Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed today that the company is planning to use the post-merger AOL-Yahoo subsidiary as a platform to “test out an over-the-top service,” according to a report from Variety. The news was rumored by a Bloomberg report that claimed that Verizon was preparing to launch a nationwide TV service as early as this summer.
The statement marks the first official word that Verizon is, in fact, pursuing its own streaming TV service, similar to DirecTV Now (owned by competitor AT&T) or Sling TV (which is under Dish Network’s corporate umbrella). The Variety report also notes that the new service would still be separate from Go90, Verizon’s existing mobile video service.
Variety also notes that McAdam expects that Verizon’s purchase of Yahoo will conclude in June. The news comes after the announcement in April that Verizon would be reorganizing its corporate structure post-acquisition to put Yahoo and AOL together under a single brand, called Oath.
Beyond confirming that Verizon is working on a streaming service, McAdam didn’t offer any more details. Still, in the light of recent developments with the FCC’s proposal to kill Title II protections for net neutrality, along with Verizon’s history of granting Go90 special privileges when it comes to data usage, it’s not entirely surprising that the company is looking to build out its own streaming TV service in the current industry climate.
