RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Spectrum and Charter Communications have recently announced a new feature in their lineup of TV services: the Xumo Stream Box.
Similar to a Roku device or SmartTV, the Xumo Stream Box provides access to apps for integration of your favorite streaming services. It also offers a voice-enabled remote for quick input. However, the Xumo starts with live TV and integrates the app access functionality with the Spectrum TV app.
Cable television has a problem: declining viewership. Certainly, this hasn’t been helped by the recent writer’s strike, but the classic cable options have been losing appeal for a while now against streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu.
Recently, the industry hit a major infection point. According to CNN, data shows that linear TV – broadcast and cable – had record-low shares of viewership in July, combining for only 49.6%. This is the first time ever that these combined segments have come in under 50% of viewership. Meanwhile, the use of streaming services is up more than 25% in July compared with last year.
The major players like Disney+ and Hulu are increasing prices after starting at low monthly fees to convert users. For Disney, this increase – its second this year – puts the service at double the original monthly cost of $7.
Meanwhile, cable companies are scrambling to shore up offerings with streaming services to try to scrape back some of the market. Enter Xumo.
Xumo, pronounced “ZOOM-OH”, is offering appealing features to cable users. New Spectrum users can receive the Xumo free for the first year of service
The post ‘Next generation of streaming’? That’s how Spectrum touts Xumo box first appeared on WRAL TechWire.
