Despite having its own OTT TV service, CenturyLink remains open to partnering up with third-party virtual MVPDs, a group that currently includes Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, Hulu, and fuboTV.

The telco’s own OTT TV service, currently in beta form and called CenturyLink Stream, has “compelling features” such as a cloud DVR and access to local broadcast and national channels, “but we are very open to looking at other options,” Glen Post, CenturyLink’s CEO, said Wednesday on the company’s Q2 earnings call.

RELATED: CenturyLink Bows Beta of OTT TV Service

“Matter of fact, we continually talk with some of these other providers, look at the best ways we can bring that service and also other ways in working with them to reduce our content cost,” he added. “It does not have to be our product.”

CenturyLink execs have previously raised the potential for striking partnerships with OTT services like DirecTV Now. CenturyLink also offers its own managed IPTV service, Prism TV, also resells/bundles DirecTV satellite TV service.

Some tier 2/3 cable operators are also eyeing distribution deals with virtual MVPDs as they seek new video options that are tailored for broadband-only customers. The National Cable Television Cooperation, a group that strikes programming and tech deals for independent cable operators, has forged agreements with fuboTV and PlayStation Vue, with more expected to follow.

GCI, meanwhile, has been promoting Sling TV as an option to its broadband subs, touting a 30 day free trial to the Dish Network-owned OTT service’s Orange package.

As CenturyLink’s aims to, OTT partnerships would aim to product new forms of bundles and generate more ARPU, Post said.

Post noted that CenturyLink has lost about 21,000 Prism TV customers as the telco continues to “deemphasize that product because of the margin issue of the higher content cost.”

RELATED: CenturyLink CFO: OTT-TV Offering Might Replace Prism TV Product

CenturyLink may eventually replace its managed IPTV service, Prism TV, with an over-the-top product, if it’s able to secure the rights necessary to pull together a pay TV package with the channels that are critical to consumers, company CFO Stewart Ewing said this week at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference in New York.

CenturyLink is currently trialing a skinny-bundle OTT video service ahead of an expected commercial debut of a product in early 2017 that will include the local broadcast TV networks and support platforms such as Roku.

RELATED: CenturyLink Eyes Skinny Bundles for OTT Tilt

Ewing said CenturyLink has no plans to expand Prism TV beyond its current market reach.  CenturyLink ended Q3 with 318,000 Prism TV subscribers, up 7,000 from the prior quarter and up 49,000 from the year-ago period.  It offers Prism TV in several markets, including Minneapolis/St. Paul; Seattle; La Crosse and Platteville, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee and central and  southwest Florida;  Las Vegas; central N.C.; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Portland;  and Salt Lake City. 

Prism TV runs on the Ericsson (formerly Microsoft) Mediaroom platform. AT&T has also been distancing itself from U-verse, which also relies on Mediaroom, as it shifts more customers to DirecTV and looks for the technology platform underpinning DirecTV Now to serve as the foundation of its video future. 

RELATED: AT&T Stops Making U-verse TV Boxes: Report

“Frankly, we believe that, over time, the over-the-top product might replace the Prism product,” Ewing said.

He stressed that CenturyLink will continue to sell that product, but said the company believes it can eventually offer an OTT product at a good price point with the channels that are critical to consumers.

“The Prism TV service could go away over time,” Ewing added, noting that CenturyLink is hopeful to generate “some margin” out of its coming OTT offering.

Ewing said that CenturyLink expects to be able to offer an app-powered OTT product on a broader basis while also getting a bandwidth benefit. He estimates that the OTT product will need a 10 Mbps-or-better broadband connection, versus the 25 Mbps that must be allocated for the Prism TV service.

Ewing also opened the door to a potential, future partnership with DirecTV Now, the OTT-TV service that debuted on Nov. 30.  CenturyLink already resells the traditional satellite-based DirecTV service.

CenturyLink “didn’t know that AT&T was developing [an OTT product], too,” he said. “Otherwise we would just talk to them about potentially reselling theirs, and we may very well do that.”

As for what’s behind CenturyLink’s ongoing interest in video, “what we’re really interested in driving broadband growth,” he said.

Also in that area, he said CenturyLink hopes to gain some share with CAF II funding, enabling it to pass 1.2 million homes in markets where there’s not much in the way of broadband competition.

