AT&T TV Now there is no more. New customers can no longer subscribe to the telecom skinny bundle TV service, similar to YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV.
Instead, customers can only subscribe to AT&T TV. Simply put: AT&T now has one virtual TV service instead of two. Existing customers will be able to continue accessing the service and should not experience interruptions, said a spokesman. Variety.
AT&T included parts of AT&T TV Now on AT&T TV, including ending the annual contract and not requiring people to own AT&T TV hardware. Instead, people can use their own compatible devices (Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, etc.) to broadcast, according to the AT&T website. There are three different price levels that customers can choose from, depending on the channels they want, including add-ons like additional sports and premium channels like HBO. Prices range from $ 70 to $ 95, more than double the original starting price for AT&T TV Now.
“We are adding more value and simplicity by combining these two streaming services into a single TV experience from AT&T,” said Vince Torres, senior vice president of marketing at AT&T. Variety.
AT&T TV Now has been a tumultuous bet, even if you look beyond the fact that AT&T has taken an already confusing name scheme (DirecTV and DirecTV Now) and has done so even worse (they became AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now, respectively, in 2019). Launched in 2016 for $ 35 a month for 65 channels, the idea was to enter the cable cutting trend. It worked for a minute, but as AT&T faced continued rising costs, licensing problems and increased competition from new players, the numbers started to drop.
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In September 2018, AT&T TV Now controlled 25% of the market share of Internet TV subscribers; in September 2020, that dropped to just 8 percent, according to data from analytical firm Antenna. While Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and Fubo are seeing some growth, AT&T TV Now has shrunk dramatically. Rising prices and channel blackouts have caused licensing divergences, and it’s not hard to see why AT&T TV Now failed.
AT&T TV Now went from a peak of 1.86 million customers in the third quarter of 2018 to less than 685,000 in September 2020. Most of the time, trying to strike a balance between the cost of running thin TV package services and keeping monthly subscription prices low results in a path to a nonprofit future. Even if former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson thought otherwise.
“[Estamosabsolutamenteconvencidosdequeissoserámuitomuitoatraenteparaumgrandegrupodeclientesquerealmentenemestãonomercadohoje”disseStephensonem2016antesdolançamentodaDirecTVNow(entãoAT&TTVNow)deacordocom[Weareabsolutelyconvincedthatthisisgoingtobeveryveryattractiveforalargegroupofcustomerswhoreallyaren’teveninthemarkettoday”Stephensonsaidin2016aheadofDirecTVNow’s(thenAT&TTVNow)launchaccordingto[Estamosabsolutamenteconvencidosdequeissoserámuitomuitoatraenteparaumgrandegrupodeclientesquerealmentenemestãonomercadohoje”disseStephensonem2016antesdolançamentodaDirecTVNow(entãoAT&TTVNow)deacordocom[Weareabsolutelyconvincedthatthisisgoingtobeveryveryattractiveforalargegroupofcustomerswhoreallyaren’teveninthemarkettoday”Stephensonsaidin2016aheadofDirecTVNow’s(thenAT&TTVNow)launchaccordingtoVariety.