While many participants in the FAST arms race seem fixated on launching as many free ad-supported streaming channels as they can, Comcast remains focused on the same collection of 20 channels.
On Monday, the top cable operator said that NBC News Now and a library of 19 other FAST channels, all of them Xumo-branded and genre-themed, have been integrated into the program guides of Xfinity X1 pay TV subscribers. (See full list below.)
These same channels were already integrated into the Xfinity Stream app in April, as well as new skinny $20-a-month skinny vMVPD offering Now TV, which was launched in May.
“Our strategy is centered around value not tonnage, and we are focused on bringing FAST channels into the experiences that are additive to the majority of our customers’ lineups,” said Vito Forlenza, VP of entertainment apps for Comcast, in a statement.
Within X1, the channels will be searchable by name via voice remote. They'll also surface in areas of the UX menu including “Best of Live.”
But Comcast will swell its ranks of FAST channels beyond a mere 20. The company said it’s “just the beginning” of its plans to enhance our customers’ TV subscriptions via FAST.
“We plan to bring additional FAST channels to our lineup in the future and will continue leveraging the innate power of our global technology platform to make all this new programming easier for our customers to discover and enjoy, ultimately providing them with a better, richer, and more valuable entertainment experience,” the company said.
Comcast lost 614,000 pay TV customers in the first quarter.
Here's the list of channels being added to X1 on Monday:
- NBC News NOW
- Xumo Action
- Xumo Black Cinema
- Xumo Comedy TV
- Xumo Movies
- Xumo Kids
- Xumo Game Show
- Xumo Bollywood & Indian
- Xumo Family
- Xumo Westerns
- Xumo Sci-fi & Fantasy
- Xumo Comedy
- Xumo Action & Drama
- Xumo Food TV
- Xumo Reality TV
- Xumo Crime
- Xumo Horror & Thriller
- Xumo Travel & Lifestyle
- Xumo Documentaries
- Xumo Her Movies
