Verizon folds Go90 into Oath, widens its content distribution

Verizon has folded its US video streaming service, Go90, into its Oath division, in a move that see Go90 content distributed through other digital channels.

Tim Armstrong

Speaking at the Code Media conference in California, Oath CEO Tim Armstrong said that, “Go90 will be redistributed inside of the super-large distribution that we have overall”.

Oath encompasses brands including Yahoo, Aol, Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Tumbler. Armstrong said Go90 will now essentially service as “a content engine, content library, content partnerships” for some of those digital channels.

“I would say that we had kind of two separate strategies before. Now we’re going with one strategy,” said Armstrong.

Go90 content will start to appear Oath services like HuffPost, Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance, allowing Go90 “to get distributed at scale”.

“You’re going to see the Go90 strategy and library get folded into a much larger distribution strategy,” added Armstrong.

Asked whether the Go90 brand would remain, he said it would – with the caveat “I don’t know for how long”.

Last year Go90 slimmed down its initial eight-channel line-up to four channels – Go90 Saga, Go90 XO, Go90 Zone and Go90 Session – focusing on sci-fi, sports, pop culture and counterculture.

Announcing the move at MIPTV, Ivana Kirkbride, the service’s chief content officer, said “our initial eight channel approach to programming was not working”, adding that Go90 would start to use a personalised recommendation engine and algorithmic programming to target viewers more effectively.

The youth-focused over-the-top service first launched in 2015.