Xumo, the Comcast-Charter streaming JV, has connected with Sharp to make a new lineup of QLED TVs powered by Xumo's operating system. The agreement builds on Xumo's TV pacts with Element, Hisense and Pioneer.
Xumo, the Comcast-Charter streaming joint venture, has expanded its portfolio of smart TV partners.
Xumo has selected Sharp to make a new lineup of 2025 "Aquos" QLED (Quantum dot LED) smart TVs powered by Xumo's TV operating system. Those TVs will also come equipped with "hundreds" of pre-loaded apps and Xumo's interface/navigation and voice search capabilities. Sharp's coming Xumo-based TVs will also enable the pass-through of Dolby Atmos when content is connected to a compatible audio device.
Xumo and Sharp announced the deal in tandem with this week's CES in Las Vegas.
Pricing has not been revealed, but the plan is for Sharp to make 4K-capable Xumo TVs in a handful of screen sizes: 50 inches, 55 inches, 65 inches, 75 inches and 85 inches. They'll compete in the market with a wide range of smart TV makers and platforms, including Samsung, Google, Amazon, Roku, Vizio (now part of Walmart) and TiVo, among others.
A launch date for the new TVs was not disclosed. Xumo is in the process of finalizing retailers for the new Sharp-made TVs, a Xumo official said. Xumo recently struck a retail deal with Target initially focused on Hisense-made Xumo TV models, and it has existing retail relationships with Best Buy, BJ's, Meijer, Walmart and Aaron's.
Sharp is the fourth TV manufacturer for Xumo TV, joining Element, Hisense and Pioneer. Xumo, which also sells a streaming media player for $59.99, has not announced how many TVs it has shipped or sold.
The Xumo-Sharp partnership surfaces just a day after Sharp was tapped by TiVo to make the first connected TV with the TiVo OS for the US market. Sharp already makes TiVo-powered TVs for parts of Europe.
Retail is just one leg of Xumo's business. It also develops and distributes a wide range of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels and has partnerships for streaming boxes and/or FAST channels with several cable operators, including corporate cousins Comcast and Charter, as well as Cox Communications, Mediacom Communications, GCI and Canada's Rogers Communications.
Expanded Google TV partnership
Elsewhere on the streaming front, Xumo this week announced an expanded partnership with Google TV to distribute and monetize FAST channels offered via the Google TV Freeplay service.
Xumo has been distributing all 160-plus FAST channels currently offered on Google TV Freeplay via an enterprise partnership, but until now it was not monetizing them. The updated agreement will shift monetization to Xumo, effectively enabling Xumo's ad sales team to offer Freeplay inventory alongside ad inventory for Xumo Play (Xumo's own FAST service), other third-party inventory and other streaming TV platforms.
Notably, those channels will now be branded as "provided by Xumo" within the Freeplay experience, the companies said.
The general idea is to provide advertisers a simple point of entry to reach across multiple platforms at greater scale.
"By adding Google TV Freeplay to Xumo's growing list of inventory partners, we are making it easier than ever for advertisers to seamlessly reach incremental audiences across a variety of streaming platforms, far beyond FAST channels to smart TVs and other connected devices," Ying Wang, GM of Xumo Advertising, said in a statement.
Xumo said it now powered more than 1,750 streaming channels across 20 different platforms.
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