AVOD service provider Xumo announced the integration of its app into Comcast’s X1 platform, as well as 10 Android TV-powered devices.
X1 users can say “Xumo” into their voice remote and launch the free-to-consumer service. Down the road, Xumo hopes to expand from mere integration of the Xumo app into X1 and Comcast’s Xfinity Flex platforms and launch dedicated live streams of Xumo channels in the Xfinity program guide.
“This is a first step in a journey,” said Chris Hall, Xumo’s senior VP of product. Hall noted that Xumo’s relationship with Comcast dates back to the cable operator’s Watchable platform, a short-lived AVOD play
Comcast recognizes that free-to-consumer, ad-support content “is still a very important component,” he said. “They know that ad-supported video is away to augment their platform in a way they can’t with just Netflix and YouTube.”
Indeed, with riding carriage fees forcing operators to make tough decisions on programming networks, the addition of OTT platforms like Xumo and the also-recently-added Tubi allow companies like Comcast to offer additional programming to customers at no additional carriage fee.
The Xumo app has already been available natively to users of Comcast’s IP-based Xfinity Flex platform. In addition to the set-tops of the largest pay TV operator in the U.S., the Xumo app also lives natively within T-Mobile’s TVision pay TV service.
Meanwhile, Xumo is expanding the reach of its app to 10 Android TV-powered devices, including Sony smart TV models, Nvidia Shieldand Xiaomi Mi Box. The new partnerships increase the availability of Xumo in the U.S. to over 30 different devices, including Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
