C Spire
Wireless providers with a live TV service aren't hard to find these days. AT&T offers its customers DirecTV Now and Verizon has its own Go90 service to entice new customers. Mississippi-based C Spire is the latest to offer an app-based HD TV service, C Spire TV.
The company promises the full complement of channels you'd expect to have with a traditional cable package, but they aren't giving out specifics yet. C Spire already has traditional internet and home TV services in addition to wireless, which might have let them leverage existing deals and relationships to provide content.
The C Spire TV app will be on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku as well phones and tablets. The app will also have a cloud DVR feature to let you record and watch shows at home or on the go via the C Spire app. This may give the service an edge over DirecTV, which doesn't have a cloud DVR feature yet, and Sling, which has a limited one. In addition, C Spire TV will integrate with Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices so you can search for and start shows with your voice. According to a company spokesperson, this all happens via a back-end server that relays your voice commands to the C Spire app for a "seamless" experience.
Aside from these integrated features, the relatively small company is playing catch-up here. Its larger competitors, including cable providers like Comcast, already have solid offerings, and C Spire's new service is only rolling out to its gigabit internet customers in Mississippi this spring. That said, C Spire TV promises to offer pretty much the same thing as traditional cable, without the cable box. It might be a solid option for customers in the service area looking to cut the cord.
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