DirecTV Now offers HBO & Cinemax as add-ons for $5 per month each
NEW YORK – DirecTV Now announced their new live streaming television service will begin in 36 hours while promising to meet the demands of a younger, more mobile generation that expects favorite shows and movies on the go.
“We’ve been working very, very hard to bring a TV Everywhere experience,” said John Stankey, AT&T’s CEO at a press conference in New York City on Monday. “Some things have changed. We have a new segment of market we want to address. This new platform allows us to do that.”
That segment is an estimated 20 million people that do not subscribe to a traditional cable service – also referred to as “cord nevers.”
Called “Live a Little”, the entry-level subscription offers 60+ channels at $35 per month. The top tier subscription will offer 120+ channels for $70 month.
The service is expected to go live by Nov. 30.
Channel subscriptions for DirecTV Now
$35 – 60 + channels – Live a Little
$50 – 80 + channels – Just Right
$35 – 100+ channels – Go Big
$70 – 120+ channels — Gotta Have It
DirecTV Now will free AT&T customers from having to worry about data caps or overages while using the streaming service, according to Brad Bentley, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at AT&T.
“You don’t have to worry about it. It’s all part of doing business on AT&T,” Bentley said, during the press conference, which broadcasted live on Periscope.
For weeks, the company has been promoting a 100+plus channel package for $35. Bentley said that is a promotional rate. But customers who stay with DirecTV Now will be “grandfathered” into that rate, he said.
Perhaps the biggest surprise announcement: HBO and Cinemax can be added to any channel subscription for $5 per month each.
The new service will require no annual contract, no cable box and allows customers to cancel anytime. Customers will also be allowed to move between subscription tiers on their own. Instead of getting a bill, customers will see a statement on their debit card or bank account.
Customers who prepay for one month will get a free Amazon Fire TV stick. Customers who pay three months in advance will get an Apple TV, company officials said.
The company also showed another over-the-top product called Fullscreen, which caters to teens and 20-somethings.
According to Melissa Repko, tech reporter for The Dallas Morning News, Cloud DVR will not be available with DirecTVNow when its released, but will come in 2017.
Founder and Editor of The Cord Cutting Report. Before launching the site in 2016, he worked for more than two decades as a staff writer or correspondent for a number of daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe. His enthusiasm for tech began with the Atari 2600. Follow @james_kimble
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