Verizon to Take on DirecTV Now and Sling TV With New Streaming TV Package Launching This Summer

[MacRumors]

Verizon Communications is gearing up to enter the ever-growing online streaming TV market, alongside competitors like DirecTV Now, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, as well as soon-to-launch bundles from Hulu and YouTube. Verizon is currently securing streaming rights from TV networks ahead of a nationwide launch of its cord-cutting service, which is said to show up for customers as soon as this summer, according to people familiar with the company's plans (via Bloomberg).

"Dozens" of channels will be on offer, and the service will act as a separate entity from Verizon's own teen-based go90 video app and FiOS Home TV offering. In terms of cost, the sources said that Verizon will enter the market with a bundle that runs somewhere between Sling TV's basic $20/month package and DirecTV Now's $35/month starting price. Specific channel offerings, and the amount that will be available, were not divulged.

Verizon's preparations highlight the growing pressure to provide a cheaper, smaller package of TV networks to viewers who are turned off by a glut of programming available on traditional cable packages. Dish Network Corp. introduced a similar service, Sling TV, two years ago, and AT&T Inc.'s DirecTV Now came out late last year. Sling's basic package costs $20 a month, while DirecTV Now starts at $35 for 60 channels. Verizon's will probably be similarly priced, the people said.

It's expected for Verizon's bundle to follow the usual availability on platforms like iOS, Apple TV, and other set-top streaming boxes including Roku devices. According to the people familiar with Verizon's plans, it's currently "unclear" whether or not customers will have to be tied into Verizon's phone services to access the TV bundle. AT&T's DirecTV Now doesn't have such a restriction, but customers do get a discount if they sign up for both phone and TV services.

Although there are already plenty of cord-cutting options for users to choose from at present, more are coming down the line this year, including an anticipated launch this spring of Hulu's online TV service. At one point Apple was hoping to become a competitor in the live-streaming service field with its own dedicated cord-cutting bundle, but rumors of that service died down after news came out that the company was "frustrated" by its repeated inability to reach mutually beneficial terms with network programmers.

Article Link: Verizon to Take on DirecTV Now and Sling TV With New Streaming TV Package Launching This Summer

 

[jerry16]

Good; increased competition is a win for consumers. This is a market that has been unfriendly to consumers for far too long.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

With the ATT offer that put DirecTV Now at $10/month I decided to hold my nose and try it. I'm not impressed so far. They specifically advertise for Apple TV (to the point they had an offer to send one free with three month subscription) yet they don't support the full iOS single sign on system. Beyond that, over half of the channels they support don't offer their service as a method of authentication for the app based experience (which means no direct integration to Apple's "TV" app). Then on the local channel front there's a glaring hole in that CBS evidently hasn't formed a deal so they're simply not present. Finally the caching process on Apple TV is horrendous, if you scroll through a list of shows and select any of them to view details then hit the back button, you're back at the top of the infinite scroll and have to wait again for it to fetch and render a page of show images at a time again as you scroll back down. Terrible.

In my opinion it's half baked. I'll be canceling. If someone can manage comprehensive video media streaming (all TV and movies) for a reasonable price I'd subscribe but as it sits the traditional cable/satellite model is overpriced for an out dated experience and their attempts at streaming skinny bundles seem like they know they need to be present at the table but don't care to do it right. I'll stick with subscribing to apps for the few channels that do things well (HBO and Showtime I'm looking at you) along with Netflix for a fairly broad, generic back catalog and iTunes for the specific TV series and movies I want.

edit: also now that I've been a cord cutter so long and have become accustomed to watching a show uninterrupted commercials are jarring. And no "jump" button to swap between two shows/channels. And the home screen isn't smart enough to focus to shows I've told it I like. And the show listings on each channel are just alphabetical rather than weighting popularity at all (do I really need to scroll through 200 HBO series to get to West World?). and and and...

 

[RobNYC]

Then on the local channel front there's a glaring hole in that CBS evidently hasn't formed a deal so they're simply not present.

CBS apparently doesn't have any deals with anyone. Even if you have cable, you still have to pay for all the stuff offered on the app.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

CBS apparently doesn't have any deals with anyone. Even if you have cable, you still have to pay for all the stuff offered on the app.

I'm not a fan of any CBS shows (I'm not old enough to like NCIS and I just never got into Big Bang Theory) but I believe they're top of the numbers right now so I suppose it's probably in their interest to not make deals. Oh well.

edit: just looked at their show list, I did like limitless but it was on Netflix. Everything else is just blah to me.

