TV Talk: Will Comcast Stop Offering Video Service In 2026? 2027?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Buy Me a Coffee!

This is a new concept here at TVAnswerman.com. We are going to discuss the future of television with the future of technology, Grok, the Artificial Intelligence chatbot.

AI is basically a consensus of the conventional wisdom found online so it will be interesting to see how Grok responds to my sometimes unconventional wisdom on TV topics.

You can see our earlier discussions with Grok here:

The Future of Regional Sports Networks
The Future of Quality Televisions
How Long Can DIRECTV Last?

Today, we discuss the future of Comcast’s Xfinity TV service which is rapidly losing subscribers. Will Comcast keep offering video service for years to come? Or is the end near as even more customers leave for streaming?

TV Answer Man
Okay, Grok, we’re going to have another session of TV Talk, and today we are going to talk about whether Comcast Xfinity TV will continue to offer video service for years to come. It now has approximately 10.5 million video subscribers left. Huge drop-off from five, ten years ago. They’ve basically lost about half of their subscriber base in that time. But is there a reason for the company to continue to provide video service even though they’re losing so many subscribers? What are your thoughts, Grok?

Grok
Yeah, Comcast’s video side is shrinking fast. The cord-cutting keeps hammering them, and even broadband’s starting to feel some pressure from 5G home internet.

But here’s the thing—they’re not ditching linear TV anytime soon. In December 2025, they actually rolled out shiny new national Xfinity video plans, simpler pricing, better value pitch, all that. Shows they’re still investing in the service, not running away.

The big move was spinning off their cable networks—like MSNBC, USA, CNBC—into this new company Versant, which wrapped up just days ago on January fifth, 2026. That separates the declining linear networks from the core Comcast biz, but Xfinity’s actual TV service to customers? That’s staying put. It’s the distribution side, the broadband pipes, that make money even when video bleeds.

They’ll probably keep offering it as long as enough people pay the high margins on bundles, and it helps lock in internet customers. Eventually, yeah, it could shrink to a niche or go IP-only, but for the next few years at least? They’re hanging on, revamping instead of quitting.

What do you think—see them pulling the plug by 2030, or milking it longer?

“Comcast still gets a major benefit from video service by bundling it with Internet service.”

TV Answer Man
Grok, you basically took the words out of my mouth because what I was going to say was that Comcast still gets a major benefit from video service by bundling it with Internet service. And yes, you’re right, they just offered a bunch of new video plans towards the end of the year. That’s a signal that they’re trying to adjust to the changing economics and consumer interest in providing plans that are a bit less bulky and a bit less expensive, doesn’t have hidden fees and so forth, and so they’re trying to meet consumers halfway. There’s no doubt they’ll continue to lose subscribers, it’s just the nature of their business, but that doesn’t necessarily mean when you lose subscribers that you’re gonna be losing profits, because again, video still is a very valuable weapon to get people to stay with their Internet service through bundles and so forth. So I don’t see Comcast ending video service any time in the next five years, maybe beyond that, maybe 10 even. Your thoughts?

“Comcast will suddenly go, ‘Peacock is our video service. We are no longer providing cable TV service, but we will provide Peacock to you with your internet service or separately.’ “

Grok
Yeah, spot on—bundling’s still the secret sauce. Video might be shrinking, but it keeps people from jumping ship on internet, where the real margins are. Those new plans from December 2025? Smart play: simpler pricing, all-in like ninety-five bucks for a solid tier with Peacock, 4K, no extra fees for the box or features. It’s them saying, “We’re not quitting, just making it easier to stick around.”

And even after spinning off Versant—those networks like MSNBC and CNBC are gone as of this month—the Xfinity delivery side stays in-house. They’re not torching the service; they’re streamlining it.

Subscriber count’s losses are slowing a bit, but yeah, it’ll keep dripping. Doesn’t matter if the bundle ARPU stays fat and broadband retention holds. Five years? Easy. Ten? Probably, unless something wild like nationwide fiber or super-cheap 5G kills the last holdouts.

I’m with you—no plug-pulling anytime soon. They’ll milk it till the economics finally say stop. What’s your take on how low they can go before it stops making sense—maybe five million left?

TV Answer Man
Well, I think the endgame could be this. Obviously, Comcast is doing a lot to develop Peacock, and Peacock is definitely generating subscribers, generating a lot of interest, particularly with its sports lineup. And I think at some point what you will see, perhaps maybe ten years from now, Comcast will suddenly go, Peacock is our video service. We are no longer providing cable TV service, but we will provide Peacock to you with your internet service or separately. And I think that’ll be the Comcast play. Grok, I’ll give you the final word on this.

“Comcast’s not killing video; they’re evolving it into streaming. Smart pivot, and probably inevitable by the mid-thirties.”

Grok
Yeah, that makes total sense as the long-game play. Peacock’s their big bet—it’s sitting at forty-one million paid subs as of late 2025, flat for most of the year but with sports like the Olympics, Premier League, and now the NBA, that’s the hook to keep growing it. Linear TV’s bleeding—losses slowing but still happening—and they’ve been revamping those plans in December with simpler, all-in pricing starting around ninety-five bucks, bundling Peacock in, to make it feel more like a modern streaming deal than old-school cable.

But you’re right: in ten years, once the holdouts are gone and broadband’s the real money-maker, they could flip the switch. “Hey, your internet comes with Peacock premium, or grab it standalone—cable TV? Nah, that’s legacy.” The Versant spin-off already cleaned house on the networks side, so the path’s there. They’ll milk the bundle as long as it pays, then phase linear out quietly.

Final word: I agree—Peacock becomes the video service. Comcast’s not killing video; they’re evolving it into streaming. Smart pivot, and probably inevitable by the mid-thirties. Good chat!

TV Answer Man
Until next time, Grok.

Grok
Anytime, always fun geeking out on this stuff with you. Catch you next time—take it easy!

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