US-based cable giant Comcast has completed a deal to acquire Xumo, the advertising-supported streaming service based in Irvine, California.
Xumo will continue to operate as an independent business inside of Comcast Cable. In December, Comcast was reported to have been in advanced talks to acquire Xumo as the company considered ways to ramp up its over-the-top offerings.
The OTT platform was previously owned by electronics retailer Panasonic and media company Meredith Corporation.
In a statement following closure of the deal, Comcast said: “The talented team at Xumo has created a successful, growing, and best-in-class set of streaming capabilities. We are excited for this team to join Comcast and look forward to supporting them as they continue to innovate and develop their offerings.”
Xumo debuted in 2011 and now has a footprint of more than 35 million US households. It offers more than 190 different channels across various genres, including sports.
Golf’s PGA Tour last month extended its partnership with Xumo TV, which includes highlights, player interviews, tournament previews, and Featured Holes coverage from PGA Tour Live. Edgesport, the action sports channel operated by IMG, was one of the latest channels to be added to Xumo following a carriage agreement signed last year.
Other sports channels available to Xumo’s US viewers include: Fox Sports; Fox Deportes; Eleven Sports; Copa90; Sports Illustrated; Football Daily; Motorvision; Hard Knocks Fighting; Glory Kickboxing; MMA Junkie; World Surf League; Cycle World; ACC Digital Network; plus esports channels Mobcrush and eSports Revolution.
Xumo is available to US viewers on smart TVs manufactured by Panasonic, Hisense, Magnavox, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp and Vizio. It is also available on Roku devices and via Amazon FireTV.
Comcast’s NBC Universal is to launch its ‘Peacock’ entertainment streaming service in April. It will be supported by both advertising and subscriptions.