Verizon recently announced that they would no longer offer contract-based plans and other cable TVs and internet bundle offers. Instead, they will provide their customers with more flexible plans- what they are calling Mix and Match. Mix and Match is the new version of Verizon’s unlimited plans for the residential users. The users can choose from three different internet plans ranging from $40 to $80, and can also choose from other cable packages either by Verizon Fios or the ones offered by Verizon with the collaboration of YouTube TV.
The best thing about this new Mix and Match bundling feature by Verizon is that customers can alter their selected services each and every month. However, previously Verizon used to offer discounted introductory bundles upon one or two years of the contract. This forced bundling to get discounted prices sowed frustration among the customers- many wanted to avail internet alone but had to get themselves a bundle deal because of the service price’s quick escalation after the expiration of the introductory contract period.
This new Mix and Match offer by Verizon is basically adapted to cater to the changed behavior of the customer habits. According to the Barrons, Verizon Fios TV has been bearing a net loss of subscribers since 2016. This subscriber loss actually coincided with the growth of online streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, etc. These streaming services are surprisingly economical than traditional cable services. Most of the consumers especially the younger ones have opted for the online streaming service and are the most prominent cord-cutters.
All the home entertainment companies were well aware of this growing trend for quite some time which is why they gave put special emphasis onto the bundle deals. However, this strategy didn’t prove to be quite useful because it forced the customers to get themselves the plans that don’t actually match their needs or are just too much for them. This very fact motivated the staunch cable subscribers to cut their cords. Well, this is very why Verizon tried to work on some other strategy that can facilitate the customers better and can resolve this bundling problem. Verizon also improved its offerings by partnering up with Disney+ and YouTube TV. They also up-scaled Fios TV’s content distribution.
Considering the fact, mobile users are growing day by day. Verizon- being a mobile operator usually bundles the media subscriptions with the connectivity. They are seeking lessons from the terrible results of home internet and cable tv bundling offers. Bundling actually fosters a slow innovation. The practice provides incentives to the customers for the products they cannot buy separately which certainly creates an opening for standalone products and services- Netflix or Disney+ in case of online streaming services or Pay-TV.
On the other hand, AT&T is symbolic when it comes to packaging and bundling the offers. The company invested around $100 Billion to acquire DirecTV and Time Warner to strengthen its media assets but still couldn’t leverage the power of these combined assets via bundling. They still failed in driving the consumer needs and feeding the consumers’ interests. Verizon also encountered the same problem but rather paid attention to increasing the modularity of the product options and tried to expand in different dimensions like VR or cloud gaming etc. How Verizon innovatively deals with its home business will certainly be a lesson for all its competitors. They are going to utilize a smart bundling strategy in order to persuade the customers. They are not only going to implement it in the home business but also as a mobile operator they are also going to pursue advanced and ground-breaking bundling strategies as a mobile operator.
However, if you are looking for an intriguing bundle offers by some other providers too, then visit www.localcabledeals.com. There are several cable TV, phone, and internet providers such as Spectrum Hawaii, available on the platform offering persuasive packages one cannot say no to.