 

[aforty]

With zero-rating for FIOS and Verizon customers no doubt, because nothing is sacred anymore.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

With zero-rating for FIOS and Verizon customers no doubt, because nothing is sacred anymore.

Why would zero rating matter for FIOS? They have no data cap.

 

[TurboPGT!]

With the ATT offer that put DirecTV Now at $10/month I decided to hold my nose and try it. I'm not impressed so far. They specifically advertise for Apple TV (to the point they had an offer to send one free with three month subscription) yet they don't support the full iOS single sign on system. Beyond that, over half of the channels they support don't offer their service as a method of authentication for the app based experience (which means no direct integration to Apple's "TV" app). Then on the local channel front there's a glaring hole in that CBS evidently hasn't formed a deal so they're simply not present. Finally the caching process on Apple TV is horrendous, if you scroll through a list of shows and select any of them to view details then hit the back button, you're back at the top of the infinite scroll and have to wait again for it to fetch and render a page of show images at a time again as you scroll back down. Terrible.

In my opinion it's half baked. I'll be canceling. If someone can manage comprehensive video media streaming (all TV and movies) for a reasonable price I'd subscribe but as it sits the traditional cable/satellite model is overpriced for an out dated experience and their attempts at streaming skinny bundles seem like they know they need to be present at the table but don't care to do it right. I'll stick with subscribing to apps for the few channels that do things well (HBO and Showtime I'm looking at you) along with Netflix for a fairly broad, generic back catalog and iTunes for the specific TV series and movies I want.

edit: also now that I've been a cord cutter so long and have become accustomed to watching a show uninterrupted commercials are jarring. And no "jump" button to swap between two shows/channels. And the home screen isn't smart enough to focus to shows I've told it I like. And the show listings on each channel are just alphabetical rather than weighting popularity at all (do I really need to scroll through 200 HBO series to get to West World?). and and and...

First of all, it is still brand new, and secondly, Single-Sign On and the TV App launched about a week after the launch of DirecTVNOW. They've been doing everything they can just to make the service usuable, let alone incorporate these much newer features.

Not to mention, the lack of SSO or DTVN login support on specific Channel Apps has nothing to do with DTVN itself. This is one of those awkward situations where no one knows where to point the finger. Apple? The Network? The Provider? Who is getting in the way of all these features being available everywhere and working in harmony? We don't really know. But the user experience suffers until they get it right.

-

Back to topic, Hulu, YouTube, Comcast and Verizon all now promising upcoming streaming cable packages for 2017.

Can this PLEASE mean that a competitively priced offering will finally evolve? Sling had the lowest price package at $20, but their product is garbage.

The DirectTVNOW product has become good in terms of stream quality, but it is missing a lot of features, and I'm forced to pay more than double what I'm willing to pay for dozens of channels I don't care about. Minus the settopbox rental, this is cable all over again.

I'm sure my wish for a respectable price for a SMALL bundle is just a pipe dream. None of this is about consumer choice. This is 100% about getting out ahead of FCC regulations that will eventually force cable providers to provide service to other boxes beyond their own proprietary box.

 

[brendu]

Why would zero rating matter for FIOS? They have no data cap.

FIOS doesn't have a data cap? TIL. good to know. I always wondered if I was going to get hit one day with an overage.

 

[MysteryMii215]

Why would zero rating matter for FIOS? They have no data cap.

He's talking about the zero-rating of the FiOS app for Verizon Wireless customers. BTW, the UI is terrible for 4.7 and 5.5 in. screen iPhones.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

FIOS doesn't have a data cap? TIL. good to know. I always wondered if I was going to get hit one day with an overage.

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

 

[MysteryMii215]

CBS apparently doesn't have any deals with anyone.

*cough* Hulu and YouTube TV *cough*
[doublepost=1490968160][/doublepost]

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

Optimum also doesn't have data caps (although they only serve the NYC Metro area).

 

[thisisnotmyname]

First of all, it is still brand new, and secondly, Single-Sign On and the TV App launched about a week after the launch of DirecTVNOW. They've been doing everything they can just to make the service usuable, let alone incorporate these much newer features.

Not to mention, the lack of SSO or DTVN login support on specific Channel Apps has nothing to do with DTVN itself. This is one of those awkward situations where no one knows where to point the finger. Apple? The Network? The Provider? Who is getting in the way of all these features being available everywhere and working in harmony? We don't really know. But the user experience suffers until they get it right.

