Comcast to partner with Skype
Subscribers will be able to make video calls on their home TVs.
Comcast Corp., the Philadelphia cable provider, will partner with Skype Technologies S.A. to let customers make video calls on their home televisions.
Comcast subscribers will be able to use the service for Skype calls while they watch TV. Customers will get the service through an adapter box and will be provided with a high-definition video camera and custom-made remote control for instant messaging. The other caller will not need additional equipment beyond what is needed to use Skype on a personal computer or mobile device.
The partnership could give Microsoft Corp. - which agreed to buy Luxembourg-based Skype for $8.5 billion last month - a way to generate additional revenue from the world's most popular web-calling service. Partnering with Comcast will spread the calling software to more consumers. Skype can then sell premium services, such as group video calling, to Comcast subscribers, which totaled 22.8 million at the end of the first quarter.
"We think there are a lot services that consumers will pay for," Neil Stevens, a vice president at Skype, said in an interview. "This is a significant element [in] our strategy."
Users call one another for free on Skype, the largest provider of international calls. The company makes money when users pay for services such as voice mail, call waiting, and group video calling. Skype, which lost money last year, also sells advertising.
Comcast and Skype did not disclose financial arrangements of the partnership.
Comcast has begun adding services that complement its cable-TV offerings as video growth slows. The company announced it would expand its home-security business this month, letting subscribers check on their homes remotely using Comcast's technology.
"TV has evolved into a social experience, and Comcast and Skype will be delivering a product that personalizes the TV experience even more," said Neil Smit, president of Comcast Cable Communications.
Comcast shares fell 18 cents to $23.71 Monday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has gained 7.9 percent this year.
Microsoft, the world's largest software-maker, rose 34 cents to $24.04 and has fallen 14 percent this year.