C Spire said an app-powered IPTV service that doesn’t rely on traditional set-top boxes is currently in beta trials and will launch commercially in the “coming weeks.”
C Spire stressed in an FAQ that the new offering, called C Spire TV, is not an “over-the-top” video service that travels the public Internet, but is instead a managed IPTV service that will be available to homes that have access to its FTTP-delivered 1-Gig broadband service in Mississippi.
The new service will support several platforms, including Amazon Fire TV boxes and sticks, Apple TV devices (fourth generation), Android TV devices, Roku players and integrated Roku TVs, iOS and Android mobile devices, and Web browsers.
The new service will start at $65 per month for a “Standard Pack” of channels (all in HD format), with additional packages and services, including premium networks and expanded sports channels, available for $10 and $20 more.
C Spire TV will also support a cloud DVR service, TV Everywhere apps for out-of-home viewing of live and VOD fare, and a Replay TV offering that enable viewers to watch certain shows that aired within the last 72 hours.
Among other bells and whistles, the service will include “skills” for the Amazon Echo voice assistant, and its guide will use machine-learning technology to personalize the experience.
Here’s a short promo video about C Spire TV:
C Spire’s new in-home service, which includes local TV and national cable networks, stems from a partnership with MobiTV, which provides and integrates components such as the content management system, digital rights management, media players, cloud DVR, content policy, billing and authentication.
RELATED: C Spire Teams With MobiTV on Next-Gen TV Service
C Spire’s new offering will succeed a legacy pay TV service, called Super HD TV, that features TVE support, an interactive guide and whole home DVR that was developed in partnership with Innovative Systems.
RELATED: MobiTV Targets a New Opportunity
MobiTV recently landed a new $21 million round of funding to accelerate and expand MobiTV Connect, a new IP-based, app-powered platform that enables MVPD partners to deliver services on a wide range of smartphones, tablets and TV-connected streaming devices while also sidestepping the need to use traditional set-top boxes.
MobiTV is focusing on that market as cable operators and other MVPD push ahead with IP video migration plans. MobiTV’s competition includes Evolution Digital and Comcast, which has undertaken a licensing strategy that has resulted in deals with Rogers Communications, Cox Communications and Shaw Communications.
RELATED: Rogers to Tap Comcast’s X1 Platform for IPTV Shift
Layer3 TV, the Colorado-based next-gen cable operators, has been offering an IPTV service of its own in select markets and has shown an interest in partnering with municipal providers that lack a pay TV service in their service bundles.
