WATCH VIDEO. T-Mobile US president and CEO John Legere unveiled plans to launch a disruptive new TV service in the US in 2018 by acquiring Layer3 TV.
Currently, Layer3 TV delivers a product that integrates the best of television, streaming online video content and social media and is available in five cities across the US. With Layer3 TV’s technology and team, T-Mobile plans to launch its own disruptive new TV service next year, to challenge legacy cable and satellite TV’s distribution model. No financial details were released.
“No market needs Un-carrier-ing more than pay TV, so we’re completely stoked to join T-Mobile in disrupting the status quo!” said Jeff Binder, CEO of Layer3 TV, Inc.
“Together with T-Mobile, we’re going to ditch everything you hate about cable and make everything you love about TV better.”
“People love their TV, but they hate their TV providers. And worse, they have no real choice but to simply take it – the crappy customer service, clunky technology and outrageous bills loaded with fees! That’s where we come in. We’re gonna fix the pain points and bring real choice to consumers across the country,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile.
“It only makes sense for the Un-carrier [T-Mobile self describes itself as the un-carrier – ed] to do to TV what we’re doing to wireless: change it for good! Personally, I can’t wait to start fighting for consumers here!”
“We’re in the midst of the Golden Age of TV, and yet people have never been more frustrated by the status quo created by Big Cable and Satellite TV,” said Mike Sievert, Chief Operating Officer of T-Mobile.
“That’s because the world is changing – with mobile video, streaming services, cord cutting, original content and more — and yet, the old guard simply can’t – or won’t – evolve. It’s time for a disruptor to shake things up and give people real choice like only the Un-carrier can.”
Founded in 2013 by cable veterans Jeff Binder and Dave Fellows, Layer3 TV is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Layer3 TV counts among its distribution partners Fox Networks Group, Disney and ESPN Media Networks, Turner, NBCUniversal, Viacom, CBS, Discovery, HBO, Showtime, EPIX, Scripps Networks Interactive, as well as local television broadcasters, regional sports networks and major studios.
The platform is competing with online TV alternatives from Hulu, YouTube, Sony, AT&T and Dish, but differs since it has its own STB and integrates traditonal TV with online video content and social media.
Broadband TV News views. Interesting to notice that the former German incumbent – as well as a former traditional cable operator – is active with disruptive TV prodcuts outside Germany. The OTT a la carte service Knippr in The Netherlands is one example and the company’s acquistion of Layer3 TV is yet another bold move.
Layer3 TV is now available in just five US cities from its home base of Denver, Colorado (sic), but with T-Mobile that service can now be rolled out nationwide, making use of the telecom operator’s marketing power and network of shops. At the heart of T-Mobile’s mobile video strategy is the fastest LTE network in the US, a network built to handle customers’ growing appetite for mobile video. The opeator also includes Netflix as a bonus with some its mobile prodcuts.
(On the picture above T-Mobile executives and Layer3 TV CEO Jeff Binder (with bunny ears) after answering media and analyst questions about the Un-carrier’s plans to disrupt the $100B US pay TV industry in 2018 and the acquisition of Layer3 TV Inc. in Denver, CO on December 13, 2017.)
