Comcast’s Streaming Dreams

According to the WSJ, Comcast is considering an acquisition of Roku or a tie-up with Viacom CBS to expand and enhance its streaming business. The report confirms what most industry analysts already know: while Peacock (Comcast NBCUniversal’s streaming service) had roughly 42 million sign-ups, it has fewer than 10 million paid subs. The Journal goes on to remind us that Netflix, by comparison, has more than 208 million subs.

Here’s a question that few are brave enough to ask: Does your streaming service provide access to content that people want to watch? People don’t watch streaming services; they watch content they care about. Why do some streaming services do better than others? Two guesses, and no one reading this needs the second one.