Comcast to test its YouTube competitor by the end of the year

Comcast is looking to test a new platform for the distribution of online videos through its new X1 cable set-top boxes by the end of 2014, the company’s SVP of Video Matt Strauss confirmed.

Strauss said that the service will be evaluated through what he called “limited tests.” He said that it will have some similarities to YouTube, allowing content creators to directly upload their videos to a server. These videos will then become available via a dedicated app running on Comcast’s X1 box, which the company has been gradually rolling out across its markets.

Without elaborating, Strauss said that the focus won’t be on user-generated content, which YouTube obviously started out with. However, YouTube has put a much bigger focus on professionally-produced and serialized content in recent years, and that seems where Comcast is aiming at with this initiative as well.

Strauss added that Comcast will be able to offer content producers a number of monetization options, which could include advertising as well as transactional fees, but said that the company is still evaluating its options.