Comcast is bringing its free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform Xumo Play to the United Kingdom, marking the first time the service has been offered anywhere outside the United States.
This week, Xumo Play will debut on Sky’s line-up of streaming-friendly devices, including Sky Glass smart TV sets and Sky Stream set-top pucks, offering more than 70 streaming content channels. The same channels will be natively embedded into the electronic program guide on Sky Q satellite set-top boxes, Sky Glass and Sky Stream devices later this year, the company said.
In addition to channels like “Dateline 24/7,” “Reuters News” and “American Classics” that are available in the U.S., the Sky variant of Xumo Play will also include six Sky-branded FAST channels offering a range of entertainment, from sports programming to paranormal shows.
The six Sky FAST channels debuting this week are:
- Pick Paranormal — not for the faint of heart, Pick Paranormal features Most Haunted, the fan favorite TV show investigating all things supernatural.
- Emergency 24/7 — with “Highway Cops,” “Air Ambulance ER” and “Stop Search Seize,” plus many more shows, Emergency 24/7 is packed full of drama.
- Sky Artist of The Year — the channel for art aficionados, viewers can catch up on Sky’s “Portrait Artist of the Year” and “Landscape Artist of the Year. “
- Sky Sports Stories — Whatever their sport, Sky Sports Stories has a documentary for every fan – from “EFL Rivalries” to “Her Huddle.”
- Sky Sports Classics — viewers can delve into the Sky Sports archives with the likes of Premier League Icons and Premier League Legends.
- Sky Sports Vault — the channel revisits a whole host of archive darts, EFL and boxing content, including “30 Years of The PDC World Darts Championship” and “Fight Night.”
Sky Glass and Sky Stream users can launch the Xumo Play app by saying “Xumo Play” into their voice-powered remote controls.
Xumo Play is operated by Xumo, a joint venture between Comcast and Charter Communications.
