Xumo Teams up With Target to Offer Hisense Xumo TVs

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 4, 2024--

Xumo, a streaming platform joint venture between Comcast and Charter, today announced it has teamed up with Target to offer Hisense Xumo TVs, a budget-friendly, content-forward 4K UHD smart TV.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241029265477/en/

Hisense Xumo TVs will launch in stores nationwide and on Target.com starting next week. They will be available in 55” and 65” models and be priced at $249.99 and $359.99 respectively.

“The growing fragmentation of content on streaming services can make content discovery difficult – the Xumo TV makes streaming easy,” said Stephanie Cassi, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Xumo. “Extending our reach with Hisense, a top global TV manufacturer, and Target, a premier retail destination and one of the country’s most-trafficked e-commerce sites, is a major win.”

The Hisense Xumo TV's simple and intuitive user experience is anchored by the included voice remote, allowing users to search across hundreds of apps and services at once and find favorites by title, actor or genre. The TV also creates an immersive viewing experience by supporting Dolby Vision ® HDR and HDR10 technology, providing enhanced color and contrast, and enables the pass-through of Dolby Atmos ® from supported content sources when connected to a compatible audio device.

“Launching Hisense Xumo TVs in Target marks an exciting chapter for Hisense USA, as we bring advanced, wallet-friendly technology to more households across the nation,” said Craig Gunther, Head of TV Product Marketing, Hisense USA. “This collaboration between us, Xumo and Target not only expands our reach but also reaffirms our commitment to delivering exceptional value and an enhanced viewing experience for all consumers."

The launch comes just in time for the holidays, giving consumers an opportunity to add an affordable, innovative TV to their gift lists.

Xumo TV’s Growth

The Target launch is the latest milestone in a year of tremendous growth for Xumo TV. With the support of its original equipment manufacturer partners, Element, Hisense and Pioneer, Xumo TVs will be available in nearly 8,000 locations across the U.S., spanning nine national and local retailers including Best Buy, BJs, Meijer, Target and Walmart. Combined, the retailers that sell Xumo TVs represent nearly 75% of all smart TV sales in the U.S.

Streaming Made Easy

In addition to being pre-loaded with hundreds of streaming apps and services including Apple TV+, Disney+, Max, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Prime Video, YouTube and more, Xumo TV’s interface is built to solve a growing source of frustration for TV viewers, which is content discoverability.

A recent Comcast Advertising survey suggests over 70% of viewers cannot easily find the content they want to watch on their device, and 65% of viewers are spending more than six minutes searching for new content.

Xumo TV’s UI is designed to get customers to the programs they love faster, while also making it easier for them to discover something new to watch. In addition to the voice remote's quick searching capability, customers can also build their own personalized watchlist of movies and shows from hundreds of different apps and services all in one place with My List.

The simplicity of the Xumo TV experience is made possible by the operating system that powers it. It is the same global entertainment operating system that powers tens of millions of devices from Comcast and its partners across the globe, and brings some of the TV’s best features, like seamless content discovery, voice search and personalization, to life.

About Xumo

Xumo, a joint venture between Comcast and Charter, was formed to develop and offer a next-generation streaming platform for the entire entertainment industry. The company consists of three primary lines of business: Xumo devices, Xumo Play, and Xumo Enterprise.

Powered by Comcast’s global entertainment platform, Xumo devices feature a world-class user interface that includes universal voice search capabilities, making it easy for consumers to find and enjoy their favorite streaming content. Xumo Play is a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service with hundreds of ad-supported linear channels and on demand options that anchors the free content offering on Xumo devices and is also available as an app on other major streaming platforms. Xumo Enterprise is the business-to-business arm of the joint venture, providing content makers, distributors and advertisers with tools and services to make FAST content more accessible.

Target Now Offering Hisense Xumo TVs (Photo: Business Wire)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Rafael formed Monday in the Caribbean and will bring heavy rain to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before strengthening into a hurricane and likely hitting Cuba, forecasters said.

Later in the week it also is expected to bring heavy rainfall to Florida and portions of the U.S. Southeast, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Jamaica, and a hurricane watch was in effect for the Cayman Islands and for parts of Cuba including the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, La Habana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, and the Isle of Youth. A tropical storm watch was issued for Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus, Ciego de Avila, Camaguey, and Las Tunas in Cuba.

A tropical storm watch also was issued for the lower and middle Florida Keys from Key West to west of the Channel 5 Bridge, and for the Dry Tortugas.

The storm was located about 150 miles (245 kilometers) south of Kingston, Jamaica. It had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph) while moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph), the center said.

The storm was expected to move near Jamaica late Monday, be near or over the Cayman Islands late Tuesday as a hurricane and approach Cuba on Wednesday.

Most forecasts show the storm peaking as a Category 1 hurricane, “but conditions over the next few days will favor strengthening so we’ll need to monitor how quickly it organizes, and a stronger hurricane can’t be ruled out,” wrote Michael Lowry, hurricane specialist and storm surge expert, in an analysis Monday.

On Monday morning, the government of the Cayman Islands offered people sandbags and announced schools would close on Tuesday.

“Residents are urged to take immediate precautions to protect themselves and their properties,” the government said in a statement.

Schools in Jamaica also were scheduled to close on Tuesday, with government offices closing on Monday afternoon.

Cuban authorities said Monday night that some 37,000 people remained under evacuation orders in far eastern Cuba, in the province of Guantanamo, due to bad weather.

The latest development comes on the heels of Tropical Storm Oscar, which dumped heavy rains in Cuba in October, leaving eight people dead and a widespread blackout across the island due to a collapse of the national energy system.

Meanwhile, the Jamaica Observer newspaper reported a large landslide in a rural area north of the Kingston capital on Sunday that officials blamed on persistent rains ahead of the potential storm. No injuries were reported, but a couple of communities were left isolated.

Heavy rainfall will affect the western Caribbean with totals of 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters) and up to 9 inches (23 cm) expected locally in Jamaica and parts of Cuba. Flooding and mudslides are possible.

Rafael is the 17th named storm of the season.

On the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Patty dissipated.

Andrea Rodríguez in Havana contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Storm in the Caribbean is on a track to likely hit Cuba as a hurricane

This satellite image provided by NOAA shows weather systems Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

Storm in the Caribbean is on a track to likely hit Cuba as a hurricane