AT&T raises DirecTV Now subscription by $10, shakes up packages for new customers
AT&T is making major changes to the pricing of DirecTV Now, with the streaming television service going up in price by $10 per month for new and existing customers starting in April, while at the same time cutting down the number of available packages for new customers.
The increase in DirecTV Now's subscription cost will hit all packages across the board, regardless of the number of channels. The lowest-cost Live a Little bundle, which provides at least 65 channels, will go up to $50 per month, while the Gotta Have It bundle on the other end of the spectrum, with more than 125 channels provided to customers, goes up to $85 per month.
The price of Spanish-language package Todo y Mas, which includes more than 90 channels, is also increasing to $55 per month, reports Variety. None of the plans will benefit from new additions, nor will any channels be taken away as part of the alterations.
DirecTV Now last hiked its prices in August 2018, raising the cost of all packages by $5 per month.
A second major change is that DirecTV Now will only offer two tiers of service for new customers, rather than the five that existing subscribers can choose from. The low-tier DirecTV Now Plus costs $50 per month for at least 40 channels, while DirecTV Now Max is $70 per month for at least 50 channels, including regional sports networks and other sports channels.
The new bundles differ greatly from the earlier packages, as they do not include channels from A+E Networks, AMC, Discovery or Viacom. The channel roster for the two packages do include offerings from Turner and HBO, both owned by AT&T.
Last week, DirecTV Now added a number of features to the Apple TV app to make it more useful to subscribers, including single sign-on support and live tune-in, enabling verbal requests to Siri to select specific channels provided by the service.
The increase in DirecTV Now's subscription cost will hit all packages across the board, regardless of the number of channels. The lowest-cost Live a Little bundle, which provides at least 65 channels, will go up to $50 per month, while the Gotta Have It bundle on the other end of the spectrum, with more than 125 channels provided to customers, goes up to $85 per month.
The price of Spanish-language package Todo y Mas, which includes more than 90 channels, is also increasing to $55 per month, reports Variety. None of the plans will benefit from new additions, nor will any channels be taken away as part of the alterations.
DirecTV Now last hiked its prices in August 2018, raising the cost of all packages by $5 per month.
A second major change is that DirecTV Now will only offer two tiers of service for new customers, rather than the five that existing subscribers can choose from. The low-tier DirecTV Now Plus costs $50 per month for at least 40 channels, while DirecTV Now Max is $70 per month for at least 50 channels, including regional sports networks and other sports channels.
The new bundles differ greatly from the earlier packages, as they do not include channels from A+E Networks, AMC, Discovery or Viacom. The channel roster for the two packages do include offerings from Turner and HBO, both owned by AT&T.
Last week, DirecTV Now added a number of features to the Apple TV app to make it more useful to subscribers, including single sign-on support and live tune-in, enabling verbal requests to Siri to select specific channels provided by the service.
Comments
They should at least increase the number of simultaneous streams.
I signed up on day 1 for the GoBig package for $35 and now it going to be $50.
If more cable companies like FiOS and Comcast were to offer OTT streaming on AppleTV like Spectrum does, AT&T would lose a lot of customers.
Seems the media cartel are simply trying to re-enslave cord-cutters to the onerous plans of yesteryear by offering their own price-attractive streaming subscription services and then ratcheting up the pricing over time. Just like the good-old days where you’d sign up for a cable/satellite plan for $89 a month only to realize two years later that you’re now paying $150 a month FOR EXACTLY THE SAME PLAN!
Bastards.
AT&T is hoping their monopoly is going force consumers to pay up... unfortunately there are a few pesky competitors left.
I’m sure investors appreciate AT&T loosing 30% of their value in the last 2 years...
But not to worry, I’m sure the executives have golden parachutes as their backup plan.
And it's free to stream over cellular if you're an AT&T Wireless customer.
Their app frequently locks up and crashes on multiple devices. But the worst is the pop ups “Are You Still Watching?” Forcing me to respond and interrupting in the middle of a movie which ruins the experience. Sometimes I am listening to the news while exercising or cleaning up in the kitchen only to have the pop up force me to stop what I am doing in order to return to the remote in order to click the pop up closed. Other times the pop up comes on within just a few minutes of opening the app. Now they think their service is worth even more money! Bull tinkle I say.
agilealtitude said: Not a chance. If Apple introduces a competing service at a lower price they will immediately be sued for collusion, anti-trust, price fixing or what ever the government can come up with.
The service is awful. It's not even worth what I'm currently paying. I could go on.
I'm ready to ditch them and get an antenna and something to record OTA broadcasts.