T-Mobile’s much-anticipated TV service has proven more complex than originally thought, forcing a delay in its launch, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere promised the service would launch this year when he announced in 2017 the acquisition of Layer 3 TV, a tech TV company. T-Mobile billed the service as a breakthrough for people who ‘love their TV, but … hate their TV providers,’ promising a combination of streaming TV and online video without lengthy contracts or unwanted channel bundles.
Executives wrestled with the decision of offering a typical streaming service or waiting until 2019 to launch a more groundbreaking product, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the project.
T-Mobile didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Layer 3 TV launched in 2013, offering a new web-based TV service providing an alternative to traditional cable or satellite TV. While it offered many of the same channels as a traditional cable provider, it also integrated content from online video providers, like Netflix and YouTube. Then it layered in social media feeds to the viewing experience.
This isn’t T-Mobile’s first foray into video. Last year, the company partnered with Netflix to bundle its wireless service with Netflix’s online video offering. Three years ago it launched Binge On, a service that let customers stream unlimited data at a lower resolution quality from certain video services.