• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 14, 2023

Xumo, the Comcast-Charter national streaming joint venture, announced it will integrate 19 Xumo free, ad-supported/FAST channels and NBC News Now into Comcast’s X1 cable box this summer.

Comcast had already integrated the Xumo app in X1, but this will mark the first time that Xumo FAST channels will be integrated in the X1 set-top guide. Xumo FAST channels have also been integrated into other Comcast platforms, including the Xfinity Stream app, Xfinity Flex and the recently launched, $20-per-month Now TV service aimed at Comcast broadband-only customers.

From a broader industry perspective, the Xumo FAST X1 integration is another milestone in FASTs’ rapid maturation. While most virtual multichannel video programming distributors/vMVPDs -- including Now TV -- already carry FAST channels, Comcast will become the first traditional cable/MVPD to do so.

The development is in some ways the cable equivalent of the vMVPD Sling TV’s February launch of Freestream, featuring more than 200 FAST channels.

Traditional pay-TV providers see an opportunity to increase subscribers’ perception of those services’ value and expand their advertising reach across pay-TV and streaming by  seamlessly integrating FAST content into the electronic program guide (EPG) that consumers are accustomed to using.

The FAST channels, which span numerous genres, will appear in a separate section of the Xfinity EPG and within other areas on the X1 that have algorithms that recommend content based on theme, according to Variety.

The Xumo FASTs in X1 will mirror those in Comcast’s Xfinity Stream app, in line with Comcast’s strategy of incorporating Xumo assets in consistent fashion across its Xfinity offerings.

Comcast will likely consider adding non-Xumo FAST channels down the line.

It also seems logical that Xumo partner Charter will look at integrating Xumo FAST offerings at some point.