Comcast paid $100 million for Xumo in February 2020, amid the shopping bonanza for ad-supported streaming services that occurred a few years back.
But unlike Paramount's Global's $340 million purchase of Pluto TV and Fox's $440 million Tubi buy, we haven't heard much --nay, anything at all -- about international expansion for Xumo.
That is, until now. Sort of.
Comcast has struck a deal with Rogers Communications to put a customized version of the Xumo app on the Canadian cable operator's Comcast-designed Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream video systems.
Rogers still has more than 2 million TV/video subscribers, and the cable operator's Ignite TV is based on Comcast's X1 platform.
Xumo offers more than 200 digital channels of free, including Radio Canada, CBC News, Xumo Free Movies, ABC News Live, The Johnny Carson Show, Free Action Movies, America’s Test Kitchen, beIN Sports Xtra, batteryPop.
Comcast said Xumo had 24 million active users back in 2020, but the No. 1 U.S. cable company has been close to the vest about the platform since.
The free-to-consumer service is one of the lynchpins in the video service JV being developed by Comcast and Charter.
“The launch of the Xumo app on Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream is an important milestone in our growing app portfolio,” noted Chris Hall, senior VP of product at Xumo. “Canadian viewers will now have access to even more free programming directly from Rogers, and it will be seamlessly integrated within the experience to make search and discovery easy.”
