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When it comes to wheeling and dealing, most of the waves Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) has been making lately are on the entertainment side of the business. The integrated communications, cable, and entertainment conglomerate purchased European peer Sky for $40 billion in late 2018 and is doubling its investment in original TV programming through that unit. Comcast also recently inked a deal with rival Disney, allowing Mickey and company to assume full control of TV streaming service Hulu. Comcast instead has its sights set on launching its own streaming service through NBCUniversal sometime in 2020.
While the film and TV properties get all of the attention, though, Comcast's Cable Communications segment is getting the red-headed-stepchild treatment. Granted, cable and internet service providers get a lot of flak (and rightfully so) from frustrated consumers, and Comcast's Xfinity is no exception. But no matter your personal feelings on Comcast's Xfinity, the business is providing solid returns to shareholders. It also could be getting a new connected home-health service, putting Comcast in position to competitively participate in the tech wars that are forming battle lines over the smart home.
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Great, another smart speaker option
As CNBC reported in May, Comcast is working on an in-home health detection device that will start testing later this year and have a broader rollout in 2020. However, this is not an entry into the crowded smart speaker industry dominated by Amazon.com's Echo and Alphabet's Google Home. Instead of a voice-operated assistant and smart home hub, Comcast is looking to position sensors around the home that will serve as a detection service for those with health risks, seniors and people with disabilities living independently at home. Developers of the service say the sensors will be geared to detect falls, monitoring the frequency of trips to the bathroom, track the amount of time spent in bed, and have the ability to call 911.
Details on the service -- including pricing -- have yet to be released, but Comcast is apparently in talks with insurance companies and healthcare providers to work out realized cost-savings sharing agreements when the device does its job. Home health would be a new frontier for Xfinity, but marketing the service may not take much extra effort since the company already has a portfolio of home security devices and services -- not to mention the phone, cable TV, and internet business. With an aging U.S. population, home health could be a sweetener for a segment that's already performing consistently well.