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AT&T Reveals $15/Month Streaming Service Without Sports, Launching 'in the Next Few Weeks'

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AT&T is planning to add a new streaming service to its lineup called "AT&T Watch," priced at a low cost of $15 per month with the removal of all sports channels. The service will be one of the cheapest streaming bundles available on the market, and will even be free for AT&T wireless subscribers on unlimited plans (via The Wall Street Journal and Variety).

ATT-new-2016-logo-featured.jpg

As of now not much else is known about AT&T Watch, including exactly what channels will be on offer, what platforms it will launch on, or even a specific launch date besides "in the next few weeks." When it does debut, the service will undercut Sling TV's cheapest $20/month streaming tier, and be more of a competitor to Philo's $16/month option, which predominantly advertises itself as the over-the-top bundle for people who don't watch sports.

The upcoming skinny bundle was announced yesterday by AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, during his time on the witness stand where he defended his company's intent to acquire Time Warner. Stephenson mentioned AT&T Watch after the Justice Department argued that AT&T continuously raises prices for traditional DirecTV subscribers, reportedly "emphasizing" the new service and DirecTV Now's entry level $35/month tier, "while acknowledging price increases for traditional DirecTV subscribers."
Often speaking directly to the judge, Stephenson testified on the origins and rationale for the merger, but his examination also veered into other topics, like an email exchange he had with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg following last year's Allen & Co. Sun Valley conference. He even revealed a new product offering, AT&T Watch, a $15-per-month bundle of channels, countering the Justice Department's point that AT&T is still raising prices on its traditional DirecTV satellite service.
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AT&T's other streaming service, DirecTV Now, extends beyond the entry level $35/month for 60+ channels to $50/month for 80+ channels, $60/month for 100+ channels, and $70/month for 120+ channels. Additionally, the service includes an Apple TV 4K offer that's been ongoing since November 2017, providing the device to new subscribers at no extra cost when they pre-pay for anywhere between three to four months of service.

Article Link: AT&T Reveals $15/Month Streaming Service Without Sports, Launching 'in the Next Few Weeks'
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/20/att-15month-streaming-service/
My wife and I are AT&T subscribers with a 2-line unlimited data plan and neither of us is a sports fan. I was actually a bit ticked off at Optimum for implementing a mandatory $11 monthly ESPN surcharge with no way of opting out. Needless to say, I'm extremely curious about this service.
 
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Wow I would love this if they actually keep all the other channels. I want absolutely no part of any sports channels, but all the other services that have tried this usually end up missing other channels which are actually desirable because the monopolies won't sell those channels without forcing you to spend 25x as much for garbage like ESPN.
 
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elvisimprsntr said:
Without sports streaming, what good is it?
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I think this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. There are some people out there, my entire family included, who do not watch, nor care about, sports on TV on a daily basis. What I mean is that I do not want to pay for ESPN, Fox Sports, or any of those channels, but I will watch March Madness, NBA playoffs, the Superbowl, etc., which are on channels that are not sports exclusive.

For people like us, this MAY be a less expensive option.
 
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If I could save money, I would 100% get a sports free bundle. You always hear how much ESPN adds to the cost of a TV bundle. I have not tuned to ESPN, on purpose, in probably more than 10 years. Not sure why I need to pay for that channel.
 
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As a DirectTV NOW $35/mo subscriber, it's been a good service overall. You get most of the big name channels, except for sports (although ESPN is included). And among all the packages, they really need to work on adding local affiliate channels (ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX) as well as a cloud-based DVR function.

I'm curious what the difference is between this $15 ATT package and the $35 DTVN package.
 
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If they don't black out OTA sports broadcasts (Sunday football and such) I don't care if they take out ESPN. NFL gamepass (and other league offerings) to watch the other games next day (without commercials) is fine by me. More pressure on ESPN to adapt or die though and their OTT offering isn't going to save them.
 
I have DTV Now. It's almost like not having sports with none of the regional sports networks. I think ATT does this on purpose to save some exclusivity for the satellite product to keep even more subscribers from bolting.

I wonder if ATT is going to start transitioning the DirecTV brand to ATT. It's already incorporated the DTV logo with the ATT logo. Of course ATT cell is vastly co-marketed with DTV and DTV Now.
 
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Seems like a nice option, personally I probably won’t go for it as I have enough subscriptions, but it would be great if I was on an unlimited AT&T plan.
 
iReality85 said:
As a DirectTV NOW $35/mo subscriber, it's been a good service overall. You get most of the big name channels, except for sports (although ESPN is included). And among all the packages, they really need to work on adding local affiliate channels (ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX) as well as a cloud-based DVR function.

I'm curious what the difference is between this $15 ATT package and the $35 DTVN package.
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Everything but the sports channels, espn,cbs sports,nhl,nba,mlb,sec...etc....
 
Chupa Chupa said:
I have DTV Now. It's almost like not having sports with none of the regional sports networks. I think ATT does this on purpose to save some exclusivity for the satellite product to keep even more subscribers from bolting.

I wonder if ATT is going to start transitioning the DirecTV brand to ATT. It's already incorporated the DTV logo with the ATT logo. Of course ATT cell is vastly co-marketed with DTV and DTV Now.
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What package do you have? I'm still grandfathered into the Go Big package at $35, but I have every regional sports channel I need. I never miss any of the local teams here.
 
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elvisimprsntr said:
Without sports streaming, what good is it?
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To non-sports TV watchers who don't want to waste $7-10 a month.

Here, Canada's regulators CRTC has something mandated called 'skinny basics'. A most basic package of just broadcast networks, 1 cable news, 1 weather, 1 Aboriginal (no opt-out), a Decriptive Video/Open Caption (no opt-out) channel for no more than $25 a month. It is your on-ramp to pick and choose. From there, cable channels are a la carte, or small packages of no more than 6 or 7 channels. Also, an option of 10 channels for $20 a month.

The world of subscription TV doesn't revolve around sports. About time multi-billion dollar Disney & Fox was reined in from forcing their niche channels down consumer's throats for a premium.
 
The issue I have with these streaming TV offerings, I do not want to be tied to my television. If I need to interrupt my day to watch a program at a certain time, no thanks. The minimum price needs a full DVR, then I will make my decision. Even then, the DVR features and my time required to make it work could still could be a deal breaker for me. The ideal, on demand streaming, program selection, when I want it. The one exception, sports, currently a low priority.
 
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