-

Back to topic, Hulu, YouTube, Comcast and Verizon all now promising upcoming streaming cable packages for 2017.

Can this PLEASE mean that a competitively priced offering will finally evolve? Sling had the lowest price package at $20, but their product is garbage.

The DirectTVNOW product has become good in terms of stream quality, but it is missing a lot of features, and I'm forced to pay more than double what I'm willing to pay for dozens of channels I don't care about. Minus the settopbox rental, this is cable all over again.

I'm sure my wish for a respectable price for a SMALL bundle is just a pipe dream. None of this is about consumer choice. This is 100% about getting out ahead of FCC regulations that will eventually force cable providers to provide service to other boxes beyond their own proprietary box.

Good point on the recentness of those features. And yes, my comment about holding my nose is that I view this much like I view Hulu - an attempt by a dying industry to try and stave off the disruptive forces emerging to compete. I'd have more faith in a newcomer entering the market that isn't addicted to the business models of old. My cynical side thinks that any offering by the legacy cable/satellite providers will be a trojan horse to try and keep market share long enough to drive out the disrupters and then attempt to go back to bloated bundles with high prices and little value.

Conversely, I'm willing to pay a relatively high price for entertainment if I can get everything and the way I want it. e.g. access to all media from the beginning of time to the latest releases while they are in theatre all on demand to any device I want in the highest quality and with no commercials. I'd pay a couple hundred a month for that service. Add in all live sports as well and I'd pay several hundred per month.

 

[cliffster82]

I hope they can find the right mix of channels. Give me a discount with my existing cell service and I'm in.

 

[brendu]

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

Yeah I switched from Cox cable last year and it has been fantastic.

 

[Juicy Box]

I did like limitless

I liked it too, too bad it was cancelled.

It is a shame so many good quality TV shows get cancelled, while so many low budgeted reality shows get renewed.

Why would zero rating matter for FIOS? They have no data cap.

FIOS doesn't have a data cap? TIL. good to know. I always wondered if I was going to get hit one day with an overage.

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

Comcast raised their data cap to 1TB last year. It is actually a decent size, as my very stream-heavy family has never went over it. The cap used to be 300GBs, but the data cap was suspended in the area I lived in for over a decade. I would track my family's usage, and never have we ever gone over 900GBs.

While 1TB is good now, once 4k streaming becomes more widely used, the 1TB might not seem as good.

 

[jhfenton]

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

There are local providers too. I have gigabit fiber (Fioptics) in Cincinnati with the local phone company, and we have no data caps. (Spectrum is in the market too, but they can't offer the speed.)

(We would blow through a 1TB data cap on a regular basis with 4K streaming. Heck, the first month we had the service, I uploaded 8TB to a cloud backup service.)

 

[Gasu E.]

He's talking about the zero-rating of the FiOS app for Verizon Wireless customers. BTW, the UI is terrible for 4.7 and 5.5 in. screen iPhones.

Verizon FIOS and Verizon Wireless are two separate operating companies that merely have a common owner.

 

[HailstormX]

I would be interested in this option especially if they would have a discount with a cell plan. I really like the latest Verizon cellphone app super clean and lots of info for controlling your account (I know its not the same as a tv/streaming app). If they made a TV app with that much detail and a fair price for the service that would be great.

I can't stand cable... they have no reason to innovate. I have spectrum at home and they still don't have single sign on let alone a Apple TV app. (they do for iPhone/iPad, Roku, Xbox One, and Samsung Smart TV's). I asked spectrum why they have iOS apps but no Apple TV app and they said because apple would like to sell tv shows on the store.... oh man lol I don't know why most Cable providers are scared of Apple TV.

I agree competition the best win for the consumer... ISP's and Cable are the worst monopolies at least in our area.
I did try the Direct TV Now app worked well for me. But no Locals thats the trick. If Verizon could get cable and locals that over streaming that would be amazing.

 

[BuffaloTF]

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

And the only reason the now-Spectrum doesn't have a data cap currently is because it was a requirement either the FTC or FCC laid out to approve the merger... and with this god-awful administration....... kiss that goodbye.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

At one point Apple was hoping to become a competitor in the live-streaming service field with its own dedicated cord-cutting bundle, but rumors of that service died down after news came out that the company was "frustrated" by its repeated inability to reach mutually beneficial terms with network programmers.

