Comcast Launches 'Smart Home' Strategy As Cable Shrinks

Comcast Corp may be best known as a cable company, but it is banking on remote-controlled door locks and cameras as well as other “smart-home” offerings to accelerate its growing home security business.

The push to diversify comes at a time when more U.S. consumers who are dropping traditional cable television packages, or cutting the cord, in favor of cheaper alternatives. Comcast and its rivals want to offer more services in the home to increase their revenues and create more loyal customers.

Comcast is already seeing traction at its Xfinity Home security service, which launched in 2012. Subscribers have doubled to more than 1 million in the last two years, according to quarterly results released in July.

But selling security services to consumers, which Comcast says is more than a $9 billion market, is just part of the strategy.

According to Reuters, the company is now turning to home automation - think standalone features such as cameras and thermostats that can be controlled remotely - for consumers who reside in apartments and condominiums.

The U.S. smart-home market, which encompasses devices ranging from door locks to sprinkler systems that can be programmed to various schedules, is expected to grow to $47 billion annually by 2020, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Daniel Herscovici, senior vice president and general manager of Xfinity Home, told Reuters that the home security industry offered certain advantages such as low churn, or attrition, since consumers rarely switch providers unless they move. The cost of signing up customers is low since Comcast is able to sell to people who also subscribe to broadband and cable services.