Tech startup TVWIZZ puts channel choice in consumers’ hands

You’ve heard it before: Millennials are killing the cable TV industry.

With millions of young people “cord cutting” in lieu of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, traditional cable viewership has dropped by more than 40 percent, according to Nielson.

For many, it comes down to price, said Michael Hockey, founder of TVWIZZ, a free, independent TV price comparison website allowing users to customize their cable plans by specifying the channels they actually want to watch. 

Michael Hockey

An algorithm lets users select the channels, then the platform matches them with available packages, offering price comparisons from such providers as DirecTV, CenturyLink Stream, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, Hulu Live, Sling TV, Fubo TV and Dish TV.

The technology, which Hockey launched as TVWIZZ earlier this year after relocating to Kansas City from London, is consumer driven with a goal to offer reduced prices, Hockey said.

“Cable prices are a hot topic at the moment,” he said. “It can be confusing for people to switch providers because they are unsure which TV providers carry their channels.”

TVWIZZ launched during the Labor Day weekend and generated more than 7,000 users in its first week, Hockey said.

“We had to double server capacity on Monday (Labor Day) to cope with the load,” he said.

The technology does not favor one cable company over another, Hockey said. The user-friendly design allows users to filter channels by genre and filter packages by price point or best match, he added.

“Millions of homes in America are starting to question the outdated ways of billing for pay TV, where you pay for 300 channels, but watch 10,” Hockey said. “Cord cutting is growing rapidly and TVWIZZ makes it easier for consumers to pay only for the channels they need.”

As the company grows, Hockey plans to launch similar price comparison services for the Internet, credit cards, insurance and cellular plans within one year. He’s looking forward to scaling the startup and recruiting technology jobs to Kansas City, he said.