Hearing that Comcast and Charter, the two major old-school cable companies, have teamed up brings mixed feelings to most. On the one hand, the two serve a large combined audience and could create something great for them.
On the other hand, neither Comcast (CMCSA) – Get a free report nor Charter have a great reputation among their customers. Watching the two forces combine is a bit like watching Russia reach a deal with China. Sure, something good could come of it, but also something undeniably bad.
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Both Charter and Comcast use pricing methods that many customers consider misleading at worst and shady at best. The two cable giants charge all kinds of mysterious fees that aren’t in their advertised cable prices.
If you subscribe to Charter’s (CHTR) – Get a free report With Comcast’s Spectrum or When a fee is mandatory, it should almost certainly be at the advertised price, but that’s not how any of these companies operate.
The same can be said for devices. Both Comcast and Charter will be happy to rent customers’ equipment that they pay many times over for. You can buy your own router for Internet service, but if you don’t know, both major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will charge you to rent one, a fee that never goes away.
Now, Charter and Comcast have a new product they developed together, but the way Charter (which first introduced it to customers) charges for the new device may make you angry.
Comcast and Charter present Xumo
As cable outages have steadily increased each year, Comcast and Charter must offer customers more value for their cable subscriptions. The two companies are trying to achieve this with their first collaboration, the Xumo Stream Box, a device designed to make it easier for customers to find content.
Xumo presents live content at first showing customers programs from their cable provider while also offering a channel guide. The Stream Box too
“comes with the ability to access hundreds of subscription-based and ad-supported streaming apps, including Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Peacock, Pluto, Prime Video, Tubi, Xumo Play and more,” Comcast shared.
It’s a bold move designed to make it easier for customers to find and view content.
“An advanced, curated content viewing experience that combines ai-powered personalization and human-led editorial recommendations to help customers find something to watch without having to jump in and out of apps,” is how Comcast describes it.
But, as is often the case with Comcast and Charter, there is one problem that subscribers should pay attention to.
Beware of misleading Charter prices
Charter (Spectrum) has been releasing the Xumo Stream Box to its customers and has changed the price of the device a bit. Cord Cutters News first reported on the company’s billing policy that could end up costing consumers.
“Spectrum offers two ways to get the Xumo Stream Box. First, you can pay $60 upfront for the box or you can pay $5 a month for it. The problem is that after 12 months, when you’ve paid $60 for the player, you have to Call Spectrum and ask them to stop the $5 a month fee. If you don’t call, Spectrum will continue to charge you $5 a month for the streaming player as a service fee,” he said. reported website.
New Spectrum customers will get the device free for one year and then the $5/month fee will be added. They also face the same problem that the company will continue to charge after paying the full price of the device unless the customer requests that the charge be removed.
Comcast plans to offer the Xumo Stream Box to new Xfinity Internet customers and has not shared pricing for existing Internet or cable customers.