DirectTV Now Services
One of the fastest internet providers in the country, AT&T, did not reveal the Q1 subscription number for their streaming service, DirecTV Now, just as they did in the previous quarter. However, in a recent statement, AT&T’s senior EVP and chief financial officer, John Stephens, stated that DirecTV Now has met the company’s expectations.
DirecTV Now has added approximately 200,000 subscribers to its service in just the first month of its launch. However, the parent company of DirecTV Now had earlier refused to share an updated subscriber count for the first quarter of 2017. Reports indicate that AT&T has lost approximately 233,000 video subscribers during this preiod.
Stephens said that the 2016 promos for DirecTV Now were entirely focused on devices such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick and it did help them to move the needle. He stated that AT&T‘s main focus in Q1 was to improve the platform and make it free of technical glitches.
“We wanted to see how the promotions reacted from a churn perspective,” Stephens said. He also stated that DirecTV Now will be targeting about 20 million homes, which do not have a pay TV subscription and for the ones who are looking for an alternative to cable service offerings. “We feel good with where we’re at.”
The AT&T chief also confirmed that DirecTV Now will be adding a cloud DVR service by the end of the year and it will give the streaming service a new feature, which is already available with other virtual MVPDs such as YouTube TV, FuboTV, PlayStation Vue, and Hulu. He also added that the telecom company is not viewing DirecTV Now as an alternative to their video services but as a way to expand their service to non-subscribers and cord cutters.
Popular Streaming Service
Stephens also added that AT&T is positioned as a “fully integrated network carrier” given their satellite platform, traditional wire line network, growing fiber footprint, and wireless holding. “We have the capability to deliver services to customers anywhere they want,” the AT&T executive VP said. He also pointed out that 6 million AT&T subscribers have already started to bundle AT&T’s wireless service with video products.
AT&T has been offering a number of exciting internet plans to lure in cord cutters and non-subscribers to their offerings and it has enabled many customers to acquire some of the best internet deals. Consequently, it has also helped the telecom giant to gain more wireless customers.
