T-Mobile’s newly announced acquisition of Layer3 TV is unlikely to result in original content, the company’s Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert said during a media call on Wednesday. While the official didn’t completely rule out the possibility of the third largest wireless carrier in the country ultimately funding projects in the vein of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, he opinioned the current state of television offers a plethora of what T-Mobile deems excellent content, hence making any immediate moves on this front unlikely. The comment ties in with Chief Executive Officer John Legere‘s own remarks on the matter, with T-Mobile’s head saying the U.S. is currently enjoying a golden age of television despite the fact that cable and satellite service providers remain the most hated companies in the country.
The latter point was presented as T-Mobile’s main motivation to enter the TV segment after other telecom giants in the country already did the same. During the same call, Mr. Sievert revealed the company’s upcoming TV service will offer different price tiers, including an extremely affordable one. Targeted advertising will also be part of the package but it remains unclear whether it will encompass all tiers. The deal itself won’t affect Layer3 TV’s own service which will continue expanding and providing content to its existing customers, with the company also being set to keep its Denver headquarters and CEO Jeff Binder agreeing to join T-Mobile’s senior management in an unspecified role.
T-Mobile’s latest conference call also had Mr. Legere confirm the deal has been in the making while the company was still negotiating a merger with Sprint and saying the acquisition would have gone through even if the two wireless carriers agreed to a consolidation. In regards to content providers featured on the platform, Mr. Sievert said consumers should expect “all of them,” adding that the upcoming service won’t be “dumb” and “linear” as the company is seeking to deliver a highly personalized offering. The still-unnamed online TV platform will launch at some point in 2018, with a more precise availability window being likely to be disclosed come spring. No financial details of the deal have been provided by T-Mobile.