Comcast cable prices likely to go higher in advance of streaming Peacock launch

As the Peacock streaming service prepares to unfurl its offerings, Comcast is bracing for more subscribers to fly away. 

The cable operator hemorrhaged 149,000 pay-TV customers in the fourth quarter, the 11th straight quarter of decline.

Luring them away: Streaming apps. So Comcast is betting the future on its new streaming service Peacock to take on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus. How big a bet? $2 billion over the next two years.

"With the rate adjustments that we are implementing in 2020, as well as the ongoing changes in consumer behavior, we expect higher video subscriber losses this year," said Comcast's chief financial officer Michael Cavanagh on Thursday during an earnings call.

So what does that mean for subscribers? The likelihood of higher cable prices. Comcast's price hikes were announced in October.

The Peacock service is Comcast's appeal to the growing number of people cutting the cord as cable prices continue to climb.

CEO Brian Roberts said the whole company is pivoting to the streaming world during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“I think what’s exciting is how well our cable company has done that,” Roberts said.

Cutting the cord:As prices go up, here's how you can still save money streaming

Comcast also said Thursday that it gained 442,000 high-speed broadband customers in the fourth quarter. Later that same day, the company's cable and internet service Xfinity experienced disruptions across the country, fanning consumer frustration.

The Downdetector monitoring site received nearly 31,000 reports by the mid-afternoon. The outage lasted 29 minutes, a company spokesperson told USA TODAY. 

A customer named Cody tweeted: “@comcast @Xfinity if you’re going to have an outage as bad as the last one, I’d really hope that you’re going to discount everyone’s bill. If I can’t do my work to get paid why should I pay you???”

Comcast unveiled three subscription tiers for Peacock last week. The service will feature everything from reruns of popular shows such as “The Office” to remakes of series such as "Battlestar Galactica."

Peacock will also let viewers watch "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers" hours ahead of their regular air times on NBC.

The basic tier of the new service is free and will carry ads. A "premium" version, also ad-supported, will be free to Comcast cable customers when Peacock launches on April 15. 

Peacock will cost $4.99 a month when it rolls out nationally to everyone else on July 15, or $9.99 without the ads.

By 2024, Comcast says it expects to have as many as 35 million Peacock subscribers and annual revenue of $2.5 billion.

"We believe that Peacock, a premium ad-supported service hits the mark for both consumers and advertisers," Roberts said during Thursday's earnings call.

Email: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter