Verizon’s mobile TV plans don’t make sense

[Commentary] Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam is pitching a form of integrated wireless and wireline cable TV package if the government approves its plans to buy $4 billion worth of spectrum from a variety of cable companies. McAdam told the Wall Street Journal about his plans, but so many aspects of the article don’t add up that it reminds me of sleight of hand. Verizon’s offering a shiny flourish around integrated video to hide the truth: that this proposed spectrum buy isn’t good for consumers and won’t make their TV experience better at all. The Journal’s article neglects to ask some big questions, and when I emailed Verizon to get some clarity a spokesman declined to comment beyond what was in the article. He emailed, “Lowell was simply describing possible outcomes from our joint venture, but he wasn’t announcing products or giving any precise plans. We’ve got nothing to add at this point.”

Higginbotham asks: 1) Why would I want to subscribe to a mobile channel a la carte? 2) Does Verizon really think consumers have a burning desire to watch Project Runway via their cellular data plan? 3) Would consumers have to pay for these mobile channels on top of their regular cable subscription? 4) If so, how is that integrated? 5) Isn’t Verizon killing its unlimited plans and trying to buy extra spectrum because the influx of video on its network is just overwhelming it? 6) How can whatever service Verizon is proposing be considered integrated since Verizon is talking about mobile only?