With a launch as important as this, one wonders how brave Comcast’s Sky was being with the name of their latest product ‘Sky Glass’.
The first thing that sprung to mind was ‘Google Glass’. Launched in 2013 to a fanfare, it never really got the traction hoped due to cost, privacy laws and usability factors.
Sky Glass however is something that we can all relate to – especially as over the last 20 months our viewing has increased exponentially within our homes.
Who wouldn’t want a QLED 4k television with an integrated speaker system, fully connected to the internet and available in four colours allowing you to get rid of that satellite dish attached to your roof and declutter your sitting room, bedroom or kitchen even more by doing away with your Sky Q box altogether?
So while the temptation of an all-in-one box or TV in this case is appealing, the other attraction for consumers, the younger generation in particular, is being able to add the relatively high cost of a new TV onto a subscription package.
The consumer ends up with a high-end piece of voice-controlled tech, Sky ends up with the ability to put even more advertising through its technology by bringing content and distribution together.
While there will be the minimum TV service which starts at £26 per month, there are, of course, adds ons such as Ultra HDR, Dolby Atmos, Sky Sports, etc.
One assumes that Comcast has launched Sky Glass in an attempt to slow down their churn rate. By bringing together the fragmented streaming TV market all into one easy and moveable piece of kit, they are hoping this will appeal to all those who like simplicity and move home frequently.
While we see this as convenient for us all, there is a reason that Comcast is now selling us additional hardware. They bought Sky in June 2020 for a reported £30bn, someone now needs to start paying for it and, of course, it always comes down to the consumers.
