For $6 a Month, Comcast Subscribers Can Watch FX and FXX Without Ads

FX has become the second major cable network this summer to partner with Comcast and offer an ad-free version of its platform to Xfinity subscribers for an additional monthly fee. Called FX+, the platform will cost $5.99 per month and give subscribers commercial-free access to all of FX and FXX’s current original series, as well as many library titles, with more than 1,100 episodes in all. The service will launch on Sept. 5, though the entire library won't be rolled out until 2018. For now, the service is available only to current Xfinity subscribers, so this is not a play—at least not yet—for FX to reach cord-cutters with a direct-to-consumer option. FX+ subscribers will be able to view content via Xfinity On Demand, Comcast’s Xfinity Stream app and website as well as the FXNow app. In the future, FX and Comcast said, the service will offer some series in 4K and temporary downloads of current season episodes. “This is an exciting day for FX Networks, because it represents the next step in building a consumer experience as good as our original programming brand,” said FX Networks CEO John Landgraf in a statement. “This initiative represents the first of its kind for an ad-supported cable network, and begins to put us on equal footing with premium networks and streaming services.” Because FX Networks has in-season stacking rights for all of its current shows (as opposed to just the five most recent episodes of a season), the FX+ library includes all current seasons of FX and FXX shows like American Horror Story, The Americans, Archer, Atlanta, Feud, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and You’re the Worst. Additional, FX+ will eventually offer all seasons of past FX shows like Damages, The League, Louie, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, The Shield and Sons of Anarchy, as well as all seasons of still-running series American Horror Story and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. “FX has built a brand known for high-quality, award-winning original content and we are pleased to partner with John Landgraf and the team at FX to offer premium experiences like FX+ to Xfinity TV customers, and explore what it means to be a network in the future,” said Matt Strauss, evp and gm, video and entertainment services, Comcast Cable. This is the second time in just over a month that Comcast has teamed up with a cable network to offer an ad-free add-on for Xfinity customers. In June, Comcast and AMC announced AMC Premiere, which offers ad-free versions of current series, with exclusives and curated movies, as well as some prior seasons of original series. That service costs $4.99 per month, $1 less than FX+, but it's not as robust as FX’s platform. It seems likely that other companies will follow AMC and FX’s lead—as well as streaming services Hulu and CBS All Access before them—and test the market to see whether consumers will pay extra each month for an ad-free version of their standard offering.