Layer3 TV wants to change the way you watch television. But it's not trying to build the next Hulu, Netflix or other cord-cutting app. The startup believes the future of TV involves cable--just a better version than what Comcast and others are offering today.
Layer3, a Denver startup with nearly $100 million in funding, officially launched last year and chose Chicago as the first market-wide rollout of its service. The company, which claims to vastly improve customer service compared to the traditional cable giants--a frequent complaint among cable users--and offers tech upgrades like 4K compatibility and recommendation algorithms to help you find what to watch, said Chicago was a logical market to launch its service.
"[Chicago] has the requisite, what I would call heavy TV consumption, you see in the Midwest and colder regions," said CEO and co-founder Jeff Binder, who is a Chicago native and former Motorola executive. "People have to stay home in the winter time and watch TV. So we thought it would be a great place to launch as we moved into the marketplace."
Layer3 is the first new cable company in more than a decade to launch in the Chicago area. Binder wouldn't give any subscriber statistics since it began operating here in September, other than it's seeing double-digit percent growth every week.
"Consumers love the product," he said. "The uptake has been much better than we had expected."
Layer3's wireless set-top box offers users more than 200 HD channels, a Netflix-like recommendation service that learns what movies and shows you like over time, and the ability to access Netflix and Hulu, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter from your TV. It lets you record 400 hours of content and offers full 4K resolution.
The price point is similar to what you'd expect with traditional cable providers; the service ranges from $80 to $150 a month, depending on if you add-on shows such as HBO and Showtime.
But Binder says Layer3 can further differentiate itself through customer service. While cable users routinely say they are unhappy with their service, according to Consumer Reports, Layer3 says it's built a team of US-based customer service reps that can respond 24/7 via chat, text or phone.
"It's no secret that consumers have been underserved by their cable providers when it comes to a care and support perspective," Binder said. "There's a real need for a customer focused, high quality, value oriented television provider in the marketplace."
If Layer3 can truly make a dent in the cable TV market remains to be seen. The startup recently launched in its second market, Washington D.C., and it expects to be in its home city of Denver soon before rolling out to several other major markets later this quarter, Binder said.
And the current cord-cutting fad doesn't have Binder worried, he said. Consumer Reports found that only a small fraction of cable users are actually ditching their service, and the majority of homes still rely on cable.
"I don’t think [cord cutting] is a threat at all," he said. "While it gets a lot of noise in the press, and people buy alternative products alongside their cable products, the reality is the vast majority of US households still want a myriad of channels."
Image via Layer3 TV
