DirecTV, which hasn’t launched a satellite since June 2019, has kicked off the next phase of its pay TV product revamp - somewhat ironically, by ditching the “Stream” brand but giving its virtual MVPD and streaming products more prominent placement.
Starting Sunday, the DirecTVStream.com landing page disappeared, with all customer traffic funneled through the main front door at DirecTV.com.
Once there, customers will be greeted with the company’s new product line. This includes:
- MyFree DirecTV, the 100-channel FAST the company launched back in October. The free ad-supported streaming service is available via the (also free) DirecTV app.
- Genre Packs, the skinny bundles first introduced in January, which include the $70-a-month MySports and $35-a-month MyEntertainment packages. Also featured are new add-on bundles and premium channels.
- Signature packages, traditional Full-Monty pay TV bundles of 90 channels or more, can still be subscribed to starting at $85 a month and delivered via streaming.
- The DirecTV app is now the company’s default “set-top,” available for a wide array of connected TV and mobile devices.
- Gemini Air, DirecTV’s Android TV-powered CTV dongle, can be leased for $10 a month if the customer doesn’t already have a Roku dongle or other streaming device.
Now under the guidance of private equity firm TPG Inc., following complete divesture last year by AT&T, DirecTV has been steadily moving toward app-based distribution of its services for several years, providing satellite TV only to customers in rural areas that can’t get reliable broadband.
TPG doesn’t report subscriber metrics for DirecTV. But in September, a company insider said DirecTV still had around 11 million remaining subscribers across its streaming and satellite pay TV platforms, as well as it legacy U-verse offering. DirecTV Stream, it’s vMVPD offering, has been where most new customers have been directed for several years now.
DirecTV, meanwhile, supported pay TV rival Fubo in its legal quest last summer to have sports-streaming joint venture Venu Sports enjoined for antitrust reasons. The big court win against the Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery JV moved these large program licensers to permit third-party pay TV operators including DirecTV to package tiers by programming interest (or genre) for the first time.
That flexibility has formed the foundation for DirecTV’s new product strategy, emphasizing smaller channel packages that more efficiently target customers and reduce churn.