Following an initial trial period, NimbleTV said it its multiscreen, cloud-based TV service, which delivers pay-TV subscriptions from several major operators, has officially launched in New York.
NimbleTV currently offers two types of packages to NYC area residents: an “add-on” package that delivers a mix of local channels to existing, validated cable customers via the cloud, and a set of fuller pay TV services.
Existing cable subs can use NimbleTV’s platform to access their local broadcast TV lineup (up to 24 of them) from the cloud, starting at $3.99 per month (the first month is free). Although NimbleTV has no direct affiliation with pay-TV operators, it said it currently “supports” four NY-area MVPDs: Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems, Verizon FiOS TV and RCN.
Unlike Aereo, which uses its antenna array and cloud-based system to sell subscription packages of broadcast TV channels, NimbleTV noted that its local TV packages require an underlying cable subscription that it verifies with the customer’s cable login credentials.
NimbleTV’s broader “concierge service,” which provides access to three different subscription TV package, starts at $29.98 and offers a lineup of more than 130 local, national cable and premium channels. The first week of service is free.
NimbleTV said both of its package types include cloud-based HD-DVR service plans that offer between 20 hours to 90 hours of storage per month, with the option of buying additional recording space.
NimbleTV has been using Dish Network to deliver services for its trial in New York. Dish told Multichannel News earlier this year that NimbleTV is not an authorized Dish reseller, nor authorized by Dish to market or promote its services, but did not indicate if the satellite TV intended to take any formal action against Nimble TV.
For its fully-featured concierge service, NimbleTV signs up customers for video services on behalf of its customers and manages the installation of set-tops at a physical location, where it reencodes the signals and passes it along to customers, who access the service on a variety of devices, including PC browsers, Roku boxes, iOS devices, select smart TVs, and the Apple TV box (via Airplay). NimbleTV said it is the process of extending access to Android-powered devices.
Although NimbleTV does not have any direct relationships with pay-TV programmers, it claims that its approach is friendly, not disruptive, to MVPD business models.
“Our goal is to make TV easy again for consumers, while doing it in a way that supports the industry. Our approach simply improves existing pay TV – it does not displace it,” said NimbleTV CEO Anand Subramanian, in a statement.
Although NimbleTV is starting off in the U.S., it said it will “soon” expand service to other countries. Earlier this year, NimbleTV’s Web site listed several countries and U.S. cities it plans to target, including India; the United Kingdom; Germany; Dallas; Boston; Los Angeles; and Chicago. The company is currently listing a pre-order option for India.
NimbleTV, founded in 2010, raised $6 million last fall. Tribune, Greycroft Partners and Tribeca Venture Partners are among its financial backers.
