Although the company has hinted that it will bring its Zive SVOD service to the United States, a U.S. spokeswoman for Altice declined to provide any details on a possible American version of the offering.
Altice spokeswoman Lisa Anselmo told FierceOnlineVideo that the company doesn't have "any specifics" on the possible launch of Zive in the United States. She noted Altice just closed its purchase of Cablevision a few weeks ago – the company is still likely in integration mode.
Altice announced Zive in November with 5,000 HD titles and plans to expand that to 10,000 by the end of this year and 15,000 next year. The service costs €9.99 per month (roughly $11 in U.S. currency) and offers content from Disney, ABC Studios, Warner Bros, Europa, Miramax, Sony Pictures Television and France Télévisions, including series like Big Bang Theory and Desperate Housewives alongside movies like Total Recall and Spider-Man 2. Altice said the service sports a single interface accessible on five screens, and offers features like mobile and offline viewing.
Altice launched Zive first in its home market of France through SFR, the cable-wireless operator it purchased from Vivendi in 2014.
However, early this year, Cisco said its CDN and router technologies are underpinning the global rollout of Altice's Zive SVOD service – and Cisco said Altice would expand Zive "in all Altice markets." Cisco specifically mentioned Zive launches in Israel, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Portugal, French West Indies and the Dominican Republic, where Altice has purchased telecom operations. Conspicuously absent from that list though was the U.S. market, which Altice entered in December through its $9.1 billion purchase of a 70 percent interest in Suddenlink.
Altice closed its acquisition of Cablevision in the United States earlier this month, giving Altice 4.6 million customers across 20 U.S. states. Altice USA now represents about 40 percent of the Altice Group's total business.
Thus, it's reasonable to assume that Altice will look to bring its Zive SVOD offering to what appears to be the company's biggest market. Already Altice executives have pointed to plans to bring the company's i24 News service to the United States, to focus on issues affecting the Middle East and the United States via a team of French and American journalists.
Further, Altice hasn't been shy about investing in Zive. Variety pointed out in April that Zive purchased first-run, first-season SVOD rights to Medici: Masters of Florence from Wild Bunch TV.
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