AVOD service Xumo offers ad-free movies
Xumo, the ad-supported streaming service owned by Comcast, will begin offering some movies completely ad-free from October through December 2021. The company will showcase a completely ad-free movie each week across all its properties. Comcast tested the Ad-Free Movie of the week concept in August with viewers on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 devices which drove increased sessions per user and frequency of use. Xumo’s Ad-Free Movies of the Week for October include: “Miss Stevens”, “Hero”, “Marrowbone”, and “We Need to Talk About Kevin”.
The NPD Take:
- While seemingly counterintuitive, ad-free ad-supported TV, this is merely a small sampling of content to draw engagement and drive exploration to most of the programming that is generating ad revenues.
Philo now integrated into Google TV
Live streaming TV service Philo is now fully integrated into Google TV meaning users of the platform will see Philo content alongside shows and films from their other services. Philo subscribers can use Google TV to access their shows and Philo channels directly from the Live tab and see customized recommendations in the “For You” tab. Philo currently offers over 60 channels for $25/month and allows three separate streams on three different devices with up to 10 profiles.
The NPD Take:
- This integration enables the company’s (YouTube TV) virtual MVPD competitor, Philo suggesting usability is a larger priority for Google.
- The furthers Google’s initiative to expand the Google TV search and discovery layer onto of their Android and Chromecast hardware platforms.