Coming Down The Pike: AT&T To Sell Bundled OTT Cable
In 2015, AT&T made headlines when it purchased DirectTV for $49 billion.
Now, the company is moving forward with a new, bundled DirectTV-based over-the-top cable offering, CNN Money reports.
Its new product, DirectTV Now, will be made available for download through an app. Customers will have to sign up for the service, download the app and enter payment information to access live streaming television.
Bucking what seems to be a popular trend lately, DirectTV will be a “fat” bundle, or one that offers customers access to a large number of channels.
“These bundles are going to look much more like” the hundreds of channels that most people already get at home,” AT&T Entertainment Group CEO John Stankey said.
CNN Money further explains that the service will have DirecTV branding, but will not require a satellite dish. AT&T has plans, however, to sell satellite service for DirectTV as well as fiber optic connectivity for U-verse.
The service will also be set-top-box—and contract—free.
AT&T is moving forward with its live streaming OTT cable service both to improve accessibility for its customers and also to compete with major content delivery providers. The company is also reportedly working on a new DirectTV Mobile package, which will focus on providing on demand content like Netflix offers. DirectTV Mobile will only be available, however, for smartphones.
You can also expect to see a DirectTV Preview application, which will not require a monthly subscription. According to CNN Money, this app will contain a small number of shows and will work to convince people to purchase AT&T’s larger OTT offerings.