Mpls. City Council Votes To Allow CenturyLink's Prism TV

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis residents will now have a new option for TV cable, marking the first time the market's had cable competition in nearly 40 years.

Minneapolis City Council voted to allow CenturyLink to provide a cable service in the city. The service -- called Prism TV -- will be the first wire-line TV service in Minnesota.

The council approved in a 12-1 vote.

Comcast has been the only cable service provider in Minneapolis up to this point. Minneapolis City Council members are hoping adding a little competition to the market will benefit cable customers and the city.

"It's a big day for our company, and we're excited to bring this to the market," said Tyler Middleton, Operations Vice President for Century Link in Minnesota.

CenturyLink has pledged to make Prism available to at least 15 percent of Minneapolis residents. While there's no definitive plan of where exactly the service will roll out, it will span across all 13 wards in the city.

CenturyLink said they're still working out what the cable service will cost, but say prices will be competitive.

On top of the standard cable services, Prism TV also offers features like Twitter, a daily horoscope, and a local gas price monitor.

"It allows the viewer to engage into our platform, into our content and pull from it critical or relevant local information," said Patrick Haggerty of Century Link.

CenturyLink already provides cable service in 14 other markets around the country. The service is expected to launch sometime in early June.

There is a a virtual Prism TV test drive available online. Click here to see it in action.