We’ve been waiting nearly eight full months for AT&T to announce details on its “DirecTV Now” standalone streaming platform, and today the company’s CEO has finally revealed some of the most important information.
Speaking at a Wall Street Journal conference today, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson reportedly told attendees that DirecTV Now will launch in November at a price of $35/month. That puts the service $15/month above the starting point for the competing Sling TV live-TV streaming offering, and about the same price point for the barest-bones versions of Sony’s PlayStation Vue service.
Where DirecTV Now appears to be trying to compete is on content. According to reports — again, this has not been officially announced or confirmed — Stephenson says that DirecTV Now will offer 100 channels. It’s unclear if that’s included in the $35/month price, or if there will be 100 total channels available, depending on what price you pay. In the months since announcing the service, reports have indicated that DirecTV Now would have multiple subscription tiers.
Depending on how those 100 channels are divvied up — and what those channels are — DirecTV Now could be offering significantly more for your buck than Sling TV or PS Vue. Sling only has around two dozen stations for its $20/month base package (more can be added in small, themed bundles), while Vue has more than 100 channels, but you must pay significantly more than $35 to get them all. That might also be true for DirecTV Now; it’s just not clear yet.
We’ve tried to get clarification from AT&T on exactly how these channels will be parceled out, but the company is not currently answering questions about DirecTV Now. Hopefully, now that Darth Stephenson has spilled the beans — and with a launch apparently as little as two to five weeks away — official information on the service will be forthcoming.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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