Comcast or Xfinity?
June 22, 2010 9:32 AM Subscribe
If you live in Comcast-istan, to what extent has the Xfinity brand taken over?
Do Comcast employees in your area say Xfinity? What about local advertising? When you call Comcast do you get Xfinity messages on the menu options? Do you in your everyday life refer to Comcast as Xfinity?
I do not work for Comcast or any affiliated company. In fact, I consider Comcast my mortal enemy for reasons too boring to recount here. I just wonder how this Xfinity business will play out. Here in Comcast Country (SE PA) Xfinity consciousness doesn't seem to have penetrated through the suck that is the Comcast brand.
Do Comcast employees in your area say Xfinity? What about local advertising? When you call Comcast do you get Xfinity messages on the menu options? Do you in your everyday life refer to Comcast as Xfinity?
I do not work for Comcast or any affiliated company. In fact, I consider Comcast my mortal enemy for reasons too boring to recount here. I just wonder how this Xfinity business will play out. Here in Comcast Country (SE PA) Xfinity consciousness doesn't seem to have penetrated through the suck that is the Comcast brand.
The first time I heard of Xfinity was while watching the Flyers play a home game. There was an Xfinity logo add on the boards and I asked "What's that?" to which my boyfriend (who does fiber optics for Verizon) replied that it was a rebranding of Comcast.
Haven't heard anything about it since. It's still Comcast to me. Is Xfinity some "booster" for the internet?
I don't know....marketing...
posted by WeekendJen at 9:38 AM on June 22, 2010
Haven't heard anything about it since. It's still Comcast to me. Is Xfinity some "booster" for the internet?
I don't know....marketing...
posted by WeekendJen at 9:38 AM on June 22, 2010
Here in central New Jersey they seem to be going whole-hog with it. I see more and more contractor-trucks with the Xfinity branding and every commercial is now Xfinity.
Whatever, Coc(k)mast, I'll stick with FiOS, thanks.
posted by InsanePenguin at 9:41 AM on June 22, 2010
Whatever, Coc(k)mast, I'll stick with FiOS, thanks.
posted by InsanePenguin at 9:41 AM on June 22, 2010
I live in Minnesota; I have Comcast for internet and TV. I had never heard of Xfinity before reading your question.
posted by nickmark at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by nickmark at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2010
Its in Nashville but not Knoxville yet. I read somewhere it would start in larger areas and then trickle down to the smaller viewing areas.
posted by meeshell at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by meeshell at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2010
I see billboards for it, but most people I know who have Comcast wouldn't even know what it is (in Western Mass).
posted by haveanicesummer at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by haveanicesummer at 9:42 AM on June 22, 2010
In WA State, where Verizon is selling of its FiOS subscribers to some other company, I've seen billboards proclaiming something to the effect that "Xfinity is here to stay" with a little Comcast logo for everyone who doesn't know who the hell Xfinity is.
posted by Good Brain at 9:44 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by Good Brain at 9:44 AM on June 22, 2010
No Xfinity in Houston yet. The Houston system is Comcast's red-headed stepchild (apologies to any red-headed stepchildren out there) and never gets anything until the rest of the country does.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 9:49 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by Gridlock Joe at 9:49 AM on June 22, 2010
Follow-up. Just now saw 2 Comcast ads back to back with no Xfinity branding.
posted by thebrokedown at 9:51 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by thebrokedown at 9:51 AM on June 22, 2010
I'm in SE PA. I worked at the bike race, y'know, the one they call the Manayunk bike race. We hung Xfinity signs, though not as many as you might think. The race was televised on...wait for it...Comcast Sports Net, or CSN. We also had CSN signs. There was some confused branding.
We're being inundated with Xfinity TV spots. We say 'Comcast' when discussing this company. One Verizon FIOS ad has a beat-up looking white van with a peeling Xfinity logo slapped over the old Comcast logo. If you wonder how it will play out, they seem serious about it and are in it to stay, as far as I can tell. Like all their customers, I love to hate them. The product is pretty good, the service is not bad, but the price is just insane.
posted by fixedgear at 9:54 AM on June 22, 2010
We're being inundated with Xfinity TV spots. We say 'Comcast' when discussing this company. One Verizon FIOS ad has a beat-up looking white van with a peeling Xfinity logo slapped over the old Comcast logo. If you wonder how it will play out, they seem serious about it and are in it to stay, as far as I can tell. Like all their customers, I love to hate them. The product is pretty good, the service is not bad, but the price is just insane.
posted by fixedgear at 9:54 AM on June 22, 2010
As a Comcast customer in Las Vegas I'd never heard of Xfinity until this question.
http://www.xfinity.com/home/ shows a map of places they've rolled Xfinity out. If it's accurate, only a dozen places or so.
posted by NeonBlueDecember at 9:54 AM on June 22, 2010
http://www.xfinity.com/home/ shows a map of places they've rolled Xfinity out. If it's accurate, only a dozen places or so.
