What is Xumo? Everything you need to know about the free streaming service

Premium streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus continue to gain subscribers. However, in the past year, we have seen free, ad-supported streaming video services like take off in popularity as well. One of the oldest of these kinds of services is Xumo, and it has been gaining popularity and viewers during the recent coronavirus pandemic. So, what is Xumo? Here’s everything you need to know!

If you just want to jump in and check out the service (remember, it’s free), you can watch Xumo right now on its website at the link below.

What is Xumo?

Founded way back in 2011, Xumo is a streaming service with thousands of movies and TV shows available for free on a variety of devices and platforms. It’s entirely free of charge and makes money by inserting video advertisements in the same ad slots as broadcast television.

It’s currently available in the United States, Canada, and the UK.

In early 2020, Xumo was acquired by Comcast. Today, Xumo has 40 million monthly active users. 

How does it work?

Like most streaming services, all you need to do is access the service from a computer, phone, or other supported device, select the movie or TV show you want to watch, and start streaming.

With Xumo, you can browse through over 300 channels of streaming content and 85,000 free shows and movies to find what you want to watch. You can filter the channel lineup so you can watch content in different categories. You can also adjust the lineup so it shows channels in alphabetical order, or in terms of their popularity. You can also go to the Discover section and browse through many different content categories.

Does the service run commercials?

Yes. In order to support itself, TV shows and movies on Xumo do run ads before and during their content. However, on average, the number of commercials is less than that of broadcast and basic cable TV shows.

Is Xumo worth it?

Since the service is free to access, there’s no harm in just trying out Xumo to see if it’s worth checking out as a Netflix alternative. While you will have to deal with commercials while watching movies and TV shows, you don’t have to pay a dime.

That said, you should keep in mind that most of Xumo’s content consists of older shows and movies. If you want the latest streaming content, you will still have to check out paid services like Netflix, Disney Plus, and others.

What platforms does Xumo support?

Xuma runs optimally on platforms built for it, like Xumo TV or the Xumo Stream Box. You can find them on Spectrum.  You can stream Xumo shows and movies on a variety of platforms. You can also download Xumo Play for iOS and Android to watch its content on mobile devices. It’s available on Roku streaming sticks, set-top boxes, and TVs that have the Roku OS installed. The same goes for Amazon Fire TV-based sticks, set-top boxes, and TVs. The service also is available on Android TV-based devices such as the NVIDIA Shield set-top box.

Xumo supports casting to TVs via Google Chromecast and devices that have Chromecast built-in. It’s available for the Apple TV set-top boxes. You can stream the service on Samsung, Sony, and Vizio smart TVs. LG Smart TV users can download either the Channel Plus or LG Channels app (depending on your location) which are powered by Xumo.

PC owners can use their web browser to surf over to the Xumo.tv site to sign up and watch content. Finally, Xumo is preloaded on the Comcast Xfinity and Flex cable TV boxes.

Xumo movie lineup

The selection of movies on Xumo changes quite a bit. As a result, the movie lineup, both on its streaming channels and its on-demand library, will be different every month. You can watch everything from dramas to comedies to sci-fi films and independent movies on the service. While most of Xumo’s movies are older films, the service has started to dip its toes into offering exclusive original movies. 

The 24/7 streaming channels also have dedicated channels for different movie genres. Recently, the channel lineup included Hallmark Movies and More, with a selection of films from the family-friendly Hallmark Channel. Recently, it added movies from indie film studio Magnolia Pictures, making this the first time the studio has offered movies to a free streaming service.

Xumo TV show lineup

The selection of TV shows on Xumo is a bit more stable. You will find a lot of older TV dramas and series on the service, plus a few more recent shows. It includes classic 1980s shows like 21 Jump Street and Hunter.

The channels section of Xumo has dedicated channels for Shout Factory TV and Fight Network. 

In May 2022, Xumo launched a new channel called Xfinity What to Watch, which offers curated programming for different parts of the day. 

More and more channels are being added to Xumo. They include Motortrend,  Great American Adventures, and Sony KAL Hindi.

Xumo Radio

In March 2022, Xumo announced a partnership with iHeartRadio. This allows Xumo users to access several live radio stations from the iHeartRadio network. The available channels offer 90s music to listen to, along with hip-hop, country, alternative, and Latino stations.

Xumo streaming platform and Xumo Play

In November 2022, Comcast and the nation’s second-biggest cable TV provider, Charter, announced the next evolution of the Xumo brand. The joint venture of the two cable TV companies morphed Xumo from a free streaming service to an all-new streaming platform, similar to Roku, Google TV, and Amazon Fire TV. That means that Xumo has its own streaming TV OS, with its own branded devices and smart TVs. 

So what about the Xumo free streaming service? It got rebranded as Xumo Play. 

Best alternatives

Xumo is certainly not alone when it comes to free streaming services. Here’s a look at just a few of its rivals.

Crackle

One of the oldest of the free streaming services, Crackle not only has a solid amount of movies and TV shows to watch for free, but it also has a number of exclusive original films and series to stream. It also offers some extra features if you sign up for a free account, including parental controls.

Pluto TV

Like Xumo, Pluto TV also offers on-demand access to thousands of TV shows and movies and hundreds of “channels” that stream content 24/7. You can watch live news, movies in a number of different categories, TV shows like Star Trek, Three’s Company, and more, including kids and Spanish language channels.

Tubi TV

The Fox-owned  Tubi TV offers a lot of new and classic shows and movies to stream on-demand. The service is ramping up its original content, as well. Tubi TV also offers live local news from over 200 Fox TV affiliates across the United States.

Amazon Freevee

Amazon’s free content streaming service, previously known as IMDb TV,  has been gaining traction over the past year. You can watch great recent films on the service, along with some terrific television shows. We expect more original shows to be made available over the next year. It’s definitely one to watch.

Peacock

NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service lets you watch thousands of movies and television shows for free. It also has channels like Pluto TV that stream content including live news and more. For $7.99 a month, you can access even more movies and shows. You can also pay an additional $6/month to enjoy the service ad-free.

Other FAQs