In the latest variation on the streaming bundle theme, Vizio is launching a package of Starz and AMC+.At $13.99 per month, the combo is nearly $7 less than the $20.98 cost of each service individually. Viewers must have a Vizio account to purchase the bundle.While a wide range of bundles have sprung up in recent years from wireless providers, pay-TV providers, major channel stores and even airlines, the Vizio offering is unique for its pairing of a major streaming platform directly with programmers.Vizio, which was acquired last year by Walmart, is the No. 2 maker of smart-TVs in North America. It has built a sizable presence in free, ad-supported streaming, but Monday’s news signals its ambitions to leverage its scale to address the cluttered subscription marketplace.“What I think is really compelling is, the data that we have from a platform perspective allows us to know which customers this will be most interesting to,” Katherine Pond, Group Vice President of Platform Content & Partnerships at Vizio, told Deadline in an interview. “We can be highly targeted. We can create special messaging and A/B test the different creatives that we’re putting out there in market to find those customers and bring them into this service.”In the world of streaming, which is exponentially less certain for programmers than the old 2-year cable contract days, that means ideally finding customers who are less likely to cancel their subscription. Starz and AMC+ were game to participate in the Vizio offering because they already been bundled together in the marketplace (though not with a platform), Pond said.In addition to helping identify desirable customers, the exec added, “We’re also developing permanent touchpoints in our UI for these bundles to live. Real estate is hard to come by for these content distributors and so any time we can come to them and say, as a part of this opportunity, you have a whole set of touchpoints that is always on, always discoverable to consumers.”While streaming leader Netflix has downplayed the value of bundling, a number of other major players have been pushing in that direction. Disney and Warner Bros Discovery, for example, created a bundle of Max, Disney+ and Hulu last year. Although such bundles exist, Pond said, “who’s managing the subscription?” Vizio is looking to create “ease of use,” especially in terms of payments.The Starz-AMC initiative took root last August at Vizio’s developer conference, when the company signaled its interest in creating bundles. Pond said plans call for more tailored bundles reflecting the programming interests of Vizio users. In one hypothetical scenario, British drama fans, for example, could put together Acorn TV, Britbox and PBS.“We can look at our platform data and say, ‘What other apps is this customer using? What else are they engaged with? What is the behavior that happened right before someone churns and how do we prevent that?'”As far as how that data will be shared, Pond didn’t lay out specifics but she said “everybody benefits” from a deeper understanding of customers.“We’re excited to partner with Vizio to provide high-quality, bold programming at exceptional value,” said Alison Hoffman, President, Starz Networks in a statement. “Bundles like this elevate the streaming experience for customers and enable us to broaden our reach across connected devices.”Added Amy Leasca, AMC Networks EVP, Partner Management & Strategy, “We’re excited Vizio customers will now have even more ways to experience all that AMC+ has to offer.”
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