Qwest may not be interested in pursuing the same TV strategy of its fellow RBOCs AT&T and Verizon, but its $10 million investment in startup ZillionTV shows that video is very much a part of its service arsenal.
But instead of building out a network to support TV service--a prospect that company CEO Ed Mueller says is too expensive--Qwest will deliver the IP-based ZillionTV Video on Demand (VOD) service in its 14-state ILEC territory over its DSL broadband connection. As a champion of over the top video, Qwest's move reiterates the strategy Mueller laid out in its Q2 09 earnings call.
Expected to launch in the second half of this year with service provider partners, including Qwest and rumored trials with Frontier and Verizon, Zillion will also offer its service directly to consumers so it can extend its advertising-supported service.
It appears that not all is well in the ZillionTV camp, however. Although the company's products ZillionTV set-top and RemoteZillionTV advertise they will offer 15,000 movies and TV shows via relationships with major studios, the company appears to be struggling financially as it let more than one-third of its workforce go last year.
For more:
- Multichannel News has this article
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