GCI, Alaska's largest cable operator, has begun to distribute the Xumo Stream Box to broadband subs for no added cost and sell it to others for $59.99. The move comes as GCI plans to shut down its own pay-TV service in mid-2025.
Amid its plan to phase out its own pay-TV services, GCI has begun to distribute and sell the Xumo Stream Box, a product of the Comcast-Charter national streaming joint venture.
GCI, Alaska's largest cable operator, said it will offer the Xumo Stream Box for free to broadband customers and sell it to others for $59.99. Xumo also sells the device via its website for that same price.
GCI is the fifth US operator to distribute the Xumo Stream Box: a 4K-capable device underpinned by Comcast's EntertainmentOS that features a voice remote and access to a wide range of streaming applications, including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Max and a lineup of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels.
Charter is using the Xumo Stream Box as its go-to device for new video customers. Comcast, Cox Communications and Mediacom Communications are focusing their distribution on broadband-only subscribers. Rogers Communications, Canada's largest cable operator, is not offering the Xumo Stream Box, but will instead offer a white-label device that runs EntertainmentOS.
GCI's Xumo launch enters the picture as the operator prepares to shutter its pay-TV service, including its app-based Yukon TV streaming platform, by mid-2025. GCI's plan is to shut down its video infrastructure as it instead applies more focus and resources on broadband and mobile.
GCI CEO Ronald Duncan recently disclosed that the operator's video subscriber base has plummeted to about 20,000 customers, versus 70,000 in 2020. The operator joins a growing group of small and midsized operators that have opted to shutter their own pay-TV offerings and cede that part of the business to third-party video streaming services.
Xumo will give GCI's broadband customers a mix of pay-TV options, as the platform supports YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and Fubo.
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