Verizon reportedly plans to launch own 'over-the-top' internet TV service

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in General Discussion
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.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    zroger73zroger73 Posts: 787member
    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?).
  • Reply 2 of 15
    curt12curt12 Posts: 41member
    So are they planning to also kneecap other services with artificial data caps?
    edited March 2017
  • Reply 3 of 15
    brucemcbrucemc Posts: 1,541member
    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).
  • Reply 4 of 15
    davendaven Posts: 696member
    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.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    dcgoodcgoo Posts: 280member
    zroger73 said:
    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. 

    DirectTV Now definitely had issues when it started.  But with several software updates to AppleTV and their App, it operates pretty flawlessly now, even within the 480p bandwidth limitation.  Clearly the lack of DVR like features are not there, but they never suggested it was supposed to provide that.  100 channels for $35 is a pretty reasonable deal to me. 
  • Reply 6 of 15
    lmagoolmagoo Posts: 49member
    I use my DirecTV DVR almost every day. As much as I love to cut my $130/month Sat Bill, The quality and lack of DVR ability has made me stay the course. I do think that Internet TV will be the future through. They just need to get it figured out still for me to be interested!!
  • Reply 7 of 15
    Hopefully someone figures out the interface.  DIRECTV has the content but the DIRECTV now app is terrible I cancelled it after 2 days of use.  This is where and probably will be where Apple shines.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    What is "over-the-top" about this service ?
  • Reply 9 of 15
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    lmagoo said:
    I use my DirecTV DVR almost every day. As much as I love to cut my $130/month Sat Bill, The quality and lack of DVR ability has made me stay the course. I do think that Internet TV will be the future through. They just need to get it figured out still for me to be interested!!
    I'm the same way as you. My biggest complaint about these internet TV services is the picture quality. I'm really loving all the great nature documentaries and live sports in 4K on the DirecTV 4K channels. One big issue they need to figure out is the ridiculous data caps. I didn't have one for years but now Comcast has implemented theirs for everyone nationwide. If all my TV viewing was online streaming, I would be over the data cap in no time. 
  • Reply 10 of 15
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    And this guarantees I find a new Smartphone Wireless carrier.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    jsmythe00 said:
    ...one word. Kodi
    I'll pass. Kodi is a bag of hurt that is perpetually working on being stable.
    zroger73
  • Reply 12 of 15
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    daven said:
    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.
    When you really get down to it, no one "needs" to watch TV anyway.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Netflix will eat them alive.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    And this guarantees I find a new Smartphone Wireless carrier.
    I hear you. I often wish (in my own private fantasy world)  that Apple would enter the ISP and wireless carrier market for just Apple products.
    zroger73
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