Netflix and Verizon are renewing an offer giving customers of the telecom firm’s +Play platform a 12-month subscription at no extra charge if they pay for a year’s worth of a different streaming service.
The news comes roughly a year after the launch of +Play, an online platform enabling users to organize their streaming subscriptions and discover new viewing options. The aggregator is similar to initiatives by the likes of smart-TV maker Vizio and large-scale streaming gateways like Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Customers of Verizon wireless, 5G Home and LTE Home will be eligible for the extended Netflix offer. In order to get the first year of Netflix’s Premium subscription tier at no extra charge, customers must buy an annual subscription to one of the other outlets offered via +Play, a roster including Paramount+, Starz and AMC+. Beyond entertainment, the service has also expanded into categories like fitness, lifestyle, wellness and education.
Along with announcing the Netflix re-up, Verizon said a roster of new partners coming to +Play. That new group includes Blue Apron, FlixLatino, KOCOWA+, Hallmark TV, Marquee TV, MasterClass, Paramount+, Quello Concerts by Stingray, UP Faith and Family and Wondrium.
Erin McPherson, Chief Content Officer of Verizon Consumer Group, said the Netflix relationship and the expansion of +Play give the platform “never-before-seen offers and bundles” that benefit consumers. “It’s a marketplace for our partners to leverage even broader direct-to-consumer reach and engagement, and it advances Verizon’s strategy of innovating and building new business models” on its network, she added.
The multi-billion-dollar launch of several streaming outlets during a span of months in 2019 and 2020 has given way to a period of regrouping for the industry. Both direct-to-consumer streamers and larger packagers of streaming continue grapple with how to make the viewing experience smoother. With nearly 300 subscription options still swirling around the marketplace and programming exclusives continuing apace, aggregators like Verizon +Play have sought to create one-stop shops for their customers. Centralized billing is another part of the appeal.
