By Riley Kaminer
Upwards of five million Americans are cutting the cord on their traditional TV subscriptions every year. As Gen Z starts to move out on their own, further millions of Americans might become “cord nevers,” or people who rely on digital streaming services rather than linear TV.
The problem? It’s a minefield out there when it comes to finding the channels you actually want, without spending a bundle on a plethora of different services.
The good news? Hollywood, Florida-based MyBundle has got you covered.
The startup has developed a wide range of tools, including a marketplace, to help consumers figure out how to get the content they crave without breaking the bank.
At the helm of MyBundle is Jason Cohen, who left the New York hedge fund world to take part in what he described as a “once in a lifetime opportunity to build something special” to help people cut the cord.
On top of these B2C tools, MyBundle also partners with broadband providers to offer television packages with their internet subscriptions. Cohen explained that this helps providers sweeten the deal for potential customers.
“We eliminate all the research that a consumer would need to do to figure out how to get the TV that they need,” said Cohen. “Eliminating that research means less friction, which means more broadband subscribers.”
That’s more important than ever, in his estimation, since there is a rise of so-called “overbuilders,” who go into territories controlled by a legacy provider and start competing with them by providing broadband coverage.
“These overbuilders have tens of billions of dollars being invested into them by private equity companies, publicly traded companies, the government, and others,” he said. “We’ve got some real industry tailwinds – the industry continues to move in the direction we’re going.”
Since Refresh Miami caught up with MyBundle last year, the company has doubled its team size to 15 people – 5 of whom are based in South Florida. “We are a remote-first company, with a preference for South Florida,” noted Cohen.
MyBundle has inked deals with 126 broadband cable providers, on top of partnerships with the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative and the National Cable Television Cooperative to spread the word about their platform to their members around the U.S.
“There are thousands of internet service providers in this country, and we want to work with every single one of them,” Cohen said.
The startup is also continuing to expand its range of products, including a feature to allow cable providers to give their customers streaming rewards: credits that they can use to buy streaming services. Users can also expect to see MyBundle begin to be integrated directly inside other platforms, such as Sling TV.
“I’m more bullish on South Florida tech than ever,” underscored Cohen. “To me, South Florida tech is the future. Of course, we need more schools, more housing. But I’m still really excited to be here, that’s for sure.”
READ MORE ON REFRESH MIAMI:
- Cutting the cord on your TV subscription? MyBundle.TV can help you find the best deal on a streaming platform
- #MiamiTech’s Streann is out to power the content creation revolution
- For this FIU student, summer at MIT Media Lab yields ‘community of purpose’
- Sparkseeker aims to combat divisiveness through its new social media platform
