Google is planning partner with CBS, Disney, and Fox to launch its own video streaming service, Google Unplugged, which will be operated by their own YouTube service. The new service will be amongst the many cable-like subscription services such as DirecTV and PlayStation VUE and will offer consumers a less-expensive alternative to some of the bundles offered by standard cable companies.
The Street reports “Google Unplugged is expected to be offered for less than $40 a month in a bid to undercut some of the existing over-the-top services. Sony’s PlayStation Vue, for instance, charges from $45 to $55 for three levels of service. DirecTV Now launched a few weeks ago at a promotional price of $35 a month for its 100-channel package, but that offering will retail for $60 per month once the promotion ends, with the service’s offerings costing anywhere from $35 to $70 per month based on the number of channels.”
The Street is also reporting that, “Google is lining up channels by paying their owners more in so-called affiliate fees than they get from cable and satellite operators, according to one person with knowledge of the deals. CBS, for instance, signed for about $4 a month for each Google subscriber, compared with the approximately $2 a month it gets from cable and satellite operators.
In return, Google Unplugged wants unspecified abilities to provide its subscribers with data related to the programming, such as team statistics that could be called up during sporting events. Negotiations on how to access the data have slowed final agreements with some of the media companies, according to one person with knowledge of the talks. Time Warner is also said to be separately negotiating for the rights to offer its HBO premium channel through Google Unplugged as it does with DirecTV Now.”
It’s being reported that Google could launch its streaming video service as soon as February/2017.
Source: The Street
