Comcast to Start Integrating Free Streaming Channels from Xumo in Every X1 Streaming Box
Comcast to Start Integrating Free Streaming Channels from Xumo in Every X1 Streaming Box
Xumo is continuing to make a name for itself, despite the fact that few people outside the TV ecosystem know what it is yet. Xumo chief revenue officer Colin Petrie-Norris was at the StreamTV Show this week, and revealed that free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels from Xumo would be integrated into X1 streaming boxes from Comcast in the coming weeks.
X1 boxes are streaming players available to users of the Xfinity TV cable service. The integration will start this summer, which means customers should see the channels on new X1 devices soon. Xumo is a joint venture between Comcast and Charter Communications, one that will eventually house live TV, FAST channels, and on-demand streaming on a single platform.
The 19 free streaming channels headed to X1 devices from Xumo include:
- NBC News Now
- Action Movies
- Black Cinema
- Bollywood & Indian Cinema
- Comedy Movies
- Comedy TV
- Crime TV
- Documentaries
- Drama & Action TV
- Family Movies
- Food TV
- Movies
- Game Shows
- Her Movies
- Horror & Thriller
- Kids TV
- Reality TV
- Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies
- Travel & Lifestyle TV
- Westerns
There is seemingly something for everyone in the channel offerings being integrated with X1 boxes, but according to Petrie-Norris, balancing genres was less important to Xumo than creating a better overall TV-watching experience.
“Other platforms have different needs…maybe they want to round out genres of programming,” said Petrie-Norris at the StreamTV event. “But I think for Comcast, it is about bringing something that they believe the consumers need to make the video product better – for each of the current platforms but also for the new Now TV platform that has been launched.”
The reference to Now TV is appropriate on Petrie-Norris’s part because FAST channels from Xumo are also available on that live TV streaming service. Now TV is a new, “skinny” live TV service from Comcast that carries more than 40 cable channels, 20 FAST channels, and includes a free subscription to Peacock for $20 per month.
The distribution of Xumo streaming channels doesn’t stop at X1 boxes or Now TV, either. In April, Comcast announced it would also make FAST channels from Xumo available on its Xfinity Stream app, so Xfinity TV and internet customers can watch them wherever they go. Just last week, it was announced that Xumo-branded free streaming channels would also be fused into new TCL smart TVS, which will carry more than 50 FAST selections from the Comcast-Charter JV.
Xumo Play
Xumo Play is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to several movies and TV shows. Xumo Play offers 290 free virtual channels, including those focused on reality TV, vintage TV, and game shows.