AT&T All Set To Get On The Streaming Arena

AT&T Inc. always makes every effort to stay ahead in the market, be it the telephone arena or the TV segment. Their motives were quite obvious, when AT&T decided to acquire DirecTV last year, that the Telco giant wanted to march in to the entertainment industry with a bang. And with their plans to launch a streaming service now, makes AT&T’s intentions of dominating the telephone, internet, and TV industry all the more clear.

As the world today is moving towards online video services and streaming options, many traditional TV providers have shifted their focus from cable and satellite services to the internet-based medium. We saw this with the launch of Sling TV from Dish Network last year, which is now followed by AT&T and many other giants in the business. However, AT&T has also hinted that they would not abandon the traditional DirecTV satellite services because of their new TV platform.

The streaming service by AT&T, called DirecTV Now, is expected to be launched by the end of the year. Reports suggest that the pricing of the service will range somewhere between 50-55 dollars a month. Nonetheless, AT&T has said that DirecTV Now would offer around 100 channels to its subscribers, including ESPN, Discovery, and Nickelodeon.

Interestingly, AT&T is not at all bothered that a cheaper TV streaming option could draw their existing TV subscribers to a relatively low-priced option. When asked about how they plan to tackle that, CEO Randall Stephenson said, “That means you have found something that the market really, really wants.” Moreover, he also mentioned that they are not planning to introduce any “skinny” package either.

“We think skinny bundles have very small application in the market over time,” said John Stankey, chief of AT&T entertainment business. “People in a household are going to want to watch different things. There’s a reason to look at a much broader offering of content.”

Even though AT&T has not officially revealed the packages and pricing details for DirecTV Now, CEO Stephenson said that the streaming service would have a “very, very aggressive price.” He further added that the company aims to keep the profits “thinner” and highlighted that the venture would not demand too much capital investment. Reports say that the Telco would bundle DirecTV Now with AT&T internet deals in order to keep the customer churn in control.