Comcast to Netflix: not on our channels

The cable company says no way to a deal with Netflix

A few days ago we reported that Netflix was secretly meeting with cable companies to get its content onto their subscription services.

When asked for comment, Netflix would not confirm or deny that any specific meetings had taken place, only saying, "Netflix meets all the time with MSOs as Netflix moves millions of hours of video a day over the internet and MSOs deliver it to peoples' homes and devices. No comment on speculation in any news stories."

Well, now it seems that Comcast has let the proverbial cat out of the bag, squashing the plan at the same time.

A Comcast spokeswoman told Fierce Cable yesterday, “We have no plans to offer access to Netflix to our customers through our Xfinity TV service, no matter what device.”

Comcast is the largest cable provider in the country with over 22 million subscribers as of September of last year. Not getting them on board would seem to be a serious blow to Netlix's plan to expand into the TV market. Next on the list is DirecTV with a little less than 20 million subscribers. If they say no as well, there would seem to be no way for Netflix to really get itself into the market.

Comcast has good reason to want to deny Netflix the chance to expand its services into its territory. In February it launched Xfinity Streampix, an on-demand service that would allow its subscribers to view old movies and tv shows for only $4.99 extra per month. This puts Comcast in direct competition with Netflix for the streaming market, with Comcast offering its service for a lower price to boot. 

In January Netflix lost a deal with HBO to get their DVDs at a discount after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called HBO a "competitor." Now, once again, Netflix has failed while trying to do business with another company in the same market. 

Netflix did not return our request for comment on this story.

(Image source: https://www.toplingo.com/)