Xumo, the OTT streaming service that offers free content paid for by advertising, has high goals for increasing users to stream. The platform, which, earlier this month, reported 5.5 million monthly users and revenue growth of 300% year-over-year during Q1 of 2019, has been able to turn a profit due to the support of ads, and is now turning its focus on expanding its user base.
According to Fern Feistel, senior vice president of marketing and content operations at Xumo, the company hopes to increase streaming by four times, which, in turn, will impact revenue by keeping users in front of content for longer. Unsurprisingly, the big area of focus for the company will be Xumo’s TV and movie genre, which has grown by 26% month-over-month since January, and accounts for 17% overall of Xumo’s total hours streamed.
Per FierceVideo:
“Xumo is completely ad-supported, so really the only way we make money is getting people to stay and watch,” Feistel said. “These are all very little things but they make a big difference to the consumer,” said Feistel. “They want to make sure that what they’re committing that two hours to is actually going to be worth it.”
This month alone, Xumo launched four new movie channels to the platform, and, in June, the company is launching two more TV channels in an effort to give users more content options, with the service available on several smart TV manufacturers’ sets as well as on Android, iOS, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices. According to Feistel, Xuno’s also evaluating the company’s viewership data and keeping a close eye for spikes to help it determine when and on what device users are most likely to tune into the content.
“That’s really how we set ourselves apart and make sure we stay on the forefront of the technical side of streaming, while also making sure we’re offering consumers exactly what they want to see,” Feistel said.
Founded in 2011 as a joint venture between Panasonic and Meredith-owned, Viant, Xumo hopes that the clear strategy for more content will help expand from 27% to 80% of U.S. Households by the end of this year.