Yesterday The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Comcast is in “advanced” and exclusive talks to buy the free streaming service Xumo TV. This comes as Comcast reportedly is working on a plan called Comcast Vision 2020 that will change how it offers TV as it prepares to launch its Peacock streaming service.
Xumo TV is a free streaming service with over 180 channels that include music, news, sports, and entertainment. Recently Xumo TV has been expanding its device support to support Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV, to name a few. Recently Xumo TV already developed a partnership with Comcast to bring Xumo TV to Comcast’s X1 devices.
Comcast may be looking at the recent success Viacom has had with the free streaming service Pluto TV. Buying Xumo TV could also help Comcast as it develops its Peacock streaming service set to launch in early 2020. Peacock will reportedly have a free tier with advertising along with paid tiers. Adding in content from Xumo TV would help Comcast quickly build out its free option.
Xumo TV also has contracts with LG and T-Mobile to help power some of the content offered on LG TVs and smartphones. Buying Xumo TV would also help Comcast expand the reach of its content to LG TVs and smartphones. Comcast could also be looking at Xumo TV as a way to monetize its back catalog of content across a long list of devices and partners far quicker than it could on its own.
In 2019, free ad-supported streaming services became one of the fastest-growing and most talked-about parts of cord cutting. Now it seems that traditional TV companies like Viacom and Comcast have taken notice of this change.
For now, we will have to wait and see if Comcast closes its deal with Xumo TV. According to the Wall Street Journal, the talks are advanced, but even advanced talks can still break down.
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