Verizon may be forced to start acting more aggressive in its media efforts thanks to AT&T’s push into video with new services. DIRECTV NOW, which just launched today, could very well give AT&T an edge in the mobile video front as it gives them a lead in the space ahead of Verizon. DIRECTV NOW costs consumers $35 a month at a base cost for some 60 plus channels, which they can view on the go through the use of a smartphone app. Verizon, which has also started making moves to diversify its offerings in video through the the AOL acquisition and Yahoo bid, has yet to give its customers something similar.
While Verizon does offer up services like Go90, the service is not on the same playing field as AT&T’s new offering which is likely to put at least some pressure on Verizon to get things moving in this particular market. However, Verizon being behind in this area is not necessarily an uncalculated move. Verizon could view this as an advantage by taking the time to watch how AT&T’s DIRECTV NOW service goes over with customers, while also watching the trends of the market to see just how people are consuming media through mobile video before putting out something of its own.
Verizon may not end up waiting too long before pushing a mobile video offering to its subscribers, but analyzing the way customers are reacting to DIRECTV NOW would certainly afford them them the opportunity to figure out what to offer, and how best to be competitive with AT&T. Both carriers cater to customers who are ok with paying a higher premium for the wireless service, but AT&T has set themselves apart with mobile video, so Verizon will surely need to come up with something just as compelling to offer their own subscribers if they wish to keep them. That could all depend on how successful DIRECTV NOW is, which will factor on a few things such as the quality of the experience following an increase in data traffic, as well as the content from networks that people have at their disposal. While Verizon hasn’t made any announcements on what they might do in this space, it may not be long before they unveil plans, as doing so would let customers know that they have something in the works.