you can bundle the bundle with NOW TV (which is Xfinity’s own live streaming solution a la YouTube TV or Hulu With Live TV) for another $30 a month.

“StreamSaver is a homerun for consumers who want top-tier entertainment and live sports, and for our world-class partners Peacock, Netflix and Apple who benefit from the reach and depth of our entertainment platforms and Xfinity’s marketing engine,” Dave Watson, CEO of connectivity and platforms for Comcast, said in a press release. “StreamSaver also reinforces the value of our broadband products, offering customers new ways to save money on streaming entertainment via the nation’s best and most reliable network in and out of the home.”

We joke a little about how a legacy company like Comcast — which remains one of the biggest cable companies in the U.S. — sort of is reinventing a la carte streaming as a new cable bundle, and that’s not exactly incorrect. But it also can make a fair amount of sense if you are (or are going to become) a customer.

In fact, it makes exactly $8 a month worth of sense, at the very least.

Phil Nickinson
Former Section Editor, Audio/Video
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
Audio-Technica’s new wireless StreamSet headset promises studio sound without the cables
Finally, a wireless headset that takes your voice seriously.
Audio technica new headset.

I've lost count of wireless headsets that sound great until the microphone switches on. That is exactly why a cord-free streaming headset from a studio-audio brand earns my attention (with a pinch of skepticism). Audio-Technica wants to change my mind, and I am all up for it.

The company has announced the "ATH-M50xSTS-WL," its first wireless headset in the StreamSet line. What's unique, however, is how the brand has combined the studio sound of its ATH-M50x monitor headphones with microphone tech from its 20 Series studio mics (via Audio-Technica).

Read more
Samsung’s new clip-on earbuds are coming to the US, and they’re not cheap
You can listen to music without blocking out the world around you, but Samsung is charging a premium for the convenience.
Samsung Galaxy Buds On earbuds

Earlier this month, Samsung unveiled its first clip-on earbuds called the Galaxy Buds On. Initially, it announced pricing and availability details only for Korea, but now the brand has revealed them for the US market as well. As per Samsung, the Galaxy Buds On will cost $229 and will be available to buy in early November. Only one color option, Black, will be available initially.

That is quite a steep price, considering the flagship Galaxy Buds 4 Pro go for $250. The Buds On also has no active noise cancellation, weaker bass response, and lower dust and water resistance. All that said, the use case is fundamentally different. While you might choose the Buds 4 Pro as the best daily drivers for your Galaxy smartphone, the Buds On keep your ear canals open, letting you listen to music while staying aware of traffic, conversations, and everything else happening around you. I can see the appeal for people who find traditional earbuds uncomfortable, or those who regularly listen to music while running or commuting.

Read more
Amazon adds a camera to the Echo Studio and a smart home hub to the Echo Dot
The Echo Dot can now control more of your home, while the Echo Studio can see what's happening around it.
Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon has unveiled a new Alexa lineup featuring the Echo Show 16, Echo Time smart clock, and Alexa Photo Frame. Two speakers join them: an upgraded Echo Dot with a built-in smart home hub and the Echo Studio with Home Camera, which lets Alexa+ see its surroundings. Both are available now for $99.99 and $249.99, respectively.

The Echo Dot does more than play music

Read more