WASHINGTON — Verizon is preparing to launch a digital video service next year that could lure more people away from traditional cable subscriptions.

The service could launch by the middle of 2015, according to Verizon Communications Inc. CEO Lowell McAdam. A lot of the technology is ready, and Verizon is working with major content companies on licensing agreements, including the four major broadcast networks, companies like Dreamworks and even some start-ups.

Verizon is trying to target millennial with the service, which may let customers pick and choose channels in an “a la carte” system.

“I think over-the-top video is right around the corner,” McAdam said at an investor conference Thursday. “We’ve got the assets in place, and I don’t feel we need an awful lot more.”

For the first time in 2013, the U.S. cable industry saw fewer people paying for television service, according to research from SNL Kagan, Bloomberg News reported. In the past five years, nearly 5 million cable subscribers have dropped their television subscription, Business Insider reported.

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