Elsewhere, CenturyLink is working on network enhancements that will enable it to offer 40 Mbps to 90% of its homes passed, and 100 Mbps to 70% of its footprint in the coming years. 

The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, or HITN-TV, is being added to CenturyLink's Prism TV service as part of the Paquete Latino Spanish-language offering as of Wednesday, July 20, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based programmer said. “HITN-TV is very pleased CenturyLink will offer our channel to its Prism TV lineup. This addition affirms our recent shift in programming and the increase in viewership HITN-TV has had during the first half of 2016,” Eric Turpin, HITN’s general manager, said in a release. HITN-TV will air on Channel 3055 in all Prism TV markets.

UPDATE: beIN Sports also said it's being launched today (July 20) on CenturyLink's Prism TV service. beIN Sports joins the Prism Preferred and Prism Sports Plus packages on channels 662 and 1662 in HD and beIN SPORTS en Español will now be available through the Prism Paquete Latino package on channels 3119 and 4119 in HD. “This agreement with CenturyLink allows us to reach a larger fan base, providing new viewers with access to leading soccer and global sporting events,”  Yousef Al-Obaidly, deputy CEO of beIN Media Group, said in a release. “This partnership marks an integral step in our network’s expansion, and is a testament to our continued efforts to strengthen our offerings and provide unrivaled programming to even more viewers across the U.S.”

Hunting-focused Pursuit Channel also said it has a carriage agreement with CenturyLink to launch on Prism TV this fall. “Pursuit Channel is thrilled to offer world class outdoor programming to millions of CenturyLink customers,” Rusty Faulk, CEO and founder of Pursuit Channel, said in a release. “This agreement, on the heels of other recent launches, greatly expands the opportunities for us to reach more outdoor enthusiasts.”

CenturyLink's Prism TV today (April 19) launched Prism Sports Plus, a package of six full-time channels and five part-time services for $8.99 per month. New additions to the Prism TV lineup via the tier are Fox-distributed YES Network and Fox Soccer Plus; ESPN's Bases Loaded (baseball), Buzzer Beater (basketball) and Goal Line (football) college-sports live look-in services; MLB Strike Zone, the pro-baseball look-in service; Anthem Media's Fight Network and Fantasy Sports Network; equestrian-focused Ride TV and international-focused One World Sports.

NFL Red Zone, the pro football look-in service that Prism TV had offered for a $64.99 annual fee, also is included in the new sports package, an increasingly popular way for multichannel distributors to increase their sports-programming quotient without adding to expanded-basic programming charges.

Anthem and One World Sports put out press releases announcing their additions onto Prism TV, the IP-based service that ended 2015 with a reported 285,000 customers amid a possible universe of 3.2 million homes.

The telco has launched Prism TV in markets including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Seattle; LaCrosse and Platteville, Wisc.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee and central and southwest Florida; Las Vegas; central North Carolina; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake City. Some markets will see the Sports Plus service launch on May 20, CenturyLink said. All services have launched in high-definition format in addition to standard definition.

Ride TV has signed a distribution pact with CenturyLink that will see the equestrian-focused programmer added to the Prism TV Sports Plus package on April 19. The network, which launched in 2014, also is carried nationwide by satellite-TV provider Dish Network and by wireline distributors Armstrong Cable, Jefferson County Cable, Shentel and Windstream. 

“We are extremely pleased to have reached this agreement with CenturyLink. Being able to tell the stories and show the unique lifestyles of real horsemen and women (to an audience who would not ordinarily see it) has been a life-long goal,” Ride TV president Craig Morris said in a release. “I want to personally thank the leadership at CenturyLink for recognizing the important role that horses have played in shaping the world we live in. There would be no cowboy if it were not for the horse.”

“Prism TV has experienced exponential growth over the past few years and their markets line up perfectly with our core demographic,” network SVP of global distribution Michael Trujillo said in the release. “As they continue their expansion across the United States, we’ll be right there with them providing their subscribers with unique programming that embraces the equestrian lifestyle.”

Indicating a further ramp up in its pay TV business, CenturyLink said it ended 2015 with 3.2 million homes enabled for Prism TV, its IP-based service that is currently powered by the Ericsson Mediaroom platform.

