Formerly | DirecTV Now (2016–2019) AT&T TV (2019–2021) |
---|---|
Company type | Division |
Industry | Pay television |
Founded | November 30, 2016 |
Headquarters | El Segundo, , United States |
Area served | United States |
Services | OTT Internet Television |
Parent | DirecTV |
Website | streamtv |
DirecTV Stream (formerly DirecTV Now and AT&T TV) is a family of streaming multichannel television services offered in the United States by DirecTV.
The brand encompasses three separate services sharing similar infrastructure and software. [1] [2] [3] DirecTV Stream, launched nationally as AT&T TV in March 2020, is the streaming television counterpart to the traditional DirecTV satellite television service. It is sold on-contract and optionally bundled in the same manner as traditional television providers, but utilizes Android TV-based set-top boxes rented to subscribers. AT&T WatchTV, [3] [4] first offered in June 2018, is a skinny bundle service aimed at cord cutters, featuring no local or sports channels. [5] [6] AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) is a formerly-offered direct-to-consumer service launched on November 30, 2016, designed to compete with other over-the-top television services, and sold without a contract. [7] [8]
On July 13, 2017, it was reported that AT&T was preparing to introduce a cloud-based DVR streaming service as part of its effort to create a unified platform across the DirecTV satellite television service and DirecTV Now services, with U-verse to be added soon. [9] [10] [11]
In March 2019, DirecTV Now instituted a new package structure for new subscribers with fewer channels included (although with HBO now included in the base package), and increased pricing for all subscribers. [12] By the second quarter of 2019, DirecTV Now lost 168,000 subscribers (decreasing to 1.3 million), with AT&T citing "higher prices and less promotional activity" as reasoning. [13]
On July 30, 2019, AT&T announced an upcoming streaming television service known as AT&T TV, which would feature an Android TV-based set-top box with a Google Assistant-based voice remote, use the same apps used by DirecTV Now, and offer cloud DVR with 500 hours of storage. Unlike DirecTV Now, this service is sold on a contract basis (and in bundles with AT&T Internet), and requires the rental or purchase of proprietary set-top boxes. The service allows user self-installation, but activation fees are still charged. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson referred to AT&T TV as a "workhorse" service succeeding DirecTV and AT&T U-verse in its pay television business. [14] The service was initially launched in selected markets in California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, with additional markets to follow. Concurrently it was announced that DirecTV Now would re-brand as "AT&T TV Now". [15] [16] [17] [18] The similar names between the different services have been noted as possibly causing confusion, with media outlets even citing examples occurring within the company itself. [1] [2]
In September 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed against AT&T, alleging that it had falsely inflated its reported number of AT&T TV Now subscribers by engaging in "unrelenting pressure and strong-arm tactics" and giving unwanted subscriptions to the service to customers without their consent, as well as making false claims surrounding risks related to the service in its SEC filings related to the purchase of Time Warner. [19] [20]
On February 25, 2021, AT&T announced that it would spin off DirecTV, U-Verse and AT&T TV into a separate entity, selling a 30% stake to TPG Capital while retaining a 70% stake in the new standalone company. The deal was closed on August 2, 2021, at which point the provider adopted its current name. [21] [22]
In December 2022, DirecTV Stream announced it would raise prices to offset higher costs associated with distributing broadcast and cable networks to users. [23] [24] The price increases rolled out on January 22, 2023, with most customers paying between $5 and $10 extra for channels they already received. [25] It was the second consecutive year DirecTV Stream raised prices on customers. [26]
The service consists of four main bundles, including the base "Entertainment" service, "Choice" (which adds regional sports networks), "Ultimate", and "Premier". [27]
The service's base package "Entertainment" (included channels from co-owned division WarnerMedia as well as the seven other major television conglomerates: The Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation, NBCUniversal, Discovery, A&E Networks, AMC Networks, and ViacomCBS. [28] The "Premiere" package adds HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, and StarzEncore, and the various additional sports channels.
Previous packages started at $35.00 "Live a Little" (Replaced by "Entertainment") and ranged up to $70 "Gotta Have it" (Replaced by "Gotta Have It") these packages are no longer available, but are still accessible to existing subscribers. The packages currently offer the same channels as prior packages, just at a higher premium. [29]
On March 2, 2020, AT&T TV launched nationally. [27] AT&T president John Stankey stated that AT&T TV would be promoted as the company's main pay television service, with DirecTV being downplayed outside of markets with insufficient broadband quality to use AT&T TV. [30] AT&T TV Now would struggle through 2019, with a loss of 138,000 subscribers in 2020 Q1 according to its quarterly earnings report. The service as a whole was down to 788,000 subscribers, compared to its peak of 1.86 million subscribers, before the large discounts to attract initial subscriber interest were scaled back. [31]
On January 12, 2021, AT&T discontinued their Plus and Max plans to new subscribers, shifting them towards new AT&T TV packages (starting at $69.99). The packages are $15 more expensive than the previous base package, and includes channels owned by AMC Networks, Discovery Inc. and A+E Networks. [32]
On January 13, 2021, AT&T announced it would stop selling AT&T TV Now to new customers, and instead redirect new and existing customers to AT&T TV. Per the AT&T TV Now website, there are no long-term contracts for AT&T TV and compatible consumer devices can be used. [33]
AT&T's WatchTV service offered linear channels owned by its fellow division WarnerMedia, as well as A&E Networks, AMC Networks, Discovery and ViacomCBS.[ citation needed ] This service shut down on November 30, 2021.[ citation needed ]
DISH Network L.L.C., a subsidiary of EchoStar, provides multichannel television and satellite television via Dish Network, mobile phone service via Dish Wireless, Boost Mobile, and Boost Infinite, as well as over-the-top IPTV service via Sling TV.
