Comcast won’t join the internet TV crowd, but still looks to test video service

Dish Network and Sony may be close to launching their internet-based TV services, but Comcast has no plans to join them any time soon. The company doesn’t want to target viewers outside of its cable footprint with an internet-based TV service, confirmed Comcast CEO Brian Roberts during a press event in San Francisco Wednesday. “We are not looking to do that,” he said. [...] So what stops Comcast from offering the same to internet service subscribers of Cox Communications, Cablevisión or any of its other competitors? Roberts argued Wednesday that the company sees its infrastructure as an integral part of its Xfinity line of products. Another answer may be that cable TV comes with much smaller margins than phone or broadband, so it makes sense for Comcast to use its TV service as a way to sell those more lucrative services – something that its competitor Dish can’t do because it doesn’t have its own pipes in the ground. [...] However, Comcast still has some online video plans of its own: Comcast Video Services VP Matt Strauss confirmed at the sidelines of the event that the company is still looking to bring online video programming to its X1 set-top box. - Janko Roettgers,Gigaom [via/web:http://streaming-tv.us]