Verizon Begins Beta-Testing OTT Video Service





Verizon has begun beta-testing Go90, a new over-the-top TV service for portable media devices, and slated it for mainstream launch at the end of the summer.

The video service aims to differentiate itself from Dish Network’s Sling TV and PlayStation Vue by focusing on video clips, live TV and special events.

“This is unlike any other system,” Verizon spokesperson Alberto Canal told Bloomberg News. “This is a completely new product, and the beta piece is about testing the platform and some of the functions, like sharing.”

Indeed, Sling TV, which remains the only OTT service to offer ESPN and ESPN2, encountered technical glitches during the NCAA Men’s College Basketball tournament. It also had compatibility issues with Roku, since remedied.

In addition to sports channels, Go90 will offer DreamWorks Animation’s Awesomeness TV, recently acquired AOL, Vice Media, Scripps Media, Huffington Post, and Tech Crunch, among others.

“We will absolutely be ready to go by late summer. It won’t be the full entire of everything that we contemplate within the product set. It will be an initial launch. And as the year goes on, it will progress,” CFO Fran Shammo said during Verizon’s July 21 fiscal call.

