Netflix may want to get in bed with a major pay-TV provider, but the feeling doesn’t appear to be mutual.
Despite a report last week that the streaming service was talking to cable operators about adding Netflix to their offerings, three of the country’s biggest cable and satellite providers have all said they’re not interested.
Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network all rejected Netflix, Deadline Hollywood reports, citing industry news service SNL Kagan.
“We have no plans to offer access to Netflix to our customers through our Xfinity TV service, no matter what device,” a Comcast spokeswoman told FierceCable when asked if the company would be interested in offering Netflix to subscribers that use a TiVo DVR.
Comcast and Dish’s unwillingness to join forces with Reed Hastings’ Netflix is understandable, given that both already have their own streaming services.
But, together, those three companies account for 56% of the country’s 100 million pay-TV households, Deadline adds, meaning it would be difficult for Netflix to make significant inroads in the pay-TV business without partnering with any of them.
Verizon FIOS has another 4% of pay-TV households, according to Deadline, but it’s unlikely they’ll help Netflix while Verizon’s working on a rival video service in partnership with Redbox.