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)
A pair of Americans delivered command performances halfway around the world during Thanksgiving week. One was Peter Uihlein, the former U.S. Amateur champion and two-time Walker Cup player, winning by five shots in Qatar on the Asian Tour.
The other was Ryggs Johnston, and well, some introductions might be in order.
Don't get the idea Johnston came out of nowhere when he won the Australian Open — unless Libby, Montana, and its population of 3,725 is anyone's idea of nowhere. He was named after Mel Gibson's character in “Lethal Weapon.”
The best golfer to come out of Montana?
“Hands down, Ryggs Johnston,” Jeff Dooley said with a chuckle, because the best humor is often found in truth.
Dooley is the head pro at Cabinet View Golf Club, which has 250 members who buy passes for a seven-month golf season on an 18-hole course overlooking the Cabinet Mountains, just east of Idaho and south of Canada. He watched Johnston develop and knew there was something special about the way he played, the way he scored.
“I've been saying for a long time, it's inevitable we're going to see Ryggs on TV in a tournament,” Dooley said, perhaps not realizing that moment would keep him up past midnight to see Johnston look unflappable in his three-shot win at Kingston Heath.
“Everybody was just wired, all the golf pros," Dooley said. “There was a huge text stream going across Montana.”
The best in Montana at age 24? A case can be made. The most notable tour professional from Montana was Mike Grob, who won six times on the Canadian Tour and spent one full year on the PGA Tour.
Five months into his professional career, in his second start as a European tour member, Johnston won golf's fifth-oldest championship at the Australian Open to get his name on the Stonehaven Cup along with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, and more recently Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott.
The Australian Open also was must-see TV further south in Tempe, Arizona, where Arizona State coach Matt Thurmond was never more proud.
Thurmond heard all about Johnston and tried to recruit him when he was coach at Washington, only to learn about that sixth-grade project when the teacher asked students to write down their dream. Johnston's dream: “Go to ASU and play golf.”
Thurmond was hired at Arizona State in 2016 and getting Johnston became a lot easier.
Johnston never won a tournament in college but always was in the starting rotation. He was third at the NCAA Championship in 2021 as a sophomore and finished with four straight top 10s to end his career.
He spent five years at Arizona State because of the COVID-19 pandemic and made good use of his time. The Pac-12 scholar-athlete of the year as a senior, Johnston is a few courses short of a Masters' degree from ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management.
He finished at No. 17 in the PGA Tour University ranking, which made him exempt for the Canada portion of the PGA Tour Americas schedule, and exempt into the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying this week.
Except that Johnston won't be there, all because the Sun Devil took a pitchfork in the road that involved some of Thurmond's best coaching off the course.
Johnston figured he could try all three stages of European tour Q-school and still get home in time for the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying.
“It was funny because it took me forever to get him to go to the British Amateur,” Thurmond said. “He always said, ‘I’m a U.S. guy.' But it slowly changed. He visited (David) Puig in Spain, played the European Amateur. But I couldn't believe it when he called. I told him why not? Give yourself a chance."
He made it through the first stage in France with three shots to spare. He went to Spain a month later and tied for third in the second stage, and a week later sailed through 108 holes in Spain at the final stage to earn a European tour card.
Two weeks later, he headed Down Under to make his European tour debut in the Australian PGA and tied for 43rd in a rain-shortened event, then went 1,100 miles down the coast to Melbourne for the Australian Open.
The famed Melbourne sand belt was soaked by rain, and Johnston at this point was worn out. He played 10 out of 12 weeks in Canada. He flew to France, came home, spent two more weeks in Spain enduring the pressure of Q-school, came back home and then headed to Australia.
"I really didn’t have any expectations,” Johnston said, “which probably helped me in the end.”
Johnston said he might not have thought about European tour qualifying if not for the encouragement of Thurmond. The coach feels Johnston knew the right path and only wanted to hear some confirmation.
Either way, it couldn't have worked out any better. Instead of coming back to America for the second stage of Q-school, Johnston is at the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, with Max Homa as the defending champion against a field that includes Will Zalatoris, Corey Conners, Thriston Lawrence and Nicolai Hojgaard.
Johnston starts next year with tournaments like the Dubai Desert Classic, which features McIlroy and Jon Rahm. The victory gives him a spot in the British Open at Royal Portrush, his first major unless he can qualify for another before then.
“He's come a long, long way,” Thurmond said. “Of all the people, to think of Ryggs being in South Africa this week blows my mind.”
Still to come by the of the year is a trip home to Libby, the tiny Montana town tucked in the northwest corner that is planning a homecoming for the latest Australian Open champion.
“I’ve got a lot of messages from friends saying the whole town is watching,” Johnston said Sunday. “It’s just really cool to have that kind of support, the thing that you don’t see much other than from small towns.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Ryggs Johnston of the United States reacts after winning the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Ryggs Johnston of the United States waits to putt on the 18th green during the final round of the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Ryggs Johnston of the United States kisses the Stonehaven Cup after winning the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Ryggs Johnston of the United States holds the Stonehaven Cup after winning the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
