Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Wow, this is a lot more complicated than I realized. No wonder they can never get any streaming deals done. Dang. Looks like I'm out of luck for any owned stations cutting deals.
DIRECTV and At&T does have an advantage here though. They currently have contracts with affiliates to transmit locals over their satellite system. Since they already have a relationship with them they can leverage that to amend their contract to allow online streaming if it already didn't. Where as PS Vue had no existing relationship with them.
 
If I can't use Now as my provider for Watch ESPN and other sites, it is a deal breaker. Was this mentioned?

I haven't seen it mentioned, but I did see that they mentioned HBO Go logins would be available, so I assume they will have network app logins for other channels as well.
 
Maybe a dumb question, but will this allow me to access other tv apps? Like if I get DirectTV Now, will it step in as a cable provider for other apps like ABC, NBC, etc. that require a provider to get at live tv and full access within those apps? Anybody know?
 
Holy ****. I'm already paying $15 a month for HBO Now. And AT&T is running a deal for the GO BIG package. $35 a month, plus $5 for HBO. So for me, it's only $25 more than what I'm paying now just for HBO. And data free streaming? AND an Apple TV for 3 months prepaid? Yep. This is what I've been waiting for.
Yes, this is my thoughts exactly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Statusnone88
I think she pays 7/month for her second box so it would take 2 years to recoup savings. That and issues with local programming and live tv make the switch a harder decision than it should be. She's paying 130/month for everything now. Just internet would be 50/month. So 50 for internet + 35 for this service and she would be paying 85 a month instead of 130 saving 45/month. Thats a pretty good amount to save every month but when you add in the initial cost of 2 apple tvs its not that appealing for her.

I don't want to preach here, but I hear this push back so often. People don't want to or can't afford to make the upfront investment that would very quickly and very substantially save them money. Yet they will continue to spend on a monthly basis for years on end.

I spent ~$200 4 years ago to move to VOIP telephone and cancel my land-line service, which was $32/mo. The VOIP service is $4/mo. So $200 upfront has saved me $28/mo for 48 months, over $1,100 so far and counting.

I did some similar transitioning around TV services 2 years ago, making some (but not many) sacrifices to move to an OTA antenna plus Netflix. Do I miss some stuff? Sure. But after investing about $500 upfront for equipment, I am saving about $100/mo. So that savings is already at about $2,000 and climbing.

Cutting any cord, cable/satellite/phone, is not necessary simple. It will require changing habits. And it will take some upfront investment. But the savings are immense over time.
 
So much this!

Sling Basic is 21 and I dont watch half the crap on there. Why do i want to pay $10+ more and have even more crap i dont want to watch.

Sorry, Not cutting it there AT&T. Improvement needed before I consider dropping sling.

Gonna threadjack a tad here ... just this weekend tried Sling (had heard good things) and the OSU / UM game was nothing but a stutter-fest, when I was even able to get connected to it. 50Mpbs speed, network checked out fine, tried different devices (Mac / Phone / etc). Do you think this was this just a case of overload for them or do you have to deal with these kinds of issues fairly often? I'm trying not to judge by this one event.
 
Wake me up when any of these new services actually streams the main networks live.

See... I'd want it the other way.

I'd pay $35 a month to get on-demand access to all these channels' content.

Live TV on someone else's schedule is the old way of doing it.

Except for sports, of course. :)
 
Last edited:
So if you have an existing Directv subscription will you get access to the new apps... l would love to have a Directv Apple Tv app.. I doubt it though.
 
This is a pretty horrible comparison when you just said you want to pay 10 cents for an episode of a TV show. It costs $8-$15 per person to go to a movie. It costs $10-$20 to buy a movie. A movie is the length of 2 TV episodes.

Paying $1 for a season of a TV show is absolutely absurd, unrealistic, and never happening, but if you want to set those standards to justify why you feel ok with yourself stealing content, then go for it.

I have no idea what you are talking about. I never said 10 cents for a show or $1 for a season. Or anything like that at all.

If someone else said that, perhaps you should respond to that quote instead of mine.
 
HBO for $5 sounds good.

But is it the HBO live channel "here's what were broadcasting now, watch it if you like" ?

Or is it HBO on-demand "watch whatever HBO show you want, whenever you want" ?

