DIRECTV NOW, AT&T’s OTT video service, has begun to warn Safari users that they will need to download Google Chrome to be able to continue streaming DIRECTV NOW in the browser. The message states that the company will no longer be supporting either Safari or Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Thus it will be exclusively be supporting Google Chrome. This means that DIRECTV NOW will be able to work to optimize how their service works on Chrome and make sure that it’s streaming perfectly, or near perfectly.
This isn’t a big deal for users on Windows or macOS, seeing as Chrome is available on both platforms, and have been for quite some time. It’s not a huge surprise to see DIRECTV NOW only supporting Chrome, seeing as it is the most widely used web browser in the world. So it makes sense to pour all of your resources into on browser, rather than on multiple ones. Especially seeing as though Safari and Internet Explorer are not that popular, and very few people use either one. DIRECTV NOW is supporting both browsers through June, but after June 30th, you’ll need to either stop watching live TV on DIRECTV NOW through the browser, or download Google Chrome to do so.
DIRECTV NOW does support a number of apps on other platforms, including Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, and the Amazon Fire TV to name a few. So it’s not really running out of options for its customers, but more of just doubling down on the platforms to make sure everything is running fine. DIRECTV NOW is AT&T’s streaming live TV service, that launched last year, starting at just $35/month. This service has gotten somewhat popular, seeing as it has more channels available than its competitors, Sling, PlayStation Vue, and a few others. But it has also gotten some slack for not supporting common features like DVR, or even the features it had promised like the 72-hour rewind. Which appears to appear and then disappear at random. Hopefully this will allow DIRECTV NOW to work harder on their service and make it better for all.