AT&T’s streaming TV service, DIRECTV NOW, launched over a year ago with a starting price of $35 per month. While it’s not the cheapest option out there (Sling TV is slightly cheaper at $20), but it is one of the cheapest. However, AT&T is looking to raise prices. AT&T’s CEO, Randall Stephenson said that it is planning some “radical” upgrades to DIRECTV NOW that should be able to raise the price to a range of $40 to $60 per month. Now it’s not surprising to see that AT&T is looking to raise the price here, seeing as it actually loses money on DIRECTV NOW, with the licensing fees it has to pay for various networks.
At the investor conference, Stephenson stated that some of the upgrades were Cloud DVR and the ability to have three simultaneous streams, which the company announced yesterday already. There are more features coming in the near future, though Stephenson wouldn’t elude to which features those might be. Stephenson also spoke about the OTT video skinny bundle that he had mentioned at previous investor events, that would cost $15 per month. It would not include sports programming or local channels here. Stephenson said that this offering would be paid for with advertising, and would launch when the Time Warner acquisition is completed. AT&T Communications CEO, John Donovan was speaking at a separate investor event, and stated that this skinny bundle would be called “Watch TV”. Also adding that this would be designed as a mobile product, and not a traditional cord-cutting offering, that could be streamed on your TV.
This is just an outlook into what AT&T is planning to do in the future with its streaming TV service, and nothing (besides Cloud DVR and three simultaneous streams) are actually available just yet. This announcement was designed to keep investors in the know about what’s going on with AT&T, and while the company may be looking to raise prices on DIRECTV NOW, it has not done it just yet.