During Q4, the telco added 16,000 Prism TV subs, ending the year with 285,000. CenturyLink added more than 190,000 addressable homes for the service in new and existing service areas during the quarter. It has launched Prism TV in markets such as Minneapolis/St. Paul; Seattle; La Crosse and Platteville, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee and central and  southwest Florida;  Las Vegas; central N.C.; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Portland;  and Salt Lake City.

During its Q4 call on Wednesday, CenturyLink did not provide any additional details about its OTT service trials.

On the data side, CenturyLink lost 22,000 high-speed Internet subs in Q4 due in part to “tighter credit standards” implemented in mid-2015. But it ended the year with about  940,000 addressable GPON homes and 490,000 addressable GPON business locations. CenturyLink, company CEO Glen Post said, now provides speeds of 40 Mbps or higher in north of 30% of its footprint.

CenturyLink CFO Stewart Ewing said the telco is also mulling metered-data plans for broadband, perhaps taking a step closer to policies being tested or implemented by ISPs such as Comcast, AT&T and Suddenlink Communications.

"Regarding the metered data plans, we are considering that for second half of the year," he said. "We think it is important and our competition is using the metered plans today and we think that exploring those starts and trials later this year is our expectation.”

CenturyLink posted Q4 operating revenues of $4.48 billion, up slightly from $4.44 billion in the year-ago period. Broken down further, consumer segment revenues were $1.51 billion, up 1.3%.

The telco also posted net income of $338 million, versus $188 million in the year-ago quarter. 

CenturyLink president and CEO Glen Post said the telco is inching closer toward field trials of over-the-top video services that will focus on skinny bundles and younger millennial audiences.

Post, following up on OTT-related plans he revealed in August, said CenturyLink hopes to trial the OTT offerings in two or three markets later this year and into early 2016.

Those OTT offerings “will help us with the millennials and be a lower-cost option” and complement how CenturyLink deploys Prism TV, its  traditional IPTV subscription service, Post said Wednesday on the company’s third quarter earnings call.

Post said CenturyLink is finalizing content agreements to “enable a robust and competitive video offering for customers, both within and outside our Prism TV market footprint.”

Aamir Hussain, the former Liberty Global exec who joined CenturyLink as EVP and chief technology officer last fall, said CenturyLink is working on two different types of OTT products.  

“One is a skinny bundle with local, linear and premium [that] will have upsell opportunity for a kid's package, entertainment package,” Hussain said. “The second product that we are looking to do is in our franchise markets where we have Prism [TV] rights…just taking the same content and offering it on an over-the-top content along with an aggregation of other video services which are used by our customers today.”

Meanwhile, Comcast, one of CenturyLink's competitors, is nearing the commercial launch of Stream, a contract-free video serivce to be delivered to the home to mobile devices over managed IP links (meaning it's not "over-the-top" because that traffic will not co-mingle with spectrum used for its high-speed Internet service)  that will feature the major broadcast networks, HBO, and the MSO's cloud DVR and cost $15 per month.

CenturyLink, which has been evaluating the Reference Design Kit as it pursues a next-gen video platform, is also expanding the reach of Prism TV.

Post said the telco added 360,000 addressable Prism TV homes in the third quarter, expanding that total to 3 million, a figure that “exceeds our expansion target for the year as we pulled forward some 2016 expansion plans into this year.”

In addition, we're developing an over-the-top platform and finalizing content agreements to enable a robust and competitive video offering for customers, both within and outside our Prism TV market footprint.

CenturyLink signed on about 11,300 Prism TV subs in Q3, raising that total to about 269,000. 

The telco is also trying to make strides with broadband. It currently offers fiber-to-the-premises (via GPON) to 780,000 homes in 16 markets, and is trialing new technologies that will enable up to 200 Mbps on CenturyLink’s legacy copper networks.

Those DSL trials are “in the early stages, but [are] showing good promise,” Post said.

Though boosting speed is a broadband priority for the telco, it lost 37,000 high-speed Internet subs in Q3, lowering its total to 6.1 million, as it tightened up its credit and collection processes. Those new process also had a negative impact on Prism TV sub growth.

