T-Mobile US CEO John Legere said the operator plans to introduce a disruptive new TV service next year with cable startup Layer3, which it has agreed to acquire. The CEO provided no financial or other real details, saying only that all of Layer3’s team will be joining T-Mobile US. He also said the new service, a combination of streaming TV and online video, will fix “pain points” such as multiyear contracts, high bills, bad customer service or slow technology and bring “real choice” to customers.
At a press call following its announcement, T-Mobile US said it would not be buying or producing any original content for the new TV service, at least not an an initial stage, FierceCable reported. COO Mike Sievert said T-Mobile wants to allow customers to access the same pay TV service they get in the house on mobile, and that it wants to make it easier for interfaces to find more relevant and suggested content.
The COO did not close the door on the idea of T-Mobile originals, but said this would not likely happen at the beginning. “We’re going to solve those other big issues of access, discovery and service first,” he said.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere said that quite a few companies are already making significant investments in content specifically geared for the mobile user. “We’re being approached by them as they try to figure out how to get their content to what we have, which are customers,” said Legere. “We’re interested in relationships but not the type that the industry is used to hearing about every day, with people trying to grab and own and control and build boundaries. This offer will not be hinged upon us needing to go buy content.”
