What Display Daily Thinks: if you are not paying attention to this stuff then maybe you don’t really want to be in the TV set business or you’re not in the TV set business. The model, the strategy if you will, is not new. For many decades in countries like the UK, renting a TV, the equivalent of today’s subscription TV, was the only way an average household could afford a TV, especially when color TVs first came out. In fact, Sky Glass is another example of how the UK TV market has been this sort of thing for years (and yes, Comcast does own Sky so that probably helped to pave the way forward in the US, and other regions will follow).
While 20% of the TV market will always be high-end, home theater, home den, big screen buyers, the vast majority of people can quite easily move to a model that gives them a “free” or subsidized big screen as part of their cable or streaming services.
It’s not an open market by the way. Wherever the Comcasts and Charters are, it is very, very unlikely that there is an alternative or another choice for service. Where there are multiple cable companies, you usually end up with the same service.
Your TV just became the same as your smartphone: you pay for the services and get the hardware on a rent to buy basis. It’s actually great for display vendors, but it remains to be seen how it actually pans out for TV sellers. But, here’s Comcast and Charter playing the same game as Roku and Amazon. If only Apple hadn’t decided to put its TVs in a headset, and actually built a real one, we could have had us a real battle royale.
And then, there’s Telly.
Comcast and Charter Have the Future of Television Distribution in Hand
Comcast is set to unveil a new lineup of smart TVs, called Xumo, in collaboration with Charter, another cable company. Having tested the waters with two XClass-branded smart TVs in 2021, Comcast has partnered with TV maker Element to launch four 4K models ranging from 43 to 65 inches in screen size. Unlike the previous XClass TVs, the new models will be available not just at Walmart but also through retail partners such as Aaron’s, a rent-to-own retailer, according to analyst Janko Roettgers. The premature listing on Aaron’s website suggests a suggested retail cash price of $600 for the 65-inch model.
In January, 2023, it was announced that Element Electronics would be manufacturing an Xumo TV for Comcast. This TV could potentially be sold at Walmart, although other manufacturers may also produce the TV. An upcoming Xumo Box will be a rebranded version of Comcast Flex streaming player running the X1 operating system. Xumo was originally known as the ad-supported streaming service acquired by Comcast in 2020. Initially, the streaming player will be exclusive to Comcast and Spectrum customers. It is expected that whatever the app store may be on these TVs it will not be as extensive as Roku or Fire TV, but may have some unique channels and offerings of its own.
