I’ve written periodically of my flirtation with dumping cable for an Internet-only approach to my TV watching. I haven’t, however, pulled the trigger–mostly because cable still has a lot of live programming, such as news and sports, that I can’t replicate over the Net alone.
That’s why I’m intrigued by Sezmi, a TV service that’s announcing that it’s rolling out to its first real customers (in Los Angeles). The service aims to provide a more personalized, Net-savvy, inexpensive alternative to cable and satellite–complete with the real broadcast and cable channels you can’t get from Apple TV, Roku, or Vudu. It does so via a 1TB DVR/set-top box that provides access to three types of TV sources: broadcast stations, cable channels, and Internet content. (It snags the first two kinds over the air, via a powerful antenna in a box that looks like a loudspeaker: Sezmi simply grabs local broadcast channels as is, and the company is leasing spectrum from local broadcasters to transmit cable channels–including both standard-def and HD.)
Sezmi’s lineup of cable channels isn’t as expansive as a higher-tier package on cable or satellite, but it’s got Animal Planet, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CNN, Comedy Central, Discovery, MSNBC, MTV, Nickelodeon, Oxygen, SyFy, TBS, TCM, TLC, TNT, VH1, and more. The most notable omissions are sports channels–I don’t see ESPN or others in the lineup–and premium movie channels such as HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax. But Sezmi does offer a store that sells and rents movies and TV shows from a library of thousands of titles (powered in part by Roxio’s Cinemanow). You also get access to Internet video such as YouTube and podcasts.
The service is touting itself as
Sezmi uses its roomy 1TB hard disk to give each member of the family his or her own personalized on-demand TV experience: Grownups and kids both get program guides tailored to their watching habits that weave together broadcast, cable, and Internet shows, including ones on the DVR and ones showing at scheduled times.
The company gave me a sneak peek that included a demo of its interface: It’s impossible to come to definitive conclusions without hands-on time, and I’m particularly curious about how seamlessly it knits together its disparate sources of content. But from what I saw, it looks reasonably promising.
How much will you pay for Sezmi, and where will you get it? Its goal is to undercut the cost of cable: Basic service that only includes broadcast stations will go for $4.99 a month, and a broadcast/cable package will cost $24.99 a month. A la carte movies and TV episodes are extra. You’ll either buy the box and antenna (for $299, $50 more than TiVo charges for a DVR with one-sixth the capacity) or rent it. Once the service rolls out to more regions–which the company says will happen soon–it’ll be available both at retail stores and through service providers such as medium-sized phone companies and DSL ISPs.
I generally feel like I’m watching maybe five percent of the channels my Comcast cable service gives me–and among the very few that I’m not willing to give up are CNN, MSNBC, and TCM. So Sezmi, which has all those stations, sounds like a plausible alternative–and even if I had to plunk down $299 for the box, I’d make it up pretty quickly in the money I’d save over cable.
Cable and satellite TV subscribers: Are you basically happy, or does Sezmi sound alluring?
November 16th, 2009 at 5:09 am
“Sezmi Supreme” isn’t provided via broadband… and will only be offered in regions where they’re leasing spectrum to broadcast it OTA. That’s my understanding anyhow. USDTV tried something similar, but failed to get more than a a couple cities (Utah, Colorado, Texas) covered before running out of cash. My thoughts here:
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2009-11/sezmi-launches-la-pilot-lands-25m/
November 16th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Those channels listed in the article are the same ones I watch all the time on satellite, and that price is very alluring. The DVR functionality is also very nice, something I don’t get with my satellite package now (I need to update that).
November 16th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Live sports is the only thing keeping me on Cable tv. Sure JustinTV pirates it but to have consistent live would be the deal breaker imo…
November 16th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Live sports are never going to be free on some internet box, there are billions of dollars spent on the rights fees and you have to pay to play.
Comcast (and everyone else that has ESPN) pays disney about ~$2.50 a month for every subscriber for ESPN alone and has no choice other than not having ESPN which would cause a customer riot.
There is no solution on the horizon for the general population (people who like sports more than twitter) for getting rid of cable unless Sezmi pays $2.50 a month for each box to disney.
All of these products are doomed as they have no chance outside of a very narrow market of techies that don’t watch sports or news and gets their tv from bittorrent.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I’ve been off cable for several years now. I guess whether you can survive w/o cable all depends on your viewing habits.
What did it for me was the availability of over the air HD, for the major sports events in HD via network channels and Netflix watch instantly to catch up on TV and movies.
The rest of what I watch is on Hulu and websites. The NewsHour, Charlie Rose, The Daily Show, Colbert Report, CNN – Zakaria, Annamanpour, Washington Week, The Tonight Show, Al Jazeera English, Fringe, GritTV, etc…
You also have to be patient enough to wait a year or so for DVDs of cable shows to be released.
The only advantage Sezmi offers over my Mac Mini may be an easier to program DVR and capacity.
I suspect the rate I’m paying, $10/month for Netflix (not counting my DSL subscription, which I use for non-media related purposes), for this very patchy a-la-carte viewing is not going to last as we’re in this media companies are trying to figure out how to monetize the internet phase progresses, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
November 16th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Sezmi is a bit of a throwback to ON-TV, a short-lived over the air subscription TV service in the late 70’s founded by Norman Lear.
http://www.medianewsandviews.com/2009/11/sezmi/
November 17th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I don’t get the point of paying $5/month for broadcast TV. Is Sezmi’s wireless broadcast system better than DTV’s, reaching more homes, better quality? Why not put a DTV receiver in their DVR box? Assuming Sezmi’s coverage is better with comparable quality to justify the cost, as a cable subscriber, I’d be tempted. Truth is, though, that the cable company in my area charges as much for Cable Modem + TV as they do for Cable Modem alone, so I’d still end up paying more per month if I replaced Cable TV with this service.
November 17th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Sign me up! I did sign up to hopefully get a free 3-month demo.
November 17th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
To Heulenwolf, you’re basically paying for the guide and the internet access, etc. Not paying for the OTA, itself, just the service and DVR features
November 18th, 2009 at 10:29 am
“USDTV tried something similar.”
And where do you think those USDTV people are working?