Frontier and YouTube have inked a deal to bring the cable alternative streaming service YouTube TV to Frontier’s Internet and pay television customers.
As part of the deal, Frontier Internet customers who sign up for a YouTube TV subscription through the company will receive $10 off their plan for the first 12 months, bringing the cost of YouTube TV down to $63 a month after the service’s recent price increase.
Frontier’s pay TV customers who sign up for YouTube TV will save even more: $15 a month for the first 12 months, bringing the cost of YouTube TV for those customers down to just $58 a month for a year.
Frontier will offer a native billing experience for customers who sign up through YouTube TV through them, meaning Internet and pay TV customers who sign up for YouTube TV through Frontier won’t have two separate bills to pay. Instead, YouTube TV will appear as a line item on a Frontier customer’s monthly Internet or pay TV bill.
The deal comes as YouTube is set to become the exclusive distributor of the NFL Sunday Ticket, which will be offered as an add-on subscription package through YouTube PrimeTime Channels and YouTube TV. The cost of the package has not been revealed; Sunday Ticket was priced between $200 and $300 a year when it was offered through satellite broadcaster DirecTV.
The pact between Frontier and YouTube TV won’t necessarily see the end of Frontier’s own pay television packages, which will remain available to new and existing customers for the foreseeable future. Instead, the deal is meant to provide additional television options to Frontier customers who want Internet through the company and other options for their TV experience.
“Frontier is a natural partner for YouTube TV, due to our shared dedication to customer choice and flexibility,” Tony Archibong, the managing director of global product and partnerships at YouTube, said in a statement this week.
Currently, YouTube TV counts more than 5 million paid and free trial customers (the company doesn’t break out the number of paid customers versus those on free trials). The deal with Frontier is expected to help generate even more interest in the service, and the unified billing feature could help convince customers who already pay for Frontier Internet to stick around with YouTube TV over the long term.
“Our partnership with YouTube TV makes it easier for customers to ditch cable,” John Harrobin, Frontier’s executive vice president of consumer relations, said. “We take our position as the un-cable provider seriously and are constantly listening to consumers. Many want one source for internet and TV, and that’s what this partnership is all about.”
