Marianne Paskowski

Verizon Makes Savvy Local Move in DC

March 27, 2007 4:25 PM

Verizon, which has been rolling out its FiOS video services for the past two years, is making a very smart move in the Beltway, where our nation’s regulators are fine tuning the telecommunications act.

So beyond offering up traditional cable fare, the phone company will also roll out a local news channel, FiOS1 at the end of this month in that all important market, and is expected to do the same in other markets if the experiment is a success.

Verizon is actually borrowing a page from Cablevision Systems Inc, which for years has offered News 12 to its 3 million viewers. I loved it when I lived in Cablevision’s footprint and I miss it here in Comcast’s territory.

In Washington FiOS will be marketing its services against Comcast. And unlike Cablevision, Comcast does not yet offer a local news channel of its own, just a regional news channel which is hardly the same, emanating from Philadelphia with some local feeds from places like Boston.

I predict Verizon will get some traction from FiOS1. Would you watch if your cable operator had one? I sure would, and hope FiOS1 is a home run.