AT&T has been rightfully accused of having an overly complicated video strategy. Recent developments suggest that the company could do some significant streamlining soon.
This week, AT&T disclosed that it is merging AT&T TV Now – its slowly sinking virtual MVPD – with AT&T TV. AT&T TV Now will still be available to existing customers but AT&T will no longer be accepting new subscribers for the vMVPD.
“We’re bringing more value and simplicity by merging these two streaming services into a single AT&T TV experience,” said Vince Torres, senior vice president of marketing at AT&T, in a statement. “Customers can stream the best collection of live and on-demand programming on devices they already have, or they can get our exclusive AT&T TV Stream device to enjoy enhanced features and functionality.”
AT&T will charge $5 per month for 24 months for each Stream device a customer takes but has otherwise simplified the pricing for AT&T TV. Two-year contracts and big jumps in monthly rates for year two are gone, replaced by steady monthly prices that start at $69.99 for the Entertainment Package and go up to $94.99 for the Ultimate Package – which includes more than 130 channels and a free year of HBO Max.
With AT&T TV Now effectively out of the picture – the service still has 683,000 subscribers and it’s unclear how they will be reported going forward – AT&T’s down to just three linear video products: AT&T TV, DirecTV and U-verse. The company has already stopped selling U-verse to new customers.
Reports suggest that AT&T is working on divesting DirecTV and U-verse, and TV Answer Man’s Phillip Swann noticed something on the AT&T TV page that suggests a deal could be coming soon. Underneath the channel package descriptions, it says that AT&T TV is not available to DirecTV or U-verse TV customers.
AT&T has often expressed its desire to shift DirecTV and U-verse subscribers over to AT&T TV, which is easier and less expensive to install and addresses a larger market. In July, AT&T CEO John Stankey said his company’s DirecTV acquisition was less about the satellite technology and more about the customer base and the opportunity to “move that customer base into the right technology platforms moving forward.”
However, the messaging on the AT&T TV site suggests that migration isn’t happening.
A recent CNBC report said AT&T is looking to keep its U-verse infrastructure including plants and fiber but allow a buyer to take over the pay TV distribution operations. In December, the Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T could wrap up an auction for DirecTV in early 2021.
With AT&T TV Now winding down and potential sales for DirecTV and U-verse on the horizon, AT&T could soon be running a much less complicated linear video business.