CenturyLink has turned up its IP-delivered Prism TV service in Salt Lake City, where it will now compete for video subs with incumbent cable op Comcast and DirecTV and Dish Network (and Sling TV). Google Fiber is also getting ready to launch its mix of 1-Gig and pay TV services in the Salt Lake City area.
CenturyLink said the launch of Prism TV in Salt Lake City follows its deployment last year of fiber-fed 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) broadband to residential and business customers in Salt Lake City and other Utah communities.
The launch follows a recent Prism TV debut in Portland, Ore., where CenturyLink also faces off with Comcast. Prism TV, which features a wireless set-top box, whole-home DVR, access to a mobile TV Everywhere app, and VOD, has also been launched in La Crosse, Wis.; Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.; Tallahassee, Fla. (and areas covering central and southwest Florida; Las Vegas; Phoenix; Omaha, Neb.; Denver, Colorado Springs, and Highlands Ranch, Colo.
CenturyLink added 8,000 Prism TV subs in the first quarter of 2015, ending the quarter with more than 249,000 -- a penetration rate of 10.2%. The company also added 73,000 homes to its addressable TV footprint in the quarter, expanding that total to 2.4 million. CenturyLink expects to expand Prism TV to about 425,000 additional homes through the rest of 2015.
Prism TV currently uses the Ericsson Mediaroom platform, but is developing a next-gen video platform that is including an evaluation of the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global, in the process.
"Prism TV is different from other television services in Salt Lake City. It delivers a digital connection to the home, providing a combination of interactive features, a wireless set-top box and a large selection of HD channels," said Jeremy Ferkin, CenturyLink’s vice president of Utah operations, in a statement. “Prism TV service is complemented by our aggressive fiber broadband deployment in Utah that includes Internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second."
