Comcast to allow some TV customers to ditch set-top box

Cable giant Comcast said it will allow some customers to watch cable TV without leasing a set-top box, responding to federal regulators’ heightened efforts to open up the pay-TV set-top box market.

In a limited program that will be gradually expanded, customers with a Roku TV, a Roku streaming media player, or a 2016 Samsung Smart TV "later this year" will be able to watch Comcast’s TV programming – including local broadcast, cable and DVR recordings stored in the cloud -- through the Xfinity TV Partner app embedded in the TV set or via the Roku devices. To use the app, customers still have to subscribe to a cable TV package from Xfinity, which is Comcast’s brand for its cable TV and Internet services. Comcast's new program plans to recruit more manufacturers to expand its device options. Customers who subscribe to Comcast’s TV service but buy Internet from another competitor will have to use a small device. Comcast doesn’t plan to charge for the device.