Cox Communications said 1 million video subs are now on a new version of its “Contour” platform that is underpinned by Comcast’s cloud-based X1 platform.
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Privately held Cox has about 4 million video subs, according to NCTA estimates, meaning that about 25% of the MSO’s pay TV base is on the new offering, which features a cloud-powered guide and a voice remote and integration with apps for mobile devices. That's good news for vendors such as Arris, a key supplier of X1-based set-top boxes.
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Cox said the rollout was its fastest-ever video product launch, and celebrated the Contour milestone this week, hanging a banner at its headquarters to mark the occasion. Its 1 millionth customer on Contour received a free year of video and internet service and an all-expenses paid trip to Disneyland in California.
Cox also shared some other Contour-related stats, noting that 75% of those customer use the voice remote weekly, and that the Contour app, downloaded more than 1 million times so far, now offers more than 85 linear channels outside the home. Contour also offers more than 70,000 VOD choices, more than doubling that amount since 2016. Some 80% of Contour subs use VOD monthly, and Cox has registered about 275 VOD views on Contour since its debut.
Cox also said Net Promotor Scores for the new Contour are 200% higher than for its legacy offering, and found that customers on that platform tend to stay with the MSO longer.
“The syndication with Comcast is going quite well. The teams are working well together,” Kevin Hart, Cox’s EVP, chief product and technology officer, said in an interview this week that will be part of a larger roundtable set to appear in the Oct. 9 issue of Multichannel News. “We just hit 1 million customers on our Contour 2 platform, so that's a big milestone for us. The NPS is up, customer satisfaction is up, and call-in rates and truck-roll rates are down below our expectations.”
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Looking ahead, Hart said Cox has OTT service integrations (Comcast has already integrated YouTube and Netflix on its X1 platform, with Sling TV on deck) and a cloud DVR service on its near-term roadmap.
