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
