Verizon Breaks Pay-TV Bundle as Competition Mounts

Verizon Communications said its FiOS service will offer new TV packages aimed at giving customers flexibility to purchase only certain groups of channels they want to watch, the latest sign of how pay-TV providers are adapting to stepped-up competition.

Starting April 19, consumers will be able to sign up for a slim package of TV channels that includes broadcasters such as ABC and Fox, as well as CNN, AMC, Food Network and others. They can then add on “channel packs” covering various genres, such as sports, kids, pop culture and lifestyle. FiOS’s cheapest plan will cost $55 a month and will include two channel packs. Each additional package, which can consist of about 10 to 17 channels, will cost $10 a month. Customers will be able to switch to a different channel pack after having one for 30 days. The FiOS plan will relegate some of the most well-known cable TV channels to add-on tiers. ESPN, for example, is part of the sports pack, along with Fox Sports 1. Viacom’s Nickelodeon is in the kids pack. Comcast’s USA, and Time Warner’s TNT are in the entertainment pack. That raises the prospect that those networks could lose Verizon subscribers if customers don’t select the channel packs that include them.