Layer3 TV, a Denver startup with nearly $100 million in funding, wants to take on Comcast. And its service just became available in Chicago this week.
The startup, which is 4K compatible, uses a recommendation algorithm to help you find what to watch, and claims to offer improved customer service compared to the traditional cable giants. The service starts at around $80 and costs up to $150, depending on if you want add-ons like HBO and Showtime. Layer3 TV is launching with a $79 1-year promotion, which gives you access to its 200 HD channels, and the ability to store up to 2,000 shows and movies and record up to eight shows at once.
The service also lets you watch Netflix and Hulu, YouTube, and check in with your Facebook and Twitter feeds right from your TV.
With similar prices and channel offerings to traditional cable packages, Layer3 TV is not for the cord cutters out there. Instead, it's for those who might be fed up with their current service, but aren't quite ready to throw in the towel on cable. Customer satisfaction rates for cable companies have plummeted, but even as cord cutting rates have risen, only a small percentage of cable users are actually ditching service all together.
There's clearly still a large demand for cable, and Layer3 TV thinks it's poised to fill a need for customers fed up with Comcast, Time Warner, and other services.
Chicago is the first full major market rollout for Layer3 TV, according to the Chicago Tribune. The startup launched in 2013 and was founded by Jeff Binder, a former Chicagoan and executive at Motorola, and Dave Fellows, a former CTO at Comcast and AT&T Broadband. The company is also made up of former Google, CNN, Fox, Time Warner, Cablevision, and Microsoft executives.
The company told the Tribune that it expects to expand into two more markets this year and a "handful" of others in 2017.
Image via Layer3 TV
