AT&T Unveils DirecTV Now Streaming TV Service With Over 100 Channels (theverge.com)

ATT has officially unveiled its DirecTV Now internet TV streaming service, which launches Wednesday, November 30th, in the U.S. on iPhone, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and PC/Mac, starting at $35 per month. The Verge reports: Like its over-the-top rivals, DirecTV Now will let customers stream live programming on smartphones, tablets, and PCs -- no cable box necessary -- and requires no long-term contracts or commitments. For a limited time, ATT will offer the "Go Big" channel tier with 100 channels for $35 per month. If you sign up in time, the offer will remain valid each month until you cancel. But that $35 rate is not the long-term pricing for 100+ channels. DirecTV Now offers step-up subscriptions that include other channels and content for a higher monthly cost. ATT has signed programming agreements with nearly all major networks with the exception of CBS and Showtime; negotiations with those companies remain ongoing. DirecTV Now allows customers to watch up to two streams simultaneously. HBO and Cinemax can be added to any of these packages for just $5 extra (each) per month. DirecTV Now is "zero rated" for the company's wireless customers, so regardless of how much time they spend streaming, that activity will have no impact on data usage for their monthly bill. Importantly, while these are the subscription rates as of today, the company is being straightforward about the possibility of increases in the future. ATT also plans to air original shows including a Taylor Swift series.

Comments

In before...

[Overzeetop]

In before the FCC scuttles net neutrality and Comcast (and all the other cable internet providers except AT&T) throttle this service to 100kbps.

Channels

[SETY]

These clowns don't get it. I don't want to watch channels. I want to watch episodes, movies, and events on my schedule (with the exception of live events). Take everything direct tv has and stream it individually, now that is something worth paying for.

Re:Channels

[un1nsp1red]

Though it has far fewer channels, SlingTV works kind of in a hybrid mode like that. You can switch to a channel and watch whatever is currently being broadcast live. However, you can also select a channel and click "down" on your remote and watch recorded content as well. Clicking an individual channel doesn't give you everything that channel has to offer, but it's usually relevant content. Hopefully they'll offer something similar. Sometimes I like the live broadcast for the simple sake of editorialized content (e.g., don't want to think about what I want to watch), and other times I have in mind exactly what I want to watch.

Streaming is shit.

[RightSaidFred99]

Don't want it unless they offer timeshifting and commercial skip. Why would I want to waste time watching commercials and be bound by when a show is actually airing, so I can party like it's 1993?

In fact this is so fucking useless, to me and probably a lot of people, it borderline makes me angry.

No thanks. I'll stick with my evil cable company and a Tivo.

Re:Too expensive

[awfar]

Agreed; and you just *know* that all they know how to do is increase it over time, wherever and whenever they can.

Not what customers want

[markdavis]

>" Like its over-the-top rivals, DirecTV Now will let customers stream live programming on smartphones, tablets, and PCs -- no cable box necessary"

Are they kidding?

Sorry, but we don't want forced streaming of channels which include commercials and other crap with no DVR and no time shifting. If streaming, we want to stream SHOWS and ONLY shows.

Haven't they learned anything from the relative failure of things like HULU?

Let me pick my channel choices

[Streetlight]

Of all of those channels, I only saw two or three that I would want to watch. I don't want ESPN. Should I completely cut the cable, let me choose the 10 channels I want, some of which aren't listed, for $1.00 each, and I might be all in. I might need to pay Comcast an extra $50 per month for unlimited data use because of data use limits now in force. I see very few channels that don't have commercials. I HATE commercials.