U.S. telecoms try to lure new customers with free streaming services. Verizon has teamed up with Apple to offer half a year of Apple Music at no additional cost.
What’s even ore interesting is that the wireless provider calls this “just the first step in an exclusive partnership with Apple.”
Exactly what Angie Klein, Verizon VP of marketing, meant when she called this a “first step” is unknown. But a recent unconfirmed report indicated that the carrier wants to collaborate with Apple on a TV service to stream over its nascent 5G network.
Apple is developing dozens of TV shows without announcing how these are going to be made available to the public. Perhaps Verizon will be part of the distribution.
Verizon + Apple Music for now
Apple Music subscribers have access more than 45 million songs. These can be streamed to any Apple computer, from iPhone to HomePod. Verizon customers who sign up for the entertainment service can use the carrier’s 4G LTE network or Wi-Fi.
While Apple Music has many fans, this is just an extended trial period. After half a year, Apple Music goes back to $9.99 a month. Unless Verizon can come up with other incentives, just a temporary break on a music service doesn’t compare well to the carrier’s rivals.
AT&T bundles almost 30 TV channels with its unlimited plans. T-Mobile includes a pair of Netflix subscriptions with some of its plans. Sprint offers Hulu and TIDAL music to its unlimited subscribers.
The deal between Apple Music and Verizon goes into effect August 16. When we’ll hear about followup moves in their “exclusive partnership’ is anyone’s guess.