Comcast wants to take on Google and Amazon as a smart-home hub

Giant cable Comcast may be taking on Amazon and Google to be the commander of your smart home.

Comcast is testing a program that would allow its broadband-only customers to turn their TVs into smart-home hubs, according to a person familiar with the matter. The program uses its existing hardware and software for its X1 video service to make the TV has a place in the internet.

Comcast's move would be a first shot at taking care of Amazon and Google, which would have gone well with your system for consolidating smart home devices and making them simple to control. Connected locks and thermostats are still niche for most homeowners, but companies like Google and Amazon have been investing aggressively in the hope of becoming the standard system when smart homes becomes the norm.

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Netflix, YouTube and Amazon, the person said, but it is not meant to compete with the streaming-media boxes like Roku, Apple TV or Amazon's Fire TV. Comcast could charge a monthly fee for the program, the business model and the price.

Earlier Wednesday, CNBC reported that Comcast is a product that will allow its broadband-only customers to aggregate content.

So far, smart speakers have emerged from the two leaders: Amazon's Echo announcer holds 70 percent of smart-speaker market, with Google Home chasing it with 25 percent . But more recently, companies have been able to offer smart-home hubs with video displays. Amazon unveiled its show last year, which it revamped in September. And last month, Google introduced a countertop display called Home Hub.

But the rest of the competitors in the home-hub display race rely on Amazon and Google. Facebook's Portal, for example, uses Amazon's Alexa, and products like Lenovo Smart Display or JBL Link View are powered by Google Assistant.

Comcast, however, has already built a platform that supports smart-home devices like connected door locks, thermostats and lights though the biggest screen in every house: the TV. Its X1 system for TV programming, but it also supports smart-home devices already. Netflix and YouTube have also been integrated with streaming video services like Netflix and YouTube.

Comcast detailed its smart-home ambitions for its traditional X1 service this year at CES. By extending the home-hub concept to Comcast's broadband-only subscribers, the company would also offer on-ramps for broadband-only customers to upgrade their home security offerings, the person familiar with the matter said.

There have been some things to do, which would be supported by the broadband-only program, but Comcast's Xfinity partner program already included August, Carrier, Chamberlain, Ecobee, GE, Honeywell, Kwikset, Nest, Philips Hue, Singled, Tile and Zen.

Originally published at 4:24 p.m. PT.
Corrected at 7 p.m. PT: Clarifies the broadband-only program's business model has not been decided.

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