AT&T offers free Apple TV 4K to new Fiber Internet customers
To lure in customers where ISP choice exists, AT&T is offering a free 32-gigabyte Apple TV 4K to new Fiber Internet subscribers -- with a few catches.
The deal is only available to people choosing a 300-megabit plan, which costs $70 per month, or with the $90 gigabit tier. Customers must also use the code "GET4KTV" at checkout, and lock themselves into a 12-month contract.
AT&T is a long-time Apple partner, and last year used a similar promotion to draw people to DirecTV Now, its internet TV service. Customers were able to claim a free Apple TV 4K as long as they pre-paid for three months of streaming. Since that put the cost of the set-top at $105 versus its normal $179, some people signed up just to later cancel and keep the cheaper hardware.
Apple may be willing to take a hit on Apple TV profits for multiple reasons. The company for instance faces tough competition in the world of streaming devices, with Roku, Google, and Amazon all making popular options. Many TVs now have competent "smart" apps, and/or support for Google Cast.
A broad install base could also help support Apple's upcoming video service, featuring $1 billion or more in original content. That may launch as soon as March or April, offering the original video free to Apple device owners, with third-party subscriptions shoring up revenue. In the long term the company is rumored to be hunting for "tentpole" shows that could prop up a paid first-party subscription.
The deal is only available to people choosing a 300-megabit plan, which costs $70 per month, or with the $90 gigabit tier. Customers must also use the code "GET4KTV" at checkout, and lock themselves into a 12-month contract.
AT&T is a long-time Apple partner, and last year used a similar promotion to draw people to DirecTV Now, its internet TV service. Customers were able to claim a free Apple TV 4K as long as they pre-paid for three months of streaming. Since that put the cost of the set-top at $105 versus its normal $179, some people signed up just to later cancel and keep the cheaper hardware.
Apple may be willing to take a hit on Apple TV profits for multiple reasons. The company for instance faces tough competition in the world of streaming devices, with Roku, Google, and Amazon all making popular options. Many TVs now have competent "smart" apps, and/or support for Google Cast.
A broad install base could also help support Apple's upcoming video service, featuring $1 billion or more in original content. That may launch as soon as March or April, offering the original video free to Apple device owners, with third-party subscriptions shoring up revenue. In the long term the company is rumored to be hunting for "tentpole" shows that could prop up a paid first-party subscription.
Comments
Look like AT&T is really pushing ATV for Apple. This offer is only for a limited number of people since AT&T fiber is not available in most places.
I am DTV subscriber and have been for a long time, i was thinking of jumping onto the DVT Now offer, but it still has lots of limitation, like DVR, they do have it now, but cloud based and you have to pay extra for the amount of storage you want, also DVT Now only allows two device to stream at one time, I have 3 TV in the house which could be on at the same time, as well as I stream to my phone or Ipad.
I don't think 5G will be ready for another year and when it is ready, it will not be offered at faster speeds than Fiber to the home.
Companies that had trials of proprietary 5G are pulling back.
Time will tell.
As for TV service, I had DirecTV Now since right after it launched, and ended up grabbing 2 different ATV deals when they each launched. There were still too many issues, especially with DVR, that I dumped it for Philo TV for $20 per month.