With nerves rattled in the pay-TV industry over cord-cutting, Comcast Corp. launched this week in the Philadelphia area an $18-a-month Instant TV streaming service, a “skinny bundle” of broadcast-TV networks, PBS, and local government channels, writes Bob Fernandez for phillynews.com.

The monthly cost to Comcast customers will be between $68 and slightly more than $100 for mostly free over-the-air television channels, as it will be offered only to Xfinity internet subscribers. They pay $50, $75, or $85 a month for internet services after promotions, according to the Comcast website.

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The lowest price for Instant TV — $68 — is  based on internet speeds of 10 megabits per second, which would be too slow for most consumers. Comcast says it will offer Instant TV even at this slow speed.

Instant TV subscribers also can specialize the offering with add-ons that drive up the cost: $30 a month for sports channels, $15 for entertainment networks, and $10 a month for kids’ programs.

A proliferation of streaming services has pointed the industry into the direction of  à la carte offerings in which consumers choose to purchase only networks they want instead of buying 200-channel bundles from Comcast and other television distributors.

Comcast “is saying ‘OK, if this is where consumers are going, let’s provide them an option,’ ” Brad Adgate, an independent and longtime media analyst in Boston, said on Thursday of Instant TV.

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