DirecTV Stream is a family of streaming multichannel television services offered in the United States by

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

. The brand encompasses three separate services sharing similar infrastructure and software. DirecTV Stream, launched nationally as AT&T TV in March 2020, is the

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

counterpart to the traditional DirecTV

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

service. It is sold on-contract and optionally bundled in the same manner as traditional television providers, but utilizes

Android TV Android TV is a smart TV operating system based on Android (operating system), Android and developed by Google for television sets, digital media players, set-top boxes, and soundbars. A successor to Google TV (operating system), Google TV, it fe ...

-based

set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

es rented to subscribers. AT&T WatchTV, first offered in June 2018, is a skinny bundle service aimed at

cord cutters In broadcast television, cord-cutting refers to the pattern of viewers, referred to as cord-cutters, cancelling their subscriptions to multichannel video programming distributor, multichannel television services available over cable or satellite ...

, featuring no local or sports channels. AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) is a formerly-offered direct-to-consumer service launched on November 30, 2016, designed to compete with other

over-the-top An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...

television services, and sold without a contract.

History

On July 13, 2017, it was reported that AT&T was preparing to introduce a cloud-based DVR streaming service as part of its effort to create a unified platform across the

satellite television service and DirecTV Now services, with

U-verse U-verse TV is a DirecTV brand of IPTV service. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), IP telephone (now AT&T Phone), and IPTV (U-verse TV) services in 48 states.HBO now included in the base package), and increased pricing for all subscribers. By the second quarter of 2019, DirecTV Now lost 168,000 subscribers (decreasing to 1.3 million), with AT&T citing "higher prices and less promotional activity" as reasoning. On July 30, 2019, AT&T announced an upcoming streaming television service known as AT&T TV, which would feature an

-based set-top box with a

Google Assistant Google Assistant is a virtual assistant software application developed by Google that is primarily available on mobile and home automation devices. Based on artificial intelligence, Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations, unlike t ...

-based voice remote, use the same apps used by DirecTV Now, and offer cloud DVR with 500 hours of storage. Unlike DirecTV Now, this service is sold on a contract basis (and in bundles with

AT&T Internet AT&T Internet is an AT&T brand of broadband internet service. Previously, AT&T Internet was branded as U-verse Internet and bundled with U-verse TV, which was spun off into the newly independent DirecTV in 2021. AT&T Internet plans powered by fi ...

), and requires the rental or purchase of proprietary set-top boxes. The service allows user self-installation, but activation fees are still charged. AT&T CEO

Randall Stephenson Randall Lynn Stephenson (born April 22, 1960) is a retired American telecommunications executive. He served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of AT&T Inc. from May 9, 2007 – June 30, 2020 and as executive chairman of AT&T Inc. from ...

referred to AT&T TV as a "workhorse" service succeeding DirecTV and AT&T U-verse in its pay television business. The service was initially launched in selected markets in California, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, with additional markets to follow. Concurrently it was announced that DirecTV Now would re-brand as "AT&T TV Now". The similar names between the different services have been noted as possibly causing confusion, with media outlets even citing examples occurring within the company itself. In September 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed against AT&T, alleging that it had falsely inflated its reported number of AT&T TV Now subscribers by engaging in "unrelenting pressure and strong-arm tactics" and giving unwanted subscriptions to the service to customers without their consent, as well as making false claims surrounding risks related to the service in its SEC filings related to the purchase of Time Warner. On February 25, 2021, AT&T announced that it would spin off DirecTV, U-Verse and AT&T TV into a separate entity, selling a 30% stake to

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

while retaining a 70% stake in the new standalone company. The deal was closed on August 2, 2021, at which point the provider adopted its current name.

Current services

The service consists of four main bundles, including the base "Entertainment" service, "Choice" (which adds

regional sports network In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region. ...

s), "Ultimate", and "Premier".

Past services

AT&T TV Now

The service's base package "Entertainment" (included channels from co-owned division

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

as well as the seven other major television conglomerates:

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (stylized in all-caps as FOX Corporation) is a publicly traded American mass media company operated and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Incorporated ...

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

A&E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

AMC Networks AMC Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York. AMC Networks owns and operates the eponymous cable channel and its siblings, IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV; the art house movie theater IFC Cen ...

, and

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...

. The "Premiere" package adds HBO,

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

, Showtime, Starz, and StarzEncore, and the various additional sports channels. Previous packages started at $35.00 "Live a Little" (Replaced by "Entertainment") and ranged up to $70 "Gotta Have it" (Replaced by "Gotta Have It") these packages are no longer available, but are still accessible to existing subscribers. The packages currently offer the same channels as prior packages, just at a higher premium. On March 2, 2020, AT&T TV launched nationally. AT&T president

John Stankey John T. Stankey (born 1962) is an American businessman currently serving as CEO of AT&T Inc. and as a member of AT&T Inc.’s board of directors. He previously served as AT&T’s president and COO and was former CEO of WarnerMedia. Stankey led ...

stated that AT&T TV would be promoted as the company's main pay television service, with DirecTV being downplayed outside of markets with insufficient broadband quality to use AT&T TV. AT&T TV Now would struggle through 2019, with a loss of 138,000 subscribers in 2020 Q1 according to its quarterly earnings report. The service as a whole was down to 788,000 subscribers, compared to its peak of 1.86 million subscribers, before the large discounts to attract initial subscriber interest were scaled back. On January 12, 2021, AT&T discontinued their Plus and Max plans to new subscribers, shifting them towards new AT&T TV packages (starting at $69.99). The packages are $15 more expensive than the previous base package, and includes channels owned by

Discovery Inc. Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Cha ...

and

A+E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

. On January 13, 2021, AT&T announced it would stop selling AT&T TV Now to new customers, and instead redirect new and existing customers to AT&T TV. Per the AT&T TV Now website, there are no long-term contracts for AT&T TV and compatible consumer devices can be used.

WatchTV

AT&T's WatchTV service offered linear channels owned by its fellow division WarnerMedia, as well as A&E Networks, AMC Networks, Discovery and ViacomCBS. This service shut down on November 30, 2021.

References

External links

* {{CATV USA Internet television streaming services