posted by NeonBlueDecember at 9:54 AM on June 22, 2010
It's being advertised heavily in Boston; all the mailings Comcast send me now say Xfinity on them, and they sent me a letter (maybe at the beginning of the year?) explaining the name change. I called them a couple weeks ago, but I can't remember how they answered the phone. I still have a @comcast.net e-mail address, and I don't know if they're planning on changing it.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:05 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by backseatpilot at 10:05 AM on June 22, 2010
WA state here, where it seems a little schizophrenic. Xfinity is pretty heavily advertised on TV, but my bills and my cable all still read as Comcast. I'd appreciate it more if they just went all full honesty and changed to something like "We're Wildly Inconsistent! Please Hold."
posted by Skot at 10:30 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by Skot at 10:30 AM on June 22, 2010
Northern VA, and NOT a Comcast customer although they are the only cable provider where I am. All we get on the TV are Infinity ads over and over again so I am guessing they are pushing this as their HD service to existing customers. All of their trucks that I see round here though are still labeled Comcast though.
Does it just refer to the bundled phone/internet/tv service and not the company as a whole?
posted by 543DoublePlay at 10:45 AM on June 22, 2010
Does it just refer to the bundled phone/internet/tv service and not the company as a whole?
posted by 543DoublePlay at 10:45 AM on June 22, 2010
Twin Cities. I had heard about the new brand and since forgotten about it. I'm not certain I've ever seen Xfinity on any piece of paper or TV screen originating from Comcast.
posted by gimonca at 10:51 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by gimonca at 10:51 AM on June 22, 2010
I still have a @comcast.net e-mail address, and I don't know if they're planning on changing it.
Ugh they better not.
It's heavily XFinity here in Eastern Massachusetts. Haven't seen it on trucks yet, but the commercials... my god, the commercials are non-stop.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:53 AM on June 22, 2010
Ugh they better not.
It's heavily XFinity here in Eastern Massachusetts. Haven't seen it on trucks yet, but the commercials... my god, the commercials are non-stop.
posted by jerseygirl at 10:53 AM on June 22, 2010
Washington here (Seattle area) and Xfinity is heavily advertised, and I just noticed that our (very basic) cable subscription is now referred to as "Xfinity" on our bill (same as the internet service). The way they hype it, you'd think it's something special you have to sign up for, but apparently I've already got it...also an advert (flyer) for advanced (my word) Xfinity came with the bill.
posted by dbmcd at 11:01 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by dbmcd at 11:01 AM on June 22, 2010
Chicago: I received a letter about the re-branding in the mail (I'm a Comcast customer) but all bills and correspondence still say Comcast. Both Comcast and Xfinity ads are on TV which is a bit odd.
posted by Bunglegirl at 11:29 AM on June 22, 2010
posted by Bunglegirl at 11:29 AM on June 22, 2010
I've never heard of Xfinity in Michigan. One of the first Google results for "comcast xfinity" says:
"With this roll-out, Comcast will also re-brand its offerings as Xfinity TV, Xfinity Voice, and Xfinity Internet, though the company name will remain Comcast."
The article says the Xfinity rollout began in February 2010 in eleven markets.
posted by paulg at 11:59 AM on June 22, 2010
"With this roll-out, Comcast will also re-brand its offerings as Xfinity TV, Xfinity Voice, and Xfinity Internet, though the company name will remain Comcast."
The article says the Xfinity rollout began in February 2010 in eleven markets.
posted by paulg at 11:59 AM on June 22, 2010
I'm in Philadelphia, which is the capital of Comcastistan. From my window I can see in the distance the building they built downtown, the tallest one in the city. I look at it and curse them, because I'd prefer they spend my money on not sucking than on building larger buildings.
Most of the commercials here say something like "xfinity by comcast".
Believe it or not, the rebranding has actually worked a bit for me. I used to scream in anger whenever I saw a commercial for Comcast; the xfinity commercials don't have quite the same effect on me.
posted by madcaptenor at 12:53 PM on June 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Most of the commercials here say something like "xfinity by comcast".
Believe it or not, the rebranding has actually worked a bit for me. I used to scream in anger whenever I saw a commercial for Comcast; the xfinity commercials don't have quite the same effect on me.
posted by madcaptenor at 12:53 PM on June 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Here in the far northern suburbs of Chicago I'm seeing Xfinity commercials and getting a frankly ridiculous amount of Xfinity junk mail.
posted by indyz at 2:49 PM on June 22, 2010
posted by indyz at 2:49 PM on June 22, 2010
Here in the Houston area, there was a Comcast ad on cable as I was reading this thread. To add to what was mentioned above, I saw one and only one ad with Xfinity in it, relating to the World Cup coverage.
posted by Robert Angelo at 5:48 PM on June 22, 2010
posted by Robert Angelo at 5:48 PM on June 22, 2010
Response by poster: Thank you all for your answers. I'm still following this thread to see what Comcast is rolling out here and there. It's fascinating that even in their core markets like Philadelphia and Boston they don't seem to have a coherent message-- then again given who we're talking about it's not surprising at all.
posted by vincele at 11:38 AM on June 23, 2010
posted by vincele at 11:38 AM on June 23, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by thebrokedown at 9:34 AM on June 22, 2010