philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

An Unexpected Disruptor? Verizon’s Bold Digital Strategy

No longer content to simply be a wireless provider and with its wireless business reaching a plateau, Verizon is reinventing itself as a content producer and an ad platform as well. Over the last few months, Verizon has made several announcements that suggest the company has a deliberate strategy to address the digital revolution in media and entertainment. And in this industry, companies that undergo radical innovation to disrupt themselves are the ones that will succeed.

(Go90 will be available to any mobile user — not just Verizon customers), with a full launch planned for the end of September. With a combination of television programming, live events and video, Go90 appears to offer a broad menu.

According to Verizon, the company is targeting the younger demographic of 18- to 34-year-olds, 70 percent of whom watch video on mobile devices first. Certainly the content, with offerings from Comedy Central, Food Network, ESPN , NFL Network, Discovery, VH1, MTV , and SPIKE; content from multi-channel networks like AwesomenessTV and Vice; and live events like NFL games and concerts, seems to be geared toward this demographic. (Interestingly, Go90 offers individual programs, not networks — Verizon apparently negotiated for the rights on a show-by-show basis, rather than the entire library of the channels.)

And there is a strong social component to Go90, something that Millennials crave. Through Go90, users can set up profiles to personalize their experience, share video clips to social media sites, and “follow” friends and other profiles pages like those for celebs or favorite shows. Go90 will also features “crews,” which allow users to join special interest groups within the app.

But the key to these services is translating a streaming video platform into profits, and on that count, Verizon is seeking an edge. On Go90, users will be able to stream video to their phones and mobile devices by way of a free app, which will eventually be supported by ads.

There is no subscription fee for Go90, a radical proposition in a field of subscriber-based services. But Verizon is also hoping that by providing its service through mobile devices, customers may upgrade to more robust (and more expensive) data plans. The bet is that this approach will surpass the revenues that could be derived from an upfront subscription fee, and that is a pretty big bet, especially considering millennials’ attraction to short videos and inexpensive subscriptions.

See the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nelsongranados/2015/09/17/an-unexpected-disruptor-verizons-bold-digital-strategy/