“Verizon Communications Inc. is close to deals making Apple Inc. and Google its first video providers when it launches a superfast 5G wireless service in four cities later this year, according to people familiar with the situation,” Scott Moritz reports for Bloomberg. “Under the deals, which could be announced as soon as Tuesday, Verizon will offer 5G customers a free Apple TV box or a free subscription to Google’s YouTube TV app for a live television service, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the agreements haven’t been announced.”
“Using fifth-generation wireless technology, Verizon plans to beam online services to home receivers, delivering speeds that match or exceed landline connections,” Moritz reports. “The promotion would be for a limited time, the people said. Subscribers to the 5G service will also be offered live NFL and NBA games, as well as news programs through Verizon’s own Oath media division, they said. The Apple TV box would serve as the portal for living-room access to video programming, while Google’s YouTube TV offers more than 60 channels of live television for $40 a month.”
Verizon Chairman Lowell McAdam “chose to develop a mobile media and advertising venture through the purchase of AOL and Yahoo! For video entertainment, he’s seeking allies, not assets,” Moritz reports. “‘It’s our belief that we’re positioned perfectly to have the partnerships that we need to be successful,’ McAdam said on an earnings conference call last month when he addressed the 5G video plan. ‘We’re not going to be owning content, so we’re not going to be competing with other content providers. We’re going to be their best partner from a distribution perspective.'”
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MacDailyNews Take: September approacheth.
