If you live in parts of Nebraska or Indiana, your cable TV company may soon no longer offer cable TV through a cable TV box. Instead, they are going all-in on streaming with a Fire TV Stick.
Great Plains Communications quietly started to send customers Fire TV Sticks to replace their cable TV boxes and now offers a streaming TV service called GPC iTV to its cable TV customers.
“There has definitely been a shift in how we watch TV! For several years, more and more of our customers have been asking for options that allow them to view their TV shows at times convenient for them, on the devices they use,” said Laura Kocher, Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations. “At Great Plains Communications, we introduced GPC iTV streaming video in 2021. Our customers have reacted favorably to the streaming TV delivery. An Amazon Firestick is included at no extra charge. Additionally, each family member can manage their own preferences, there are no monthly equipment fees, local channels are included and there’s a 3-day playback option.” Great Plains Communications said in a statement to Cord Cutters News.
This new TV service is—as best as we can tell—the same price as its traditional cable TV service, but it works on Fire TVs, Apple TV, and Google TV devices along with mobile devices and smart TVs.
The service includes 2 streams at once and 50 hours of cloud DVR. You can buy up to 6 extra streams (up to 8 total) according to their FAQ. GPC iTV also comes with three-day replay TV that allows you to watch most aired programs from most TV networks up to three days after the content airs even if it was not DVRed.
According to the Great Plains Communications representative Cord Cutters News talked to, its traditional cable TV service is no longer being offered. Current customers who still have the older boxes are getting them replaced by this new streaming version via Fire TV Sticks.
By moving all its TV customers to streaming, Great Plains Communications can focus on improving its Internet service without worrying about legacy TV equipment that may interfere with Internet.
Already larger cable TV companies, like Spectrum, have slowly started to do the same by pushing new boxes over older cable TV boxes. The future of TV is streaming even if you get it from a cable TV company.