New Xumo Streaming Platform Will be Highly Customized, Try to Serve Users on Small and Big Screens
Comcast and Charter Communications have been light on details for their forthcoming joint venture streaming platform Xumo. Despite being in the planning stages for nearly a year, neither company has revealed much about the next evolution of the Xumo brand past its current existence as the ad-supported streamer Xumo Play.
Despite that dearth of information, the two companies still plan to launch Xumo devices at some point later in 2023. Xumo Chief Revenue and Platform Officer Colin Petrie-Norris confirmed that fact, and shared some other details about the new platform at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas earlier this week, as reported by Cablefax.
Xumo will offer its own branded streaming devices, but not in-house manufactured TV sets, according to Petrie-Norris. This will allow Xumo to focus on building out a better user experience, which will include giving customers greater ability to customize content on the platform.
“[Customers] have different needs. They don’t want just black-box solutions,” he said. “They want a custom solution for what they want. And we are best served to provide, on a commercial basis, a custom operating system fit to the needs of our [customers].”
That will include using analytical techniques to see what users are watching and provide them with enhanced recommendations based on their history. That’s a big benefit to users, as the average streaming consumer currently spends more than 11 minutes trying to find something to watch amongst the glut of available content. According to Petrie-Norris, that’s where Xumo will really stand out to users.
“Personalization matters more than ever,” he explained. “That problem, I think, actually is also more important than people realize: how you get people to things that they want and need to watch. A personalized approach, curation, and being able to use great metadata — I think that’s where we excel.”
Petrie-Norris also revealed that Xumo will be tailored for use on smart TVs, but that younger viewers who are more accustomed to streaming video on their phones will also be accommodated. Over 80% of consumers between the ages of 18-34 watch video on their phones on a daily basis, so it’s a smart play for Xumo to ensure its experience is available via mobile as well.
“I think at the end of the day, the Smart TV or big TV is where the center is, and that’s our primary focus,” Petrie-Norris said. “But you can’t ignore the other screens because you have to be available on all platforms, all other devices. We also can’t just be on our own platforms; we’ve got to be on others … You can’t ignore the fact that consumption happens everywhere in the home out of the home.”
Other details about the service were revealed by Charter CEO Chris Winfrey in March. Xumo will offer both on-demand video and live pay-TV channels, and customers will be able to choose which services they want from inside the platform. It will also allow users to aggregate all their streaming subscriptions onto a single bill, which will be a big benefit to consumers.
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.