Verizon launches +Play in bid to solve consumer subscription overload

US telco Verizon has launched a beta version of its new web-based platform +Play, which it says will take the pain out of managing multiple content subscription. Exclusive to Verizon customers, the company is attempting to drum up interest in the new platform by offering 12 months of SVOD streamer Netflix for free.

Erin McPherson

Available to Verizon mobile, 5G Home and LTE Home Internet customers at no additional cost, +Play is “changing the subscription game” according to Verizon. The company says its customers will be able to “discover and access exclusive savings, new content and entertainment” +play will also help customers “keep track of their subscriptions, view what they already have purchased through Verizon, and monitor how much those subscriptions cost each month. +play will send notifications to customers to alert them of free trial periods ending and if there are price changes.”

Aside from Netflix, more than 20 services are already sitting within Verizon’s subscription content ecosystem. These include Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, HBO Max, discovery+, AMC+, NFL+, NBA League Pass, Peloton, A+E Networks, The Athletic, Calm and Duolingo, with more to come in 2023.

Erin McPherson, chief content officer for Verizon, said: “As one of the largest direct to consumer distributors in the US, Verizon is the partner of choice for content and subscriptions services, and we’re positioned to move the industry forward by offering customers more choice, and enabling a seamless billing and management experience. This is a huge milestone for Verizon and the industry as a whole, and we’re incredibly proud to continue to be trailblazers in the new era of content and subscription services.