By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) stock rose 2% Thursday as it waded into the increasingly competitive smart TV market with the launch of its own device in the U.K.
The smart TV, Sky Glass, will host Comcast’s own operating system. The company will begin to offer the screen to U.K. customers of Sky, Comcast’s European pay-TV unit, later this month and in other European markets next year.
Sky Glass integrates Comcast’s technology platform and Sky’s content. The company said other pay-TV operators will also be able to use Sky Glass.
Comcast has taken several steps over the last few quarters to drive its 2018 acquisition of Sky as well as get deeper into the streaming business.
In July, the company decided to give NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, to Sky’s 20 million subscribers across Europe at no extra cost. Under a deal with ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC), Paramount+ will be provided free to Sky Cinema subscribers in the U.K., Switzerland, Italy, Germany and other European markets.