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as television shows and films, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable television, and/or satellite television systems.
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, just ahead of Comcast, and the largest pay TV operator ahead of Comcast and AT&T. Charter is the fifth-largest telephone provider based on number of residential lines.
NFL Sunday Ticket is an out-of-market sports package that broadcasts National Football League (NFL) regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all the regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS. The ideal customer of this package is presumed to be a fan of a team who is unable to see their team on local television because they do not reside in one of that team's markets, or sports bars who want to increase business by attracting fans of out of market teams. Beginning with the 2023 NFL season, for residential customers in the United States, NFL Sunday Ticket moved exclusively to YouTube TV, as well as to YouTube's recently-launched Primetime Channels service as a standalone subscription option. The league then formed a new company called EverPass Media to distribute the package to bars, restaurants, and other commercial venues. From 1994 to 2023, the package was distributed in the United States exclusively by DirecTV.
U-verse TV is a DirecTV brand of IPTV service. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse was originally a triple play package that included broadband Internet, IP telephone, and IPTV services in 48 states.
Audience Network was an American pay television channel that was owned by AT&T. It featured a mix of original and acquired series, specials, and feature films. The network operated as a commercial-free service and broadcast its programming without editing for content. It was originally exclusive to DirecTV, though it was also added to AT&T U-verse after AT&T's 2015 acquisition of DirecTV. It was also made available on later AT&T streaming efforts, including AT&T TV and AT&T Watch TV, a lower-cost option available to AT&T Mobility customers. As of 2019, the channel had a subscription base of 26 million. The channel ceased operations on May 22, 2020.
DirecTV is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It also provides traditional linear television service delivered by IP through its U-verse TV brand and a Virtual MVPD service through its DirecTV Stream brand. Its primary competitors are Dish Network, traditional cable television providers, IP-based television services, and other over-the-top video services.
Multichannel television in the United States has been available since at least 1948. The United States is served by multichannel television through cable television systems, direct-broadcast satellite providers, and various other wireline video providers; among the largest television providers in the U.S. are YouTube TV, DirecTV, Altice USA, Charter Communications, Comcast, Dish Network, Verizon Communications, and Cox Communications. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 defines a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) as "a person such as, but not limited to, a cable operator, a multichannel multipoint distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, or a television receive-only satellite program distributor, who makes available for purchase, by subscribers or customers, multiple channels of video programming", where a channel is defined as a "signaling path provided by a cable television system."
A la carte pay television, also referred to as pick-and-pay, is a pricing model for pay television services in which customers subscribe to individual television channels. For subscription distribution services, a la carte pricing contrasts with the prevailing model of bundling, in which channels are grouped into packages that are offered on an all-or-nothing basis.
YouTube TV is an American streaming television service operated by YouTube, a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. Announced on February 28, 2017, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor offers a selection of live linear channel feeds and on-demand content from more than 100 television networks and over 30 OTT-originated services, as well as a cloud-based DVR.
TV Everywhere refers to a type of American subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" themselves as current subscribers to the channel, via an account provided by their participating pay television provider, in order to access the content.
Verizon Fios is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service provided by Verizon Communications that operates over a fiber optical network within the United States.
HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media players among other devices.
PlayStation Vue was an American streaming television service that was owned by the Sony Interactive Entertainment subdivision of the Sony Corporation of America division of Sony. Launched with a limited major-market rollout on March 18, 2015, the service – which was structured in the style of a multichannel video programming distributor – combined live TV, on-demand video, and cloud-based DVR to stream television programs, movies, and sporting events directly to a PlayStation console or other supported device – including smart TVs, digital media players and apps – without a subscription to a cable or satellite television provider. Targeting cord cutters, PlayStation Vue was designed to complement subscription video-on-demand services. As of August 26, 2018, the service had approximately 745,000 subscribers. On October 29, 2019, Sony announced PlayStation Vue would be ending service on January 30, 2020, because "the highly competitive Pay TV industry, with expensive content and network deals, has been slower to change than we expected".
Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aims to complement subscription video on demand services for cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated services that can be streamed through smart TVs, digital media players and apps. The service is available in the United States and Puerto Rico as of 2015.
HBO Now was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on April 7, 2015, the service allowed subscribers on-demand access to HBO's library of original programs, films and other content on personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices and digital media players. Unlike HBO Go, HBO's online video on demand service for existing subscribers of the linear television channel, HBO Now was available as a standalone service and does not require a television subscription to use, targeting cord cutters who use competing services such as Netflix and Hulu. As of February 2018, HBO Now had 5 million subscribers.
Frontier Fiber is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service that operates over a fiber-optic communications network. Service is offered in some areas of the United States by Frontier Communications in areas built out and formerly served by Verizon, using the same infrastructure as its Fios service. Other service providers often use fiber optics in the network backbone and existing copper or coax infrastructure for residential users. Frontier's service began in 2009 with the acquisition of portions of Verizon's network, and networked areas expanded through 2015 through similar acquisitions, although some areas do not have service or cannot receive TV and phone service because of franchise agreements.
Philo is an American internet television company currently based in San Francisco, California, that was first founded at Harvard University in 2010 by Tuan Ho and Nicholas Krasney. Investors in the company include HBO, Andrew McCollum, and Mark Cuban. The company and its service is named in honor of one of the pioneering engineers of television, Philo T. Farnsworth. As of 2021, their OTT streaming television service has over 800,000 subscribers.
FuboTV Inc. is an American streaming television service serving customers in the United States, Canada, and Spain that focuses primarily on channels that distribute live sports. Depending on country, channels offered by Fubo may potentially include access to EPL, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, CPL and international football, plus news, network television series and movies.