YouTube TV has a new agreement in place with Windstream, continuing the virtual MVPD’s trend toward setting new distribution partnerships with traditional pay TV companies.
Windstream’s Kinetic broadband customers will now have the option to add YouTube TV, which offers more than 70 channels for $49.99 per month.
“Partnering with YouTube TV gives our customers a way to cut the cord without sacrificing live, local coverage and seamlessly access the latest on-demand content,” said Jeff Small, president of the consumer and small and midsize business segment at Windstream, in a statement. “Fortunately, for our customers, the reliable high-speed network delivered by Kinetic is the best place to enjoy streaming video.”
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The Windstream deal is the latest in a series of agreements that have presented YouTube TV as an integrated streaming TV option for broadband providers. Last month, YouTube TV set a deal with Cincinnati Bell to let customers in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and in Hawaii to buy the streaming service directly from them.
YouTube TV is also featured prominently within Verizon Fios’ new “Mix & Match” pricing model designed to give its consumers more choice and flexibility over their video and broadband plans. Google Fiber also recently pulled the plug on its traditional linear video service and opted instead to give subscribers the option of adding on either YouTube TV or fuboTV.
The distribution deals are likely a contributing factor to YouTube TV’s growth. The service now has more than 2 million subscribers.
For Windstream, the introduction of YouTube TV as an option for its broadband customers arrives about one year after the provider partnered with MobiTV to launch its Kinetic TV streaming service. Kinetic TV is priced at $75 per month for Windstream’s broadband customers. The app is available for connected devices, smart TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones, and it features live TV, on-demand content, catch-up TV, DVR and recommendations.