Verizon’s Go90 Mobile Streaming TV Service To Launch With Tiny Beta Test

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(Eric Hauser)

It’s been almost a year since Verizon first announced it would launch a streaming TV service and the company is just now getting around to naming it — Go90 — and providing details on its eventual launch.

Bloomberg reports that Verizon will be doing a test run of Go90 in the coming weeks with a few thousand people.

By creating a beta test for current Verizon customers, the company is apparently counting on working out any technical kinks that might mar a wider release, such as the hiccups faced by Sling TV during college basketball and the runaround some users of HBO Now experienced during the Game of Thrones premier in the spring.

“This is unlike any other system,” Alberto Canal, a Verizon spokesman, tells Bloomberg. “This is a completely new product, and the beta piece is about testing the platform and some of the functions, like sharing.”

Fran Shammo, chief financial officer for Verizon, said last week that a limited launch of Go90, originally set for June but pushed back, is expected to take place by the late summer.

However, the initial start of Go90, which the company has touted as a redefining over-the-top video service, won’t include the full package, as Shammo says more will be added throughout the year.

Variety exclusively reported on Friday that Verizon had accidentally made a pre-launch staging website for its upcoming service public, revealing some details, including the name Go90.

According to that report, the streaming service will be ad-supported, offering customers free access (initially) to full-length shows, clips, highlights and live music.

Of course the company has said it will dabble in subscription and pay-per-view models for the service. It has yet to offer details on the cost of such options.

As Consumerist previously reported, Verizon’s upcoming venture – which is in addition to current mobile streaming available for customers with FiOS – will include the holy grail of non-cable video services: live sports programming.

Of course, that programming isn’t a full season of football, basketball or baseball. Instead it will feature selected games from CBS Sports and ESPN — just not the high-profile ones.

In addition to some ESPN and CBS Sports programming, Verizon already announced partnerships with DreamWorks, Scripps, AwesomenessTV and Vice.

According to Variety, the pre-launch website for Go90 featured content placement from Victorious, GoPro and Vevo. However, a spokesperson for the company said the content listing on the site was inaccurate, but didn’t specify which programming might not be included on the service.

Verizon Users to Test Mobile-TV Service Ahead of Delayed Debut [Bloobmerg]
Verizon Mobile Video Service Details Uncovered: To Be Called Go90 [Variety]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist