Sources say launch of Verizon's new live online TV service, which is separate from Go90, is delayed until Spring 2018 at the earliest
Programming deals still in negotiation, strategy seen adrift — Online streaming TV is ‘absolutely critical,’ CEO said
Context & Ripple Effects
Verizon has been chasing a live online TV product for over two years. The plan reported in March called for a package of dozens of channels on sale by summer 2017, positioned separately from Go90 — the mobile video service whose $200M+ programming bet and weak discovery had already forced a rebuild around Vessel's team. That summer window has now slipped to Spring 2018 at the earliest, with programming deals reportedly still in negotiation and Bloomberg's sources describing the strategy as adrift despite the CEO calling online streaming 'absolutely critical.'
First-order effects
- Verizon enters 2018 without a flagship streaming product while programmers it still needs to sign hold the leverage — every month of negotiation delays a service the CEO has publicly framed as critical.
Second-order effects
- The slip pushes Verizon toward renting distribution rather than building it: within months it is reportedly seeking a Google or Apple partnership to supply TV service alongside its 5G home launches in LA and Sacramento.
Third-order effects
- The pattern repeats across carriers — T-Mobile likewise delayed its own TV service after underestimating the complexity — suggesting telcos structurally struggle to build streaming platforms in-house and will increasingly partner with established TV aggregators instead.
The trend: Carrier-built streaming TV keeps missing its own deadlines, pushing telecoms from owning the service layer toward bundling partners' platforms atop their networks.