therwol Loc: USA

With more and more people ditching cable TV for streaming services, new Xfinity (and Spectrum) customers will be given a XUMO box instead of a traditional cable box. If you are a cable TV customer, you can switch over but not have both. Their traditional cable TV service will still be available.

Just about every streaming service will be available (if you have subscriptions) , but you will not get cable-only channels such as CNN, ESPN, HGTV and others. I think that TCM falls into that category. You will also not get local TV stations, including the sub-channels such as MeTV. You will not get a DVR without paying for an additional service.

I'm all for saving money, and the price of their cable TV is becoming astronomical. What kills this for me is the loss of some channels that I do watch and the absence of a DVR. Most of my DVR recordings are of movies on TCM. I can pick up many local channels with an antenna, however I live in a mountainous area where the line of sight may be blocked for some, and it isn't a solution for those people.

https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/xfinity-xumo-faqs

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I didn't see anything about phasing out of the regular cable box at that link, just what the XUMO box will and won't do.

They even state about ALSO subscribing to "regular" service to get cable channels.

therwol Loc: USA

Their standard cable box is the X1. I have that in my house along with a satellite box for a bedroom. To quote the article:

"I am an X1 customer, and I want Xumo Stream Box for a spare room. How do I get an extra streaming box?
Xumo Stream Box from Xfinity won't work in your home if you already have X1. You can order additional X1 boxes through your existing X1 box or by contacting us."

In other words, it's one or the other. There is a significant difference in the services, but also a significant difference in price that will be attractive to some.

I read several articles about this when it was announced. Cable companies are losing TV customers right and left, and they've given up on trying to attract new customers for TV. This is designed to keep customers in their realm, though not at the same level. I'm not sure that there is any huge advantage to this over other streaming options.

I also read that it is likely that the traditional cable box will go away eventually, though not soon. I would imagine that if customers for cable TV reach a certain level, it won't be cost effective to maintain the infrastruction.

By the way, I read today that CNN is looking at ways to offer streaming without a cable TV account. They'll have to in order to survive.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

re:"...streaming without a cable TV account.".
It's via the internet.
We have it for Disney+, PBS, Britbox. All the current cable only stations need to set up internet streaming, which they will.
What concerns me is what could wind up being $5/month for EACH channel streamed from each channel company... e.g. for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, plus all the others.

therwol Loc: USA

There are some channels like CNN, TCM, ESPN etc. that allow streaming on the Internet but only if you have an account through a cable TV company. You sign in with your cable credentials. That will have to change or they'll go out of business.

I can say just about any streaming channel into my Xfinity remote and stream it through the cable company. (I can also do it through apps on my smart TV.) I can even say the name of a program that's available to stream by someone, and Xfinity will give me options to watch. I'm talking about Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ Paramount+ (paying extra for no commercials), Amazon Prime Video, Peacock (paying extra for no commercials). In all cases, I'm paying these separately and putting out a lot of money on top of my cable bill. I could watch 90% of what I watch on the internet through these streaming channels, but not TCM independent of my cable account, not local channels, and not with a DVR. Cable is painless except in the wallet, and we already have to pay extra for these streaming channels. Is it worth it? I ask myself that all the time but keep paying everyone. I like painless.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yea...

We watch a lot of Britbox, PBS is free via our yearly donation, Disney+ is an extra.
Those are the only "streaming services" we purchase other than what we might get free via (included in) cable.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

We have 3 TVs and Xfinity. Only one TV has a box, the DVR. The other two have Amazon Fire Sticks and get all channels via the Xfinity streaming app including those recorded on the DVR. We use the Xfinity gateway and have excellent WiFi strength throughout our house and garage. We stream Peacock (incl’d with our Xfinity plan), Prime Video w/o ads, Netflix w/o ads, HBO Max, and PBS (perk b/c of donation). I believe XUMO is nothing more than a Roku/Fire Stick like streaming attachment.

We’ve had Xfinity for 12 yrs and I’d drop them in a heartbeat if and when our neighborhood gets connected to fiber internet. I haven’t checked Xfinity’s internet only pricing lately but if I were to switch to another service that didn’t provide equipment, the $15/mon gateway rental would still required. To replace that with an equivalent gigabit capable modem and mesh system with the coverage I need could easily top a $400 or more outlay. They got us where they want us.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Streaming services such as UTube TV provide local station access plus CNN, MSNBC, ESPN and TCM plus unlimited storage in your “library”, but do require an inexpensive streaming device such as ROKU, Fire, etc (or a “smart” TV). plus of course an internet connection. Cost of UTube TV (or its competitors) is in the $70-80/month region, and a Roku box with remote is ~$40 depending on the model. Interestingly, if you travel, your subscription travels with you and automatically changes to the appropriate local channels. And you can use the same subscription for multiple TVs at the same time. In terms of cost, we found it less than cable initially, but then we added the commercial free versions of Hulu, Netflix, Showtime and Max, so we’re about back to where we were with cable, but a zillion more choices of channels and movies, so a big net positive.

Old Coot

Get an OTA antenna

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

All of these companies are starting to bail off of the sinking ship. i.e. Providing TV Service.
Streaming is rapidly becoming the new standard.

Let me clarify by slightly changing your first sentence.
"....allow streaming on the Internet but only if you have an account through a cable TV company."

Think of it this way:
"....allow streaming on the Internet but only if you have an account with an internet provider."

My provider stopped offering TV service 2 years ago. I'm grandfathered in, so I can keep it.
They are not renegotiating contracts with networks so we are slowly losing channels.
They recommend and are offering a discount on YouTube TV for the first year.

It allows for time to do the research. There is lots of stuff available on Amazon Prime.
Make a list of all of the channels/programs you want and then find the best options for your area.
I highly recommend using an antenna for all of your local stations.
There are some indoor and outdoor options that work well.

It takes some due diligence to dig through all of the various options for streaming to get the best prices.
Example: Acorn is available through Amazon Prime for $6.99/mo but it has commercials.
If you subscribe to Acorn directly, for $6.99/mo. you get it without them.

Good luck

therwol Loc: USA

I'm paying for a number of streaming services that I mentioned earlier in this thread. That's on top of what I'm paying for cable TV. I'm open to other options. It's just hard to give up how easy cable is. You get whatever you say into your remote, and you can record many movies and shows to watch later.

I don't know the number, but I'll bet a lot of cord cutters are sharing passwords. Netflix has already cracked down, and I'll bet if other streaming channels do the same, people will find that cutting the cord isn't as cheap as it once was.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

The Roku remote also has voice input/recognition, and amazingly, it works really well (across ALL the services). The recording feature on UTube TV is excellent and unlimited, BUT while it keeps everything you’ve ever recorded, they’re only viewable for 9months, or until they become available again. In the end, since we added 4 premium commercial free on demand movie channels on top of UTube TV, the cost including internet plus VOIP is about the same as cable + internet + VOIP. LOTs more content, but maybe a slightly more complex to use than cable.

kerry12 Loc: Harrisburg, Pa.

FYI. Checked with my daughter who works at Comcast Corporate. If you subscribe to xfinity video you still get a cable box. If you are internet only you will no longer get the cable box.