In this age of "TV over the Internet" why isn't EVERYTHING on-demand? Live channels are for chumps. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wide opeN
Maybe a dumb question, but will this allow me to access other tv apps? Like if I get DirectTV Now, will it step in as a cable provider for other apps like ABC, NBC, etc. that require a provider to get at live tv and full access within those apps? Anybody know?


Asked the same thing and we don't know yet. I guess I will check the watchESPN App on Wednesday.
 
I think there should be a system of micro payments on a per show/season basis. Build in Pay or similar Android touch ID payment system. 10c per show or $1 for a season of something. Until they do, the torrent space will continue to flourish.

TV/Film stars need to understand that getting paid $1m per episode etc is obscene. Movie execs get even more. It's ridiculous.

Obviously not all actors get that much cash, but that's the result of the current system they've created; not the fault of people willing/trying to pay.

Open the doors to an affordable, convenient worldwide payment system, with no arbitrary geo-locked-down BS. Better for everyone (except the exec leeches and 'A-list stars' who are the absolute minority anyway).

You realize right now they make 5-10x what you would pay per episode per viewer watching one ad on broadcast tv? There is literally zero motivation for them to do anything different. You're living in a fantasy world. But you can get what you want right now in iTunes (or Google Play, or Amazon, XBox, etc). Hope in, buy an episode or entire season with touch ID. It's just going to cost a lot more that you seem to think it should.
 
Yeah that seems bonkers. $35 for early enrollment of the Go Big tier + $5 for HBO + no data charges for AT&T customers. I may cancel Hulu and Netflix for that. Gotta see how it actually handles first but that seems really good.

I wonder how fast they'd ship you the ATV with that offer? I already have one but could give my mum that for x-mas. Hrm...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pheelyx
Cord-cutters still have a "cord" in that they need internet and will subscribe to DirectTV (a content provider, that's essentially a cable company.)

I think you might misunderstand the term "cord-cutter". It's never meant that an internet connection was removed from the equation. On the contrary, it means that everything flows through the internet pipe. True "cord-cutters" are out there, but they're primarily found in areas of Ohio and Pennsylvania (i.e. the Amish).

Also, the thing that differentiates this offering from other TV providers is that there are no service contracts and there are no equipment rental fees. That's big. It's basically Hulu except the TV is live and judging by the channel lineup slide I saw in the presentation today, the channel selection looks pretty good.

I'm a DirecTV customer and I'm taking a hard look at Now. My current bill is $93/month for the next to lowest package with two TVs. My family could slash our bill by more than half, get some additional channels we don't have with our current package, and lose a lot of the junk channels we never watch anyway.

I just have to convince my wife that losing the DVR for several months is worth the money we'd be saving each month. ;)
 
I think these tv services are overplaying their hand.

This is way too expensive for what I'm prepared to pay. And I'm picking in not alone.

These tv/film execs need to sharpen up, or risk being dropped by the wayside.

$30 a month is breaking the bank for you? No offense, but you're probably every companies worst nightmare type of customer that wants everything's for free and cries about anything and everything
 
  • Like
Reactions: JBaker122586
This will add competition to Sling. But since it's owned by AT&T, I think everyone should be cautious.

And why should I be cautious of DirecTV just because they are now owned by ATT? Sounds like the guy claiming millions of illegal votes. I have DirecTV, owned by ATT. It's reliable. Good picture quality on a 65" high end Sony LCD/LED 4K set. Just because you may have had a bad experience or have an irrational hatred of ATT, you shouldn't be claiming it's bad for everyone. You would have more credibility if you gave the reason for your warning. Yea, right. We'll never see that. Easier just to throw out blanket hatred without an explanation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pheelyx
Yeah that seems bonkers. $35 for early enrollment of the Go Big tier + $5 for HBO + no data charges for AT&T customers. I may cancel Hulu and Netflix for that. Gotta see how it actually handles first but that seems really good.

I wonder how fast they'd ship you the ATV with that offer? I already have one but could give my mum that for x-mas. Hrm...

Go to a AT&T store and walk out with it.
 
What's the upside here? Cord-cutters still have a "cord" in that they need internet and will subscribe to DirectTV (a content provider, that's essentially a cable company.) Seems like all this does is get around FCC regulations but in the end you have the same thing—a set top box and a monthly subscription. What's the difference between that and cable?


