Earlier yesterday, a rumor surfaced claiming that T-Mobile would be rolling out a brand new ad-supported TV streaming service over the next few weeks. The rumor didn’t seem all that outrageous given previous reports that T-Mobile has been working on rolling out a skinny bundle of select TV channels.
While the rumored T-Mobile TV streaming service was a far cry from the revolutionary and “disruptive new TV service” T-Mobile CEO John Legere promised to roll out in 2018, it turns out that T-Mobile’s TV plans are even more uninspiring than we first thought.
As it turns out, T-Mobile’s foray into streaming will begin with a “snackable content app” on two phones under the company’s Metro brand. So what does “snackable content” even mean? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. In a best-case scenario, the app in question would allow users to watch live TV. Simple? Sure. But wholly uninspiring.
Not quite. We’re working with Metro by T-Mobile on a snackable content app launching on two phones next month. https://t.co/ptAiWAyZ3g
— XUMO (@XumoTV) January 25, 2019
All told, T-Mobile’s tepid foray into the world of streaming is indicative of how flooded and competitive the streaming market already is. Not only do we already have an abundance of pay-based streaming sites with original content from the likes of Netflix, HBO, and Amazon, you’ve also got options like DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, Apple’s upcoming streaming service, the forthcoming Disney+, and many more. Realistically, T-Mobile entering the fray with a legit TV streaming service would likely make little to no dent in the marketplace at this time.
Broadly speaking, cutting the cord was supposed to make our lives a whole lot easier but the opposite has seemingly happened. Sure, we’ve broken free from exorbitant cable bills, but the media landscape is more complicated than ever before. And with entrenched players like Netflix raising prices, subscribing to all of the top streaming sites can sometimes add up so fast as to compete with the cable bills of old.
