What Is Xfinity and How Is It Different from Comcast?

Mon, Feb 1, 2021 11:48 PM

You've likely heard of both Comcast and Xfinity, especially when you visit our website. You may well have seen some misleading branding, such as "Comcast Xfinity" or "Xfinity by Comcast". Xfinity and Comcast are also even used interchangeably and for good reason. Xfinity is a Comcast brand. Are they the same?

Xfinity and Comcast are the same things at their very core. Comcast is the parent corporation, and for Cable, internet, and home phone services, Xfinity is Comcast's brand.

Did Xfinity acquire Comcast?'
 

The other was not bought by either Xfinity or Comcast. In 2010, Comcast founded Xfinity to, ironically, try to prevent confusion as Comcast expanded its brand. Why is it ironic? Given that you're reading this here, it doesn't seem that Xfinity ever did the job it was supposed to do.

You are not alone if you have more concerns about the difference between Comcast and Xfinity. But don't worry, we have all of the answers right here that you need. To learn precisely how Xfinity and Comcast are connected, read on.

So, what's Comcast before?

Here's a little background: A business called American Cable Systems started operating in the mid-1960s, and later became Comcast Holdings. Finally, it built up quite a customer base, supplying tens of millions of customers across the US with cable service.

What is Comcast then?

Comcast began providing internet services in the 1990s, ultimately taking up over 40% of the US broadband market. Until this point, much of Comcast's attention had been on sports programming, broadcast exclusives, and coverage of the Olympics.

And, What is Xfinity?

In 2010, Comcast was in the process of merging with NBC right around the time of the Winter Olympics. The marketing people thought it could be confusing to continue to add services and products to what used to be a narrowly focused brand because Comcast was mainly known as a TV and Internet Service Provider (ISP).

So they form Xfinity: For their internet and television brand.

Although it rebranded its initial telecom services to Xfinity, Comcast remained as the parent company. Xfinity Internet became Comcast High-Speed Internet, Xfinity TV became Comcast TV, etc. Some industry and company networks are still presented as Comcast, but these days, Xfinity is the telecom brand that the average customer sees.

Did the rebranding work?

There is also an incredible amount of cross-branding (such as the references to "Comcast Xfinity" you can often see), and most people don't seem to know the difference between the two.

Though it's been eight years and things have mostly settled down, the rebrand initially had some controversy. There are a few explanations. Second, the whole thing didn't work too well. It appeared, if anything, to confuse customers rather than explain stuff for them.

Second, there was some doubt that the rebranding was done by Comcast in an effort to step away from the Comcast brand's negative image. The reputation of Comcast for horrendous customer service is very well known. There's actually a very vibrant online platform centered around the catchphrase "Comcast sucks."

The argument that Xfinity was founded by Comcast to attempt to erase the negative press has never been confirmed, and the company has vowed to strengthen its customer support across the board.

This really seems to be effective, because Xfinity has consistently risen in our customer survey amid the residual reputation. In most categories, it ranks well, and in user experience, it's number one.

Xfinity offer:

Three basic services are offered by Xfinity: cable TV, internet, and telephone. The business, usually at a discount, provides packages of two or all three services. For a cable provider, bundling is typically the best way to get value for your money, and Xfinity is no exception.

Comcast and Xfinity: Same but different

Xfinity and Comcast are, as you can see, various brands of the same company. Xfinity is the consumer television and internet service provider, while Comcast is the corporation that owns Xfinity (and other brands, like NBCUniversal). After all, that isn't so complicated, right?

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