Streaming Video
Verizon go90
Verizon spent over a billion dollars building go90, a free mobile-video service meant to win millennials from YouTube and Netflix — but the audience never came, and after three years it folded the service and took a ~$900 million charge.
Narrative
The story
The ambition
Verizon wanted to be more than pipes. go90, launched in 2015, was its bid to become a media and advertising power: a free, ad-supported mobile-video service built to capture young viewers with short-form originals, sports, and licensed shows — a would-be rival to YouTube.
The rise
It arrived with a splashy launch, deals with millennial-focused studios like AwesomenessTV and Vice, and reported spending of more than a billion dollars on content and acquisitions.
The cracks
The audience never came. Young viewers did not leave YouTube, Netflix, and Snapchat for a carrier's app, and view counts were often in the thousands. Even Verizon's own CEO conceded the service may have been "overhyped." Distribution and pipes did not make it a content winner.
The collapse
After layoffs and years of weak numbers, Verizon shut go90 down in 2018, folding it into its Oath media unit and taking a charge of roughly $900 million.
The aftermath
go90 became a case study in a distribution giant's failure to become a content company — proof that owning the network does not mean owning the audience.
The lessons
Distribution is not the same as demand. Controlling the pipes doesn't make people watch what you make, and audiences won't abandon the platforms they already love for a new app without a compelling reason — no amount of spending manufactures one.
Causal timeline
Failure Anatomy
- 2015
A carrier bets on content
Verizon launched go90 in 2015 as a free mobile-video service for millennials, investing heavily (reportedly up to ~$1.2 billion). [1]
- 2016
No audience
Young viewers didn't leave YouTube, Netflix, and Snapchat for a carrier's app, and view counts stayed tiny. [2]
No real demand - 2017
Can't beat the giants
go90 could not compete with entrenched video platforms, with no reason for viewers to switch. [3]
Stronger competitor - 2018
Shut down
Verizon shut go90 down in 2018, folding it into Oath and taking a charge of roughly $900 million. [4]
Structured analysis
What Went Wrong
Root causes
The audience never came. Young viewers did not leave YouTube, Netflix, and Snapchat for a carrier's app, and go90's view counts were often tiny. [2]
Entrenched video giants. go90 was trying to win mobile video against entrenched giants, with no compelling reason for viewers to switch. [3]
Immediate trigger
Verizon pulls the plug. After years of weak viewership, Verizon shut go90 down in 2018. [4]
Visible symptoms
View counts in the thousands. Much of go90's content drew audiences only in the thousands. [2]
Warning signs
Minuscule audiences from launch. The service struggled to build an audience from its 2015 debut. [2]
Affected groups
Evidence
Claims & sources
Every numbered marker in the analysis links to the claim it rests on, and each claim to its sources.
- [1]
Verizon launched go90 in 2015 as a free, ad-supported mobile-video service aimed at millennials, investing heavily — reportedly up to $1.2 billion including content and acquisitions.
- [2]
go90 failed to draw an audience — younger viewers did not leave YouTube, Netflix, and Snapchat for a carrier's app, and its view counts were often only in the thousands.
- [3]
go90 was trying to win mobile video against entrenched giants like YouTube and Netflix, with no compelling reason for viewers to switch.
- [4]
Verizon shut down go90 in 2018, folding it into its Oath media unit and taking a charge reported at about $913 million.
Sources
Go90 — Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Verizon is shutting down go90
TechCrunch · 2018-06-29