Life Beyond OTT

Comcast is focusing its TV Everywhere efforts on raising consumer awareness, Matt Strauss, evp/gm of video and entertainment services for Comcast Cable, said during the Wells Fargo Securities Investor Conference Thurs. That means continuing to make sure customers know that they can access all of their content across devices, he said. AT&T’s upcoming DirecTV Now streaming offering won’t be a threat to Comcast, according to Strauss, since the MSO already offers skinny bundles and streaming options such as Stream TV and Xfinity on Campus. Is Comcast looking to launch a nationwide OTT product? “OTT is not for the faint of heart, especially if it’s a video-only OTT service,” Strauss said. And such a move isn’t a priority for Comcast, he said. Instead, the MSO is focusing on new businesses like home security, with Strauss saying nearly 100% of Comcast home security subs take multiple products. The strategy of expanding into customers’ homes “allows us to go deeper into our footprint,” he said. Instead of following the OTT and skinny bundle trend, “you want to own the home… We want to go deeper and deeper into our base,” the exec said. It all comes down to where the company can get the most ROI, he said. Another priority at Comcast is implementing voice control across its footprint. Voice control goes behind video, can be a source of information and can be tied to home offerings, he said.