Adding another virtual MVPD to the market mix, CenturyLink has posted pricing and packaging for the beta version ofCenturyLink Stream, a long-anticipated OTT TV service from the telco that starts at $45 per month, includes a cloud DVR, and features a broad mix of add-on programming packages and some a la carte options.
CenturyLink Stream’s baseline “Ultimate” package sells for $45 per month (discounted to $40 when bundled with CenturyLink’s high-speed internet service) for a lineup of almost 50 channels, including NBC, ABC, USA, Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, Bravo, Food Network, ESPN, A&E, HGTV, Travel, and History. Fox and CBS are currently absent from the lineup.
CenturyLink doesn’t require a contract for its new OTT service and is offering a seven-day free trial. In addition to competing with traditional pay-TV providers, the new offering will be tangling with vMVPDs that include YouTube TV, Hulu, PlayStation Vue, fubo TV, Sling TV and DirecTV Now.
Ultimate also features a cloud DVR that can hold up to 50 hours of programming, though customers cannot currently record Showtime programming or any of the ESPN channels (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Goal Line/Buzzer Beater/Bases Loaded, Longhorn Network, SEC Network, and ESPN Deportes). “You will be able to record the ESPN channels in the future,” CenturyLink notes in the FAQ.
