Cable One has gone live with its first market for Sparklight TV, its new IP-based video product, despite software provider MobiTV’s ongoing financial troubles.
According to an FAQ page spotted by Light Reading, Sparklight TV is currently available in Longview, Texas. The company lists Bisbee, Arizona; Altus, Oklahoma; Duncan, Oklahoma; and Dyersburg, Tennessee as markets where the service is launching soon.
Cable One said it still anticipates transitioning all Sparklight-served markets to Sparklight TV on a market-by-market basis by the end of 2021.
Sparklight TV’s underlying technology relies on the MobiTV Connect platform, which helps power features including video on demand, program restart and DVR. Earlier this month, MobiTV declared bankruptcy and began a restructuring process, a financial challenge that T-Mobile cited as one reason for shutting down its TVision Live streaming video service. But MobiTV’s troubles don’t seem to have derailed Sparklight TV.
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The company announced Sparklight TV earlier this year and said it will help it reclaim spectrum that can be used for more network capacity to power gigabit and 10G broadband offerings.
It said the move from linear video to IPTV will allow for continued spectrum reclamation for more network capacity for current Gigabit offerings and 10G service.
“Our transition to IP-based TV service will enable us to reclaim spectrum in our network needed to continue to expand the capabilities and speeds of our core high speed data product and provide the communities we serve with the fastest and most reliable internet service,” said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of technology services at Cable One, in a statement. “This is even more critical now, with the tremendous increase in customers working and learning from home.”
Cable One isn’t the first U.S. cable operator to build an IP-based alternative for its traditional MVPD service. Last year, WideOpenWest launched WOW! tv+ and said it now reaches nearly its entire footprint. MCTV and other cable operators have also worked with MobiTV to prop up IP-based TV services.