Is This The Death Of The Cable Box? (maybe yes, maybe no)

In a classic case of, "If you can’t beat them, join them”, Comcast (Xfinity) and Charter Communications (Spectrum), two of the largest Cable-TV companies in the United States have done what amounts to a mind-meld and come up with a new TV box. I’m not sure if their marketing people are fans of the Mazda Zoom-Zoom commercials, but as they say, "What’s in a name?” Well, that name is "Xumo" (pronounced zoom-oh) and Comcast/Charter has really leaned into it. Not only are they marketing the new Xumo Box, but Comcast also own a FAST (free advertising supported TV) channel called Xumo. By the way, if you want to know more about FAST, here’s a link to a post I did last year called, "What’s FAST and Why am I Furious”.

https://www.lowertechbills.com/post/what-s-fast-and-why-am-i-furious

After reading the Xumo hype, I began to get really excited about how the new box could be a game-changer for the Cable industry which has been losing subscribers as quickly as George Santos lost voters. Said hype told of a small box which had no cable connection whatsoever. It was Cable-TV’s version of a streaming box (think Chromecast, Firestick or Roku), complete with over 200 applications built-in. Not only that, but it’s far smaller than a standard cable box, includes voice remote control and leases for $5.00 per month as opposed to the $10 - $12.50 that those companies charge every month to lease each cable box.   

So, I hopped into my car and drove over to the local Xfinity store. It was a quiet Monday afternoon at 1pm so of course, there were 6 people waiting ahead of me. But as a retired person, that’s OK.  I like to tell people, "You may not have the time to do all the research, but I do.” I sat on a comfortable couch and waited for my name to be called. At least they had a large screen TV that I could watch on that couch.

About a half hour later, they called my name, and I sat down with an "advisor". Frankly, he was not all that sure about how Xumo worked. When asked if I could view standard cable package channels with a Xumo box, he had to speak with someone else to get an answer - and not a very good one. After speaking with that person, he told me that the only Xfinity channels available on the Xumo box are in a new package called "Now”. This includes around 40 live TV channels for $20 a month. The problem is that Now does not include several top channels such as all the major sports channels, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. So, if you’re a News or Sports person, that’s a no-go. So, I asked if I could stream one of Xfinity’s more robust channel plans with a Xumo box and he said no. But that may not be entirely true either. It depends on whether you're a current Xfinity or Spectrum TV customer.

It seems that Xfinity and Spectrum diverge on their road to Xumo at Interstate 70 as, with a few exceptions, most of Spectrum’s Illinois coverage is in Central and Southern Illinois while most of Xfinity's consumers reside in Northern Illinois. Since I am a Northerner, I’m going to concentrate on the Xumo Experience with Xfinity. While Spectrum is going all out to make the Xumo Box as its main TV player, Xfinity is not. When you read Xfinity’s small print, it says, "Restrictions apply. Not available to current Xfinity TV customers. Requires post-paid subscription to Xfinity Internet, excluding Internet Essentials. Taxes, fees and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change. One-time $15 activation fee per account. Limited to 3 devices.” 

That's a lot to digest. From that small print and my discussion with the in-store "Cable Guy”, it appears that only new Xfinity Internet customers of a certain package, who do not pay for Xfinity TV, can lease one and I mean lease. Unlike with Spectrum, there doesn’t seem to be an option to purchase the box outright and not have to pay a monthly $5.00 lease fee. In Spectrum’s case, you can either lease it at $5.00 a month or pay a lump-sum of $50 and own the box. Not so with Xfinity. It’s five bucks a box every month, but you do get the first box free.

The bottom line is that before you zoom into an Xfinity store and try to get a Xumo box, you might be out-of-luck unless you are a new Xfinity Internet user. At least that’s what their website says, to quote – "Xumo Stream Box is the newest streaming device for new Xfinity Internet customers.” This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, and it is possible that changes will be made in the future. But for now, it appears that Spectrum subscribers are getting the better opportunity to give Xumo a test-drive. I’ll do more research and try to keep you up to date on all this, but after my experience in the Xfinity store, I’m not even sure if they know who’s zooming who.

Since retiring from Radio, I’ve saved households hundreds to even thousands of dollars a year on TV, Cell and Internet costs. For a free “Tech Check” analysis of your bills, email: hmwellsradio@gmail.com or visit lowertechbills.com because you may not have the time to sit on a comfortable sofa in the Xfinity store, but I do.