On the financial end, CenturyLink posted Q3 operating revenues of $4.55 billion, down from $4.51 billion in the year-ago quarter, due in part to a $150 million increase in support revenues linked to the acceptance of Connect America Fund Phase 2 (CAF Phase 2) support in the period. Net income was $205 million (37 cents per share), up from $188 million (33 cents per share).

The telco pulled in $1.15 billion in consumer-facing revenues, up $18 million or 1.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Viamedia said it has renewed its agreement with CenturyLink to continue to represent the advertising sales for the telco’s Prism TV service in various markets. 

The new deal also includes Denver, where Viamedia will represent CenturyLink ad avails on top national cable networks.

CenturyLink has also launched Prism TV Seattle; La Crosse and Platteville, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee and central and  southwest Florida;  Las Vegas; central N.C.; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Portland; Salt Lake City; and Minneapolis. CenturyLink, which is developing an OTT service that can be offered in and out of wireline footprint, ended the second quarter with 258,000 Prism TV customers.

“CenturyLink Prism TV, an alternative to cable and satellite services, is an interactive TV service delivered through CenturyLink’s nationwide fiber optic network. We are delighted to continue as their advertising sales representative,” Viamedia CEO Mark Lieberman said, in a statement. 

Viamedia said it currently provides traditional ad sales to over 50 MVPDs , more than 70 of the largest DMAs, and serves more than 1.2 million TV ads daily. 

CenturyLink said it has launched its IP-based Prism TV service in Seattle, a debut that will apply some additional video pressure on incumbent MSO Comcast as well as DirecTV-AT&T and Dish Network.

CenturyLink noted that its IPTV service will be delivered via its 1-Gig fiber optic network in Seattle. Prism TV, the company said, is currently available to 100,000 homes and 5,500 business locations in the Seattle area, including neighborhoods such as West Seattle, Ballard, Beacon Hill, Central District, Capitol Hill, Mount Baker and Green Lake.

“We appreciate the City of Seattle’s role in modernizing outdated regulations that allowed us to build our fiber optic network and bring new competitive choices to the market, first our gigabit service and now Prism TV,” Sue Anderson, CenturyLink’s VP of operations for Washington, said in a statement.

In addition to Seattle, CenturyLink has also launched Prism TV in La Crosse and Platteville, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee and central and  southwest Florida;  Las Vegas; central N.C.; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Portland; Salt Lake City; and Minneapolis.

Prism TV features a wireless set-top/whole-home DVR, an authenticated mobile app and access to TV Everywhere such as HBO Go, Max Go, Starz Play and Showtime Anytime.

CenturyLink, which is developing an OTT service that can be offered in and out of wireline footprint, ended the second quarter with 258,000 Prism TV customers.

Earlier this year, CenturyLink confirmed that it is evaluating the Reference Design Kit (RDK) as it explores a next-gen version of its IPTV platform. The RDK is a pre-integrated software stack for IP-capable and hybrid IP/QAM set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global. CenturyLink’s Prism TV service is currently powered by Ericsson Mediaroom, the middleware platform Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in September 2013.

CenturyLink has turned up its IP-delivered Prism TV service in Salt Lake City, where it will now compete for video subs with incumbent cable op Comcast and DirecTV and Dish Network (and Sling TV).  Google Fiber is also getting ready to launch its mix of 1-Gig and pay TV services in the Salt Lake City area.

CenturyLink said the launch of Prism TV in Salt Lake City follows its deployment last year of fiber-fed 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) broadband to residential and business customers in Salt Lake City and other Utah communities.

The launch follows a recent Prism TV debut in Portland, Ore., where CenturyLink also faces off with Comcast. Prism TV, which features a wireless set-top box, whole-home DVR, access to a mobile TV Everywhere app, and VOD, has also been launched in La Crosse, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee, Fla. (and areas covering central and southwest Florida; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver, Colorado Springs, and Highlands Ranch, Colo.

CenturyLink added 8,000 Prism TV subs in the first quarter of 2015, ending the quarter with more than 249,000 -- a penetration rate of 10.2%. The company also added 73,000 homes to its addressable TV footprint in the quarter, expanding that total to 2.4 million.  CenturyLink expects to expand Prism TV to about 425,000 additional homes through the rest of 2015.

Prism TV currently uses the Ericsson Mediaroom platform, but is developing a next-gen video platform that is including an evaluation of the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global, in the process. 

