Comcast is in advanced talks to acquire advertising-supported video streaming firm Xumo, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
The negotiations with the ad-supported service come as Comcast’s NBCUniversal is getting ready to launch its own bstreaming service Peacock in April.
The deal is similar to Viacom’s acquisition of the free-to-view streaming service Pluto TV last January.
Xumo is a joint venture of Viant Technology (owned by Meredith Corporation) and Panasonic, and was started in 2011.
As of 2015, Vizio and Panasonic offered the service. Other manufacturers adding Xumo in 2016 include LG Electronics and Funai. 78 channels were offered as of May 2016, with a total of 100 planned. As of July 2018 the Android app is live, people can download it in the Google Play Store.
As of June 2019, according to CEO Colin Petrie-Norris, Xumo is available in over 35 million American households via a multi-screen distribution network of smart TVs, mobile, web, and streaming boxes. Xumo does not require a set-top box or dongle because TVs include it in a manner similar to Roku. Channel Plus from LG Electronics for LG Smart TVs with WebOS uses Xumo to recommend programmes and provide advertising sold by Viant on some channels.
Comcast has set a January 16 investor event to unveil details of the Peacock service.