The biggest difference, IMO, is no contract, you can cancel or add packages month to month. For example, I have Sling TV orange package. During the Olympics I added the blue package for one month only to watch more coverage, and then canceled that at the end of the Olympics. I also turn off HBO Now for a few months out of each year. It's not quite the a la carte that we want, but it is much more flexible than cable bundles. Also, I own all of the equipment (my Apple TV, and I bought a cable modem instead of renting), so I get no equipment from the cable company that I have to rent and then return to them at some point. I have been saving $40-50 per month over what I was paying Comcast earlier for a cable/internet bundle + modem and DVR rental.
 
Last edited:
I don't "subscribe" to movies. I see/rent movies "a la carte" with no regard for which studio made it. Movies also have enormous costs and risk, which are both spread across titles and business partners.

In fact, most major media types can be purchased on a per-title basis (movies, books, music). TV shows are almost there too, with many titles on iTunes being delayed by just a few days or even one day.

So I don't think it is somehow impossible to do "because it's TV". I find it difficult to believe that with so much potential profit on the table that studios would be unable to risk investment.

What I have seen over and over again in multiple industries, is that the real reason behind consumer inconvenience is the desire to retain complete control.

Movies are a different animal. People don't blink at paying $8-$15 for a ticket to see a first run movie. hen those movies make additional money when they are sold/rented and released to cable. You don't subscribe, the movie watching public willingly pays the entire cost upfront. A per title concept makes sense.

TV is different in that you are selling a series. And consumers have been unwilling (so far) to pay what it costs to get a return on investment for that series outside of the current model.

I do agree with you that profit is a motive. But you're asking the industry to drop a delivery method that's very profitable for something less profitable. I doubt many of the companies we work for are just looking to leave money on the table. I think they are trying to find a way to bridge the old distribution method to something younger viewers will embrace....but they aren't going to cut off their own nose to do it.
[doublepost=1480392378][/doublepost]
$30 a month is breaking the bank for you? No offense, but you're probably every companies worst nightmare type of customer that wants everything's for free and cries about anything and everything

Great point. I also laugh at people on an Apple site where they literally pay 100% markup for every product, suddenly complaining about prices and profit margins.
 



AT&T today announced the debut of a new DirecTV-branded streaming television service, DirecTV Now, which will include various channel bundles at prices ranging from $35 to $70. Packages will include live sports, on-demand content, premium channels, and popular shows.

directvnow-800x325.jpg

DirecTV Now will be available starting on November 30, and will give customers the chance to sign up for four different bundles:

- Live a Little - $35 / month (60+ channels)
- Just Right - $50 / month (80+ channels)
- Go Big - $60 / month (100+ channels)
- Gotta Have it - $70 / month (120+ channels)

Customers can check out any of the above packages for free for seven days from the DirecTV Now website, and to celebrate the launch of the service, the "Go Big" package is available for $35 per month for a limited time. Premium channels like HBO and Cinemax can be added to a package for an additional $5 per channel.

On its November 30 launch date, DirecTV Now will be available on both iOS devices and the Apple TV through a dedicated app. AT&T is even offering a special Apple TV deal, giving customers a free Apple TV with the purchase of three months of pre-paid DirecTV Now service.

On its November 30 launch date, DirecTV Now will be available on both iOS devices and the Apple TV through a dedicated app. It will also be available via the web and on Android and Amazon devices.

Along with DirecTV Now, AT&T also announced two additional video streaming services, "FreeView" and "Fullscreen."

FreeView is an ad-supported offering that allows customers to watch some DirecTV television content free of charge, while Fullscreen, which actually debuted earlier this year, is an on-demand streaming service that offers select TV shows and movies aimed at young adults for $5.99 per month.

For AT&T Mobility customers, data used while watching DirecTV Now, FreeView, and Fullscreen in their respective apps will be free while on the AT&T mobile network.

Article Link: AT&T Unveils 'DirecTV Now' Streaming Television Service
Looks like Sling TV is starting to Beta test cloud dvr with Roku users. Beta testers will get 100 hours of Cloud DVR. http://blog.sling.com/announcements...s-on-sling-tv-with-new-cloud-dvr-now-in-beta/
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.