Malcolm Owen
Verizon is reportedly working on its own internet television service, with the carrier said to be securing streaming rights from a number of television networks in preparation for a nationwide launch this year, possibly as soon as this summer.
The carrier's plans for the service are similar to others, providing a package of dozens of channels to subscribers, according to sources of Bloomberg. The internet TV package would also be sold separately from Verizon's other video offerings, including go90 and the in-home FiOS television service.
Notably, it seems that Verizon will be offering the service independently of its other products, allowing customers of other carriers to get the internet TV subscription.
It is said that Verizon has been securing the streaming rights while negotiating new contracts with programmers for FiOS, and in some cases sought out the streaming rights ahead of FiOS contract renewals. In a statement for a recent contract extension with Verizon, CBS advised its deal included rights for future digital platforms, with specifics to be released at a later date, which is likely to refer to this service.
Specific features of the service are unknown, such as whether it will include on-demand content or premium channel options, or what platforms it will be usable on. People familiar with the plans do however claim Verizon will price it at a similar rate to other competing services, which could be between $20 and $35 per month.
Verizon will be entering a crowded market with its internet TV product, with many competitors already offering services. Dish Network's Sling TV, AT&T's DirecTV Now, and Sony's PlayStation Vue are already providing streaming live television to users, and are expected to be joined by a live service from Hulu and Google's upcoming YouTube TV in the coming months.
Reports in the past suggested Apple was interested in making its own streaming television service, but rumors about the supposed product have seemingly died down.
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15 Comments
Between a limited channel selection on Sling TV and PS VUE and a lack of features and horrible performance issues with DirecTV NOW, I'm "over" internet TV service for the time being. Cost wasn't only one reason why I canceled cable TV last year - I was also fed up with tons of junk channels, constant commercial interruptions, an overabundance of scripted "reality" TV shows, and too much of the same thing (i.e., how many detective-type cop shows do we really need?).
So are they planning to also kneecap other services with artificial data caps?
Pretty quiet in the comments section. Are we finally over the "Apple should have done this already" comments? I would say given the proliferation of "me too" services which get lukewarm reviews, Apple was wise to not launch a service "just because" since they could not get the content rights they felt was needed (or perhaps internally decided it wasn't the right path).
I haven't seen any advantage these services have over my free over the air tv. I'm ok with the amount of commercials on MeTV and other free stations. I'm not ok with having the same amount or more commercials on channels and having to pay for them too.