![]() ![]() Comcast licenses the operating system to other cable companies around the world for their own cable-TV and streaming boxes. The Xumo box that Charter is using for its streaming transition was the work of another cable-TV company: Comcast, which has invested billions of dollars over the past decade to advance the technology inside traditional cable boxes-and already had given its broadband customers an earlier iteration of the box called Flex. “I do like it, but it’s a newer technology that could use a couple of updates to make it truly useful," Bennett said. Kimberly Bennett, a 58-year-old nurse from Superior, Wis., who’s been using the new Xumo box for a few months, said it has vastly simplified her earlier routine, which involved toggling between three separate pieces of equipment: a Spectrum cable-TV box for live television her smart TV, on which she navigated 10 different streaming apps and a Roku stick for three other services that weren’t supported on her TV.Įarly users of Xumo say the new device and its Spectrum live-TV app have their share of glitches and limitations, such as the inability to pause live TV, a feature that Charter said will be added later this year. ![]() TV households already have at least one connected-TV device, a category that includes smart TVs and streaming boxes. According to TechInsights, some 92% of U.S. (Most have been around for over a decade.) They don’t have some of the advantages cable companies have-such as a longstanding billing relationship-but they have collectively eaten up much of the market. Roku, Amazon, Google and Apple offer streaming devices to help people manage their apps. The biggest challenge is that Xumo is late to the game. “For cable companies, the road to success is to become a re-aggregator," said Alan Wolk, co-founder of media-analytics firm TVREV. Packaging programming together is what these companies have long done. “There’s an opportunity for cable companies to rebundle streaming services in a way that is friendly to consumers," MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said. Charter can be an independent middleman, without conflicting interests, since it doesn’t have a subscription streaming-entertainment service of its own. In many ways, cable companies are in a prime position to help as the industry explores ways to package streaming services together. ![]() Now, cable companies see a role for themselves in solving some of the streaming world’s biggest problems. Streaming’s rise has fueled millions of people to cut the cable-TV cord, decimating a business that had been the bedrock of the media and entertainment industry for decades. As part of a recent deal with Disney, Charter can offer Disney+ and ESPN+ to some of its TV subscribers at no cost, and the company will have chances to add more apps to its list in coming months. The company wants Xumo to become a superstore for streaming apps and take a cut along the way. You can still get a traditional cable box instead, but only if you request it.Ĭharter’s emphasis on Xumo is part of a strategy to bring streaming and live TV together in one package. Guess who says he can help? The cable guy.įor the past few months, Charter Communications’ Spectrum, one of the nation’s biggest cable providers, has been shipping new customers a device, Xumo, that lets them stream live TV through an app, alongside streaming mainstays such as Netflix, Disney+ and Max.
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