YouTube has signed a distribution deal with Windstream to have the telecom market its virtual pay TV service, YouTube TV, to the telecom’s Kinetic Internet customers.

Little Rock, Ark.-based Windstream recently began notifying customers that it will stop offering traditional linear pay TV service. The move, the company said, will allow it to instead provide its subscribers “advanced streaming video offering.”

“Partnering with YouTube TV gives our customers a way to cut the cord without sacrificing live, local coverage and seamlessly access the latest on-demand content,” said Jeff Small, president of the company’s consumer and small and midsize business segment, in a statement. “Fortunately, for our customers, the reliable high-speed network delivered by Kinetic is the best place to enjoy streaming video.”

YouTube TV has attracted more than 2 million subscribers for its virtual MVPD (vMVPD), which offers a base package of 70 channels for $50 a month.

YouTube TV has carved out similar distribution deals with Cincinnati Bell and Hawaiian Telecom. YouTube TV is being billed as an option to another Kinetic-branded video service

A year ago, Windstream announced plans to launch an iteration of the MobiTV streaming platform under the Kinetic brand.

The new app-based MobiTV Connect-based technology was billed as a “direct replacement” for the legacy Kinetic TV product, which was based on Ericsson’s MediaRoom platform.

The new service initially launched in Windstream’s North Georgia footprint, followed by Lincoln, Neb. Kinetic TV was expected to be available across eight additional markets last year, the company said.

YouTube has signed a distribution deal with Windstream to have the telecom market its virtual pay TV service, YouTube TV, to the telecom’s Kinetic Internet customers. 

Little Rock, Ark.-based Windstream recently began notifying customers that it will stop offering traditional linear pay TV service. The move, the company said, will allow it to instead provide its subscribers “advanced streaming video offering.” 

“Partnering with YouTube TV gives our customers a way to cut the cord without sacrificing live, local coverage and seamlessly access the latest on-demand content,” said Jeff Small, president of the company’s consumer and small and midsize business segment, in a statement. “Fortunately, for our customers, the reliable high-speed network delivered by Kinetic is the best place to enjoy streaming video.”

YouTube TV has attracted more than 2 million subscribers for its virtual MVPD (vMVPD), which offers a base package of 70 channels for $50 a month. 

YouTube TV has carved out similar distribution deals with Cincinnati Bell and Hawaiian Telecom. YouTube TV is being billed as an option to another Kinetic-branded video service

A year ago, Windstream announced plans to launch an iteration of the MobiTV streaming platform under the Kinetic brand. 

The new app-based MobiTV Connect-based technology was billed as a “direct replacement” for the legacy Kinetic TV product, which was based on Ericsson’s MediaRoom platform.

The new service initially launched in Windstream’s North Georgia footprint, followed by Lincoln, Neb. Kinetic TV was expected to be available across eight additional markets last year, the company said.

Windstream has announced plans to  launch Kinetic TV, its new IP-based TV service, to more than 30,000 homes in Sugar Land, Texas, where it will tangle with incumbent cable operator Comcast.

Windstream plans to launch the service in the affluent Houston suburb  in the second quarter, following up on earlier Kinetic TV launches in two Time Warner Cable markets: Lincoln, Neb.; and Lexington, Ky.

Running on a fiber-based network, Kinetic TV is powered by Ericsson Mediaroom and an Arris-made wireless whole-home HD-DVR.

Windstream also bundles Dish Network service with its high-speed Internet offerings. 

Windstream picked tax day to launched an IP-based pay TV service over its fiber network in Lincoln, Neb., where it faces off with incumbent MSO Time Warner Cable.

Windstream is initially offering the TV service, called Kinetic, to about 50,000 homes. It’s powered by Ericsson Mediaroom platform, features VOD, and is being offered on souped up Arris-made whole-home, wireless HD-DVRs. Watch this video to see more on Kinetic.

Windstream said it is not charging extra fees for professional installations, HD service, or its whole-home DVR.

Windstream has lined up a batch of no-contract bundles:

Bundle 1 -- TV + Internet

Basic: $59.98/month

Select: $104.98/month

Preferred: $124.98 per month

Bundle 2 – TV, Internet and Phone

Basic: $64.98/month

Select: $109.98/month

Preferred: $129.98/month

Rates for a TV-only service are “available upon request,” said Windstream, which will roll Kinetic to other markets later this year.  Windstream provides residential service in parts of 18 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.

It also offers a video service bundle through a partnership with Dish Network, and confirmed last fall, when it announced plans for Kinetic, that it will continue to support the Dish service option in all markets.

For Ericsson, Windstream is a win that comes after it rolled out multiscreen upgrades for Mediaroom in the wake of its acquisition of the IP video platform from Microsoft in 2013.

“We’re extremely excited to launch Kinetic in Lincoln,” said David Redmond, president of small business and consumer at Windstream, said in a statement. “Over the last year, we have heard loudly and clearly that this community is excited and eager for an alternative TV service. Windstream is confident that residents that sign up for Kinetic will find a highly interactive experience and a smarter way to watch TV than cable or satellite.”