Verizon slices up the bundle, lets customers choose

NEW YORK (AP) — Under pressure from an expanding number of cheaper online video services, the long-dominant bundle of channels offered by pay-TV companies is becoming a bit more flexible.

Verizon said today that it would let customers pick groups of channels that interest them, a plan that is separate from the traditional bundle that has been offered to customers for years.

The penchant for pick-and-choose online video is reshaping pay-TV. More and more people, fed up with large cable bundles with dozens of channels they don't watch and hate to pay for, are signing up for cheaper streaming services like Netflix. Amazon.com has also entered the game, as have HBO Now and Dish Network's Sling TV. Apple is reportedly working on its own version, too.

Verizon FiOS president Tami Erwin said on CNBC today that while she expects some existing customers to switch to the new plan, it will also attract new customers.

But the new FiOS Custom TV option is still fairly expensive, starting at $55, and may not appeal to people who have already cut the cord, or who have never subscribed to cable TV packages, said Jefferies analyst Mike McCormack.