Representing the first foray for a mobile phone provider into the streaming universe, Verizon announced that its mobile subscribers can add the advertising-supported tier of both Max and Netflix for $10/month.
This represents a 40% discount from the $17/month consumers would spend to sign up directly with the streamers for those services. Verizon Mobile customers can also take advantage of a Disney bundle deal, adding the advertising-supported tiers of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ for $10/month.
By offering these discounts, Verizon hopes to gain a competitive advantage during the busy holiday season against AT&T, T-Mobile, and other wireless providers. The Verizon bundles became available starting on December 7th.
For the streamers, bundles such as the Verizon deal and a similar arrangement with cable provider Spectrum (Charter) allow the streamers to expand the audience for their ad-supported tiers. This helps the streamers provide advertisers with the ability to reach a larger audience.
Aside from Netflix, all other streaming services are coping with rising costs and massive operational losses. Therefore, establishing a new revenue stream from advertising is seen as a key contributor to a financial turnaround. We expect to see more bundle offerings as streamers strive to expand their audience for advertisers to the fullest extent possible.