Comcast and Charter are making a streaming box for self-loathing cord-cutters
Enlarge / Xfinity's Flex box is likely the model for the Xumo Box, a streaming device to be sold at Walmart later this year. (credit: Xfinity/Comcast/Charter)
There are an overwhelming number of choices right now for watching streaming media on your TV. Most TVs have a system built in, often Roku, Google, or Samsung. Standalone boxes from Roku, Apple, Google, and Amazon run the third-party market, and smaller vendors offer remarkably cheap Android-based boxes online and at discount retailers.
But—wait—that's not all. Now Comcast and Charter, the largest and second-largest cable companies in the US, have their own HDMI-box offering. If you've always wanted a box that is stuffed full of "free" ad-stuffed, pseudo-streaming channels, doesn't have the app stores or mirroring capabilities of the major brands, and helps major cable companies regain market position and recoup revenue lost to cord-cutters like you, say hello to the Xumo Box.
Xumo is the name of Comcast's free streaming service, purchased by the company in 2020. It's the kind that looks like a cable channel guide and has an endless loop of pre-selected game shows, reality TV, crime procedurals, and other ready-to-license material akin to Pluto and Freevee. Xumo is a big part of Flex, the streaming box Comcast's Xfinity service offers to customers who don't want a traditional TV plan.