Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) is offering major broadcast networks, plus premium channels HBO and Showtime, for $10 a month to new customers when they sign up for the MSO's $39.99-a-month 50 Mbps broadband tier.
According to a TWC rep, the skinny bundle is a standard cable TV package that's not delivered over IP. But the MSO's use of a skinny bundling strategy to promote a broadband package is notable, given that the operator hasn't been a huge proponent of economy-sized pay-TV packaging.
TWC is currently testing IP delivery of video in the New York market. However, the operator has stressed that the strategy isn't focused on small, economy-sized video packages, meant to entice broadband-only users. Speaking about the trial to investors last fall, TWC CEO Rob Marcus noted that more than 80 percent of his company's video customres opt for traditionally robust cable packages.
"For all the talk about skinny bundles, we're doing pretty well offering a full video product," he said.
The $10-a-month package is priced well below streaming skinny bundles offered by Dish/Sling TV ($20 a month) and Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Xfinity Stream ($15.99), which includes basically the same channels and is also delivered over a managed network.
TWC notes in its promo flyer that its service has no data caps. It also includes TWC TV app access, giving customers TV Everywhere access to their channels on mobile devices.
"You'll have Internet with all the speed you need to stream whatever you want on all your devices," the flyer said.
Operators like TWC are looking for ways to bring millions of young consumers who don't pay for video services into the pay-TV ecosystem. Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), for example, began bundling services like HBO Now with its Optimum broadband service more than a year ago.
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UPDATE: This story was updated to reflect a response from Time Warner Cable.