Regional fiber broadband provider Brightspeed is the latest client to tap MyBundle, picking the vendor to help serve up and navigate streaming TV choices for its customers.
Announced Thursday, Brightspeed launched the MyBundle platform for Brightspeed Fiber Internet customers. The partnership involves several products and services from MyBundle, which to date has accumulated around 250 broadband service provider partner customers.
That includes deploying “Find My Bundle” – a personalized recommendation tool that existing and prospective fiber internet customers can use to find streaming offers tailored for them. The tool is also meant to ease the transition from traditional pay TV to streaming by providing users with a step-by-step process to specify what they want from TV service – such as live local channels, news, or sports – and then gives a recommendation for the most simple and affordable streaming option. Brightspeed’s also tapping MyBundle for marketing and educational tools to help customers wade through a fragmented and complex streaming marketplace.
Additionally, Brightspeed’s broadband customers now have access to a co-branded version of the mobile app recently launched by MyBundle. This app is meant for customers who have already shifted to streaming, with the aim of making it easier with content search and recommendations. The free mobile app allows viewers to create and keep a watch list of TV shows and movies they want to see, with a centralized location for synopses, ratings, trailers and information on where to watch.
Brightspeed is a fiber builder that has a network now reaching more than 1.2 million homes and businesses across a 20-state footprint. It gained status as the fifth-largest ILEC in the U.S. 2023 after closing a $7.5 billion deal via its private equity owner Apollo Global Management to acquire certain Lumen Technologies’ CenturyLink assets. Unlike some of MyBundle’s broadband provider partners, Brightspeed doesn’t have legacy video assets – so isn’t making a pivot away from video, but is looking to MyBundle to help offer entertainment options to high-value broadband customers as it continues a push to replace legacy copper and deploy fiber. For fiber builders in particular, companies are likely eager to get more users on the high-speed networks they’re building out, and the ability to offer streaming TV options can help differentiate from competitors, be a value-add and potentially make internet services stickier – without the burden of business costs associated with offering traditional cable TV services.
In the announcement, Brightspeed VP of Marketing Steve DeCaspers indicated it’s targeting consumers in its footprint who may be ready to ditch their traditional cable TV.
“The launch of MyBundle will help more of those households transition from their current TV service provider to streaming with Brightspeed Fiber Internet,” said DeCaspers. “We tapped MyBundle for its depth and breadth of resources to help our customers across our 20-state footprint better navigate the ever-changing world of streaming and enable them to make a more seamless transition from traditional cable service to streaming channels.”
And while Brightspeed doesn't offer cable or video streaming services itself, DeCaspers told StreamTV Insider it knows "that sports, news and entertainment are important to our customers."
Across its partners, MyBundle is helping broadband service providers that collectively serve more than 13 million households in the U.S.
“With 250 broadband partners, MyBundle is leading the way by helping broadband providers and streaming networks grow their businesses and educate and inform consumers on ways to optimize their video consumption,” stated MyBundle co-founder and CEO Jason Cohen. “Find My Bundle and the new MyBundle mobile app are two of the vehicles MyBundle offers to increase value, and for most consumers, save lots of money compared to legacy pay TV.”
MyBundle has continued to mark momentum with its target on smaller and mid-sized broadband providers looking to offer streaming choices to customers. Earlier this month the company created a chief revenue officer position and hired former Ting executive Michael Goldstein to the role.