Pay TV is the easiest way to watch the shows you like. You sit down, grab the remote, and you’re instantly transported to the land of reality TV and sports. But once you leave the house, there’s no uniform way to watch your shows without additional hardware. NimbleTV wants to fix that.
NimbleTV’s TV everywhere service launches today in the New York metropolitan area. It streams the pay TV channels you subscribe to directly to your iPhone, computer browser, Roku, Apple TV, or other smart TVs. In addition to streaming live TV, its cloud-based DVR feature means you can record a show to watch later while on the road.
At launch the service will only work in New York and requires an authenticated cable subscription for the add-on subscription. It starts at $3.99, and includes up to 24 channels. You’ll have to check with NimbleTV about which channels you’ll receive for your pay TV subscription. The service currently supports Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Verizon FIOS, and RCN.
If you’re not a cable subscriber, NimbleTV has a concierge service that signs you up for a cable subscription and the service. That starts at $30 a month. Both types of accounts require an authenticated address within a supported pay-TV service’s New York area. In other words, you can’t sign up for New York TV if you live in St. Louis.
NimbleTV is quick to point out that it’s not affiliated with any cable or satellite provider. It also told WIRED in 2012 that it didn’t foresee any legal issues with the service. “SlingBox has been around for 10 years and people placeshift all the time,” said CEO Anand Subramanian. “This is very similar.”
Legal issues aside, if you live in New York and you vacation in France, Japan, or even St. Louis, taking your cable TV with you via a Roku or Apple TV is pretty compelling.
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