Verizon at Home

[#1]

Back in July, we confirmed for you here that Verizon had reached a deal with EPIX, a new movie channel with a broad and impressive collection of well-known titles that will be made available to FiOS TV subscribers.  Since then, we started a free preview of EPIX on our video-on-demand service, which I hope you've been enjoying.  I know I have - they offer an incredible selection of movies, with over 100 films in HD.  "Godfather Weekend" anyone?  EPIX on demand is free until the end of this month.

EPIX has exclusive rights to content from three major studios - Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate - and will offer a variety of movies including "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail," "Pink Panther 2," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and more.  Today they announced the programming that will be offered upon launch. 

EPIX plans to debut with the worldwide premiere of an exclusive 2-hour special concert event - Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet: Live from Buenos Aires" - along with "Iron Man" and an exclusive comedy special from Eddie Izzard.

We'll announce soon the date when the EPIX channel will officially launch on FiOS TV.  It will be available with a premium subscription that includes SD & HD channels, VOD and eventually online content.  We're excited to be the only provider who has reached a deal to carry this blockbuster-packed channel.  With all these movies, your friends with cable will be knocking on your door for a FiOS/EPIX movie night.

So, for now, keep enjoying that free VOD and take advantage of all that EPIX on-demand has to offer.

[#2]

It appears that Epix has posted a "launch schedule" for Friday, 10/30. Hopefully you can group the launch of this channel in with NBA TV HD and LP HD that week.

[#3]

Please keep us updated with how we can add this to our lineup. Sounds like a great idea, merging TV and online streaming.

[#4]

I'm confused by the terminology (perhaps intentionally so by Verizon) that "it will be available with a premium subscription that includes SD & HD channels, VOD "

Does this mean:

a) if you have the premium subscription that includes SD & HD channels and VOD, EPIX will be made available to you as part of your subscription, or

b) does it mean that you need to have the premium subscription that includes SD & HD channels and VOD as a prerequisite to subscribe to the channel.

[#5]

Eric-

Rumors are flying that Epix is going to be an ADDITIONAL $9.99 / month charge on top of what we are already paying.

Can you comment on this? If this is true - that's an outrageous charge for a channel with only 1 station, and an unproven track record.

I really hope this is just that, a rumor, and that Epix will be rolled into either one of the Movie packs, or the $35 / month package.

[#6]

psumatt,

We'll give you all the details on EPIX very soon, so stay tuned.  We think many movie-lovers will like all the content available with this offer.  We've had EPIX video-on-demand available for viewers to try -- at no charge -- and there has been a tremendous selection of movies. 

Eric

[#7]

Eric:

I'm a movie lover - it's one of the primary reasons that I switched to FiOS, and I can't wait for EPIX. However, if EPIX is not part of the all-inclusive movie package, count me out. I would even understand if you need to bump up the price of the package by a couple of bucks after adding EPIX to it, but there is NO WAY that I am paying $9.99/month for a single channel when I am already paying $35/month for your movie package.

I know you want to tout the VOD offering as being a value add, but you have lots of VOD content from the other premium movie channels already. As to watching movies on my PC, I find no enjoyment in that whatsoever - so it's not a value add for me either.

Be smart about this; add EPIX to your all-inclusive movie package - or count me (and I suspect many other FiOS subscribers) out. In fact, if you do make EPIX a $9.99 standalone service, it just might **bleep** me off enough to cancel the movie package and go exclusively to Netflix and Amazon on demand for my movies.

-Tim

[#8]

I won't be paying extra for this single channel either. No way.

[#9]

The potential of a seperate fee for this lone movie channel reminds me of why I left my local cable company for good 10 years ago. When they added the Fox Movie Channel they wanted extra cash for it even though I was already subscribed to all the premium movie channels. It was a nominal fee, something like $2 a month, but because of it they lost my business for good.

[#10]

Y'know, at first I was enthusiastic that Verizon would be carrying this channel.  Then I saw how they eliminated picture information from IRON MAN and INDIANA JONES.  There is just NO WAY I'm going to pay for a channel that crops new films (as HBO does, which I may be dropping soon for the same reason.)