Verizon’s Go90 Goes Live on Android, iOS devices
Following weeks of speculation, a beta test debut and a continuous trickle of information about its content lineup, Verizon’s much-hyped Go90 mobile video service went live to the public on Thursday.
The service, available as a downloadable application for Android and iOS users, allows users to view and follow their favorite video content on their smartphone or tablet. Go90 also includes a cut and share feature that will allow users to send short clips of their favorite content to friends. Users will also have access to “Crews” to share and chat with other fans and “crowdsource” recommendations from the Go90 community.
According to Verizon, Go90 will include “live events, prime-time TV, best-of-the-web and original series across comedy, music, gaming, lifestyle, sports, news and entertainment” thanks to deals with ESPN, Scripps Networks, CBS Sports, DreamWorks, Vice Media, Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and the Science Channel, among others. The carrier recently announced that it has signed an additional agreement with Endemol Beyond USA to carry shows from YouTube stars Cassey Ho and Sonya Esman as well as Michelle Phan, Pitbull, Brittany Furlan, Drea de Matteo and others. An agreement with New Form Digital for six original shows, including a supernatural drama, was also announced earlier this week.
The service currently has around more than 8,000 titles and 35 Go90 exclusive shows. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said in a July earnings call that Go90 will not initially include “the full entirety of everything that we contemplate within the product set,” but will continue to evolve over the course of the coming year. Rumors have circulated that the service may make its way into a format fit for smart TVs or steaming boxes in the future.
The Go90 app and content access are free thanks to an ad-supported platform, but customer data usage rates will apply. Users from any network are welcome to download the app, but the service is currently only available in the United States.
The service’s launch follows an ill omen for mobile video that came earlier this week when Samsung announced it will discontinue its Milk Video app in November. Though Samsung has been struggling recently with dipping profits, the news doesn’t seem to bode well for Verizon, which appears to have pinned hopes for its future growth on the success of Go90.
