Comcast announced today that they have acquired XUMO — a free ad-supported streaming service, which offers 160-plus channels including CBSN, Fox Sports and Stadium. The streaming service will continue to operate as an independent business inside of Comcast Cable, according to a statement from Comcast. Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed.
Reports that the media giant was in the process of buying XUMO first surfaced last year. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Comcast was in the advanced stages of buying XUMO toward the end of December.
XUMO, which was founded in 2011 as a joint venture between Panasonic and Viant, claimed 5.5 million monthly active users as of spring 2019.
Just like Pluto TV and Tubi, XUMO takes library content and turns it into linear channels featured on a grid guide — as well as offer content on-demand. They have been able to partner with smart TV makers, including LG for a white-label streaming product. In June, XUMO announced it was officially available on Android TV devices like NVIDIA SHIELD and Xiaomi Mi Box.
Since Peacock is going to have a free tier, the purchase of XUMO is an asset to build out that audience. The Wall Street Journal also suggested that the purchase of XUMO would help in providing technical and business support.