U.S.telecom and pay-TV behemoth AT&T Inc. T has seemed to disappoint its DirecTV Now customers. According to a recent report by The Business Journal, the company plans to end the promotional offer for its DirecTV Now package. The ‘Go Big’ package of AT&T’s DirecTV Now, which offers more than 100 channels for $35 per month including live and on-demand programming as well as premium add-on options, is slated to end on Jan 9, 2017.
While the Go Big plan price will increase to $60 a month, the charges for the other DirecTV Now packages -- Live a Little ($35 per month for more than 60 channels); Just Right ($50 per month for more than 80 channels); and Gotta Have It ($70 per month for more than 120 channels) – will remain the same.
The present DIRECTV Now customers enjoy monthly savings of $25. However, this may change as the price hike is subject to future programming cost increases and the expenses related to signing of deals with cable channels, which are applicable to all packages.
DirecTV Now Package
On Nov 28, 2016, AT&T launched its over the top (OTT) online streaming service ‘DirecTV Now’ at a press event in New York City. By foraying into the OTT space, the company has joined the likes of DISH Network Corp. DISH and Sony Corporation SNE in offering OTT services such as Sling TV and Playstation Vue, respectively.
AT&T stated that customers will be able to access and stream the service over a wired or wireless Internet connection using a variety of connected devices and without requiring additional hardware, satellites, long-term contracts or credit checks. The customers of DIRECTV will be able to access the service on their mobile devices through a DIRECTV app.
At the end of Nov 2016, AT&T announced agreements with Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. FOXA and Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks to expand the number of channels on DirecTV Now. This deal was aimed at bringing Fox Network’s content and Entertainment Studios’ cable television networks -- COMEDY.TV and JUSTICECENTRAL.TV – to the DirecTV Now package.
To Conclude
AT&T’s DirecTV Now can prove to be a major revenue driver in the days ahead. However, aggressive pricing related to non applicability of data caps for the service in wireless plans may be subjected to net neutrality scrutiny. Moreover, the telco’s OTT service was charged on anti-competitive grounds by U.S. telecom regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The company’s recent zero-rating practices and DirecTV plans also seem to suppress competition and thus violate the FCC’s net neutrality rules.