cfx_september-2024 - 18

PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR
TEAM EFFORT
Comcast, Charter Put the Customer First
with the Xumo Stream Box
By Noah Ziegler
With a video landscape that looks more fragmented
as each day passes, two cable giants
joined forces in the pursuit of providing simplicity
to their customers. Comcast and Charter's
joint venture Xumo and its Xumo Stream
Box product was an elaborate equation to
solve, but its two primary components-live TV
and streaming-led the way for a device that's
developing the product: enhancing customer
engagement and satisfaction.
But there was one difference between the
two. Charter's go-to-market strategy for Xumo
was positioning it as the company's video
product. That meant the Spectrum TV app and
making it easy to use was also high up on the
Charter priority list.
" We wanted something that could bridge
A look at the UI for the Xumo product.
now found a home in many households across
the two companies' footprints.
" We've gone from zero Xumo Stream Boxes,
to now millions deployed in the marketplace, "
Xumo President Marcien Jenckes says. " It's
been rewarding, but it's also been the beginning
of what's now a long process ahead of us
to continue to grow and develop the product
into the best-in-industry, best-in-class solution
for streaming and content consumption. "
The road to the Xumo Stream Box's launch
was a long one and took many months of
collaboration to fine-tune each aspect of the
product. The two companies had plenty to
iron out to try and combine live TV along with
hundreds of built-in apps like Netflix, Prime
Video and Apple TV+ on top of the many FAST
channels that call the Xumo Stream Box home.
Luckily for Comcast and Charter, the two
companies shared the same priorities when
18
the familiar for customers like my parents, who
were used to 20 years of a traditional set-top
box, so really thinking about the customer
experience and what was important from the
minute the customer received the device, "
Robyn Tolva, Charter's SVP, Video, says. " Was
it easy to understand? Was the activation process
straightforward? Did the box boot to what
would be live video and sound which is unique
for an IP device? ... For us, if we were thinking
in those early days about stepping through
that customer journey and what were the important
things to us, those are the things that
we brought to the table. "
Not every partnership is smooth sailing, but
Comcast and Charter have been on the same
page every step of the way. Jenckes said the
two companies have operated at " a very high
level of alignment, " with both wanting to be at
the forefront of the current customer behavior
evolution and the shift to streaming.
The Xumo Stream Box.
Entertainment isn't the only focus area of
the Xumo Stream Box with potential monetization
opportunities including the placement of
advertising in front of specific demographics.
One operator who sees the value of Xumo-
other than Comcast and Charter-is Mediacom,
who partnered to distribute Xumo Stream
Boxes to Xtream internet customers at no
added monthly cost.
" The value proposition for Mediacom is
to distribute Xumo Stream Boxes to internet
customers as a way to drive internet consideration,
tier dispersion, consumption and retention, "
Jenckes says. " It's really this concept of
'streaming is the killer app for broadband connections'
as cable operators are increasingly
trying to drive and reinforce the value of their
broadband connections. There is a lot of synergy
between that business goal and deploying
a Xumo Stream Box. "
Jenckes notes there's a robust pipeline of
operators that could soon begin offering Xumo
Stream Box to customers, but now the focus
remains on scaling the product and optimizing
the features.
" A lot of people think that launch is the end
of something, you kind of work up to it. And
there was certainly a lot of work that went up
to it, " Jenckes says. " For us, it's really the beginning. "
Xumo
Stream Box is available nationwide
a
s
through three operators, Charter, Comcast and
Mediacom and online at Xumo.com. Rogers
is also launching the product in Canada.
a
Since its launch in October 2023, there
are millions of Xumo Stream Boxes in the
homes of consumers across the U.S.
There are over 300 apps and streaming services
available on Xumo Stream Box for customers to enjoy.
September 2024
CablefaxTopOps.com
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http://www.Xumo.com http://www.CablefaxTopOps.com
cfx_september-2024

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