"Prism TV is different from other television services in Salt Lake City. It delivers a digital connection to the home, providing a combination of interactive features, a wireless set-top box and a large selection of HD channels," said Jeremy Ferkin, CenturyLink’s vice president of Utah operations, in a statement. “Prism TV service is complemented by our aggressive fiber broadband deployment in Utah that includes Internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second."

CenturyLink has launched its IP-delivered Prism TV service to parts of Portland, Ore., where the telco will duke it out for video subs with Comcast and its X1 platform, as well as with DirecTV and Dish Network.

CenturyLink said Prism TV is currently available to Portland residents and businesses with fiber service in the Sunnyside, Hawthorne, Belmont, Richmond, Mt. Tabor, Kerns, Hosford-Abernethy, Creston-Kenilworth, Sellwood-Moreland, Buckman, Brooklyn and Laurelhurst neighborhoods, and has set up a Web site that allows customers to register and be notified when Prism TV is offered in their area. 

The Oregonian, which has created a map that tracks which portions of Portland are eligible for the fiber-fed service, noted that CenturyLink is also talking to local officials about expanding the service to Vancouver and Lake Oswego.

Prism TV features a wireless set-top box, whole-home DVR, access to a mobile TV Everywhere app, and VOD.

CenturyLink also offers IPTV services in La Crosse, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee, Fla. (and areas covering central and southwest Florida; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver, Colorado Springs, and Highlands Ranch, Colo.

CenturyLink added 8,000 Prism TV subs in the first quarter of 2015, ending the quarter with more than 249,000 -- a penetration rate of 10.2%. The company also added 73,000 homes to its addressable TV footprint in the quarter, expanding that total to 2.4 million.

CenturyLink expects to expand Prism TV to about 425,000 additional homes through the rest of 2015, company president and CEO Glen Post said on the company’s May 5 first quarter earnings call.

CenturyLink is currently using Ericsson Mediaroom (the IPTV platform Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in September 2013) to power Prism TV. The telco, however, is developing a next-gen video strategy, and, as part of that process, is evaluating the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

CenturyLink confirmed that it has licensed the Reference Design Kit (RDK), making it the first U.S. telco to affirm its interest in using a pre-integrated software stack for IP-capable and hybrid IP/QAM set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

“We are evaluating RDK and other platforms for CenturyLink’s next-generation video strategy,” a CenturyLink official said in an emailed statement, noting that the telco plans to share more on the project in “the coming months.”

CenturyLink currently runs its IP-based “Prism TV” service on Ericsson Mediaroom, the middleware platform Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in September 2013.

CenturyLink is using that platform, also in use by AT&T for its U-verse TV service, in several markets, including La Crosse, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee, Fla. (and areas covering central and southwest Florida; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver, Colorado Springs, and Highlands Ranch, Colo. CenturyLink ended 2014 with more than 240,000 Prism TV customers.

“We anticipate expanding Prism TV service to additional households and markets during the second half of 2015,” Glen Post, CenturyLink’s CEO, said in February during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call. Minneapolis is among the cities the telco is seeking TV franchises.

While CenturyLink has not made its final technology picks for its next-gen platform (Ericsson, the telco’s current partner, launched an upgraded, multiscreen-capable version of Mediaroom last fall), the RDK could enable CenturyLink to benefit from the scale the RDK ecosystem represents.

RDK Management announced last week that more than 220 companies have licensed the stack. That group includes a mix of CE manufacturers, chipmakers, software developers, system integrators and pay TV operators. Of the latter group, 25 are cable operators, telcos and satellite TV service providers. Known service provider licensees include Comcast, TWC, Liberty Global, Rogers Communications, Kabel Deutschland, and Japan’s J:COM.

CenturyLink also has some familiarity with the group that’s managing the RDK. Aamir Hussain, named CenturyLink’s executive vice president and chief technology officer last fall, most recently served as Liberty Global’s managing director and CTO for Europe.

For more detail on the status and direction of the RDK, please see a Q&A in this week’s edition of Multichannel News (pgs. A6-A8 of the INTX: Focus on Tech supplement) with Steve Heeb, the Comcast executive who was named president and general manager of RDK Management in September 2013.