That appears to be pretty generous pro-Apple spin. Rumor after rumor posted even on this very site about such deals pretty consistently pointed to the core problem which, to paraphrase one such partner in such deals, "Apple wanted everything" basically leaving next to nothing for partners. If true, that's not mutually beneficial... that's only Apple beneficial.

I have to think with Apple's great reach, ready distribution & subscription payment channels to hundreds of millions of potential subscribers, that any truly mutually beneficial deal would have been pounced upon by content-owning partners. Essentially, all one has to do is think: how does Playstation, Hulu, Youtube, AT&T, Sling, etc strike streaming subscription package deals when Apple can't get one done, yet Apple has more money & resources to throw at such a deal than pretty much any of them... probably ALL of them combined? If I was to guess- and that's exactly what I'm doing here- I would guess that all those players offered mutually beneficial deals to content owners and that's how their deals got done.

 

[ptb42]

FIOS doesn't have a data cap? TIL. good to know. I always wondered if I was going to get hit one day with an overage.

Verizon FIOS does have a "soft cap". Several years ago, a small number of users were warned about excessive consumption, but it was on the order of 10 terabytes per month.

You won't get hit with an overage charge without warning. You'll be contacted, and perhaps "encouraged" to upgrade to business-class service, as it is currently difficult to reach that level of consumption without running some sort of server.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I liked it too, too bad it was cancelled. It is a shame so many good quality TV shows get cancelled, while so many low budgeted reality shows get renewed.

Read through about every thread along these lines. Most posts have "us" wanting everything we want, often commercial-free, for a fraction of what we pay now. In other words, we seem to want the great, high-quality productions to watch but don't seem to want to pay up for them. There appears to be a mass delusion that breadth & depth & quality can persist while revenues that pay for that is cut on a massive scale. It's likely that something has to give there. If we really want:

• high quality programming, we need to get over the idea that we can have it for a fraction of what we pay now. OR if we really want...
• a huge discount to our monthly bill, we need to learn to love low-budget productions like reality TV and youtube-level programs.

Nobody yet has presented a win:win business model that keeps all of the high quality stuff coming, especially commercial free, AND makes it possible for the source of all of that money that pays for it to get a hair cut of 75%-95%. Instead, there's just a bunch of us that will use ambiguous terms like "reasonable" to rationalize a delusion of keeping quality the same while we pay so much less.

Try that anywhere else though: I'd like a more "reasonable" price for iPhone 8. Instead of $1000, I'd like it to cost me $100 or $50. And I'd like a loaded Macbook Pro. Instead of $3000, I'd like it to cost me $300 or $150. As soon as we read either of those, we likely & immediately realize the ridiculousness of such wants. Yet, with this kind of product, "we" are quick to believe there is room for up to 95% monthly fee cuts but still expect to keep the same quality & volume of favored programming coming to our screens.

 

[4jasontv]

I think it's down to them and Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum) as the two without caps. FiOS is a great service, I recommend it to anyone interested, just too bad they have such limited availability areas.

Its limited due to fraud. I have to wonder why corporations who take tax dollar money would be allowed to invest in new infrastructure before they complete agreements they already signed. Make every executive serve time and send a message that they are all responsible.

 

[Juicy Box]

Read through about every thread along these lines. Most posts have "us" wanting everything we want, often commercial-free, for a fraction of what we pay now. In other words, we seem to want the great, high-quality productions to watch but don't seem to want to pay up for them. There appears to be a mass delusion that breadth & depth & quality can persist while revenues that pay for that is cut on a massive scale. It's likely that something has to give there. If we really want:

• high quality programming, we need to get over the idea that we can have it for a fraction of what we pay now.
• a huge discount to our monthly bill, we need to learn to love low-budget productions like reality TV and youtube-level programs.

Nobody yet has presented a win:win business model that keeps all of the high quality stuff coming, especially commercial free, AND makes it possible for the source of all of that money that pays for it to get a hair cut of 75%-95%.

I agree.

I also see comments about people wanting on-demand and live access to all current and past shows, commercial free for the price of Netflix. I find this very unrealistic, especially the commercial free part.

I remember when I first joined MR from another forum that was going under, most of the threads I participated in was about the (then rumored) ATV4, and the rumored Apple television service. Most of the comments were saying that it was too expensive (rumored $25-$35), too limited, and still a bundle package like the cable company.

People are delusional they think they will get access to all the networks tv shows for $10 a month. Or, access to a la carte networks for $0.99 a month commercial free.