DirecTV Now Confirms $10/Month Price Hike for Existing Users, Raises HBO From $5 to $15/Month for New Add-Ons

[JetTester]

A lesson in how to make cutting the cord more expensive than cable. It's a slippery slope, and eventually, you'll have to pay more to buy TV channels piecemeal than to buy them in one bundle from the cable guys. And then, of course, they will raise their prices, and around the merry-go-round we go.

 

[Jdshewman]

I signed up for DTVN early on and had a pretty sweet deal with their largest plan for $30/month. Im now at $44/month with HBO and Showtime. If that goes up even a dollar I am canceling this. I dont use the service enough to justify. I will just go buy HBO and Showtime individually somewhere else.

Same here. Time to move on and I will give Youtube TV.

 

[indychris]

I was an original subscriber, helped for over a year on the beta program, and offered lots of help on their forum. My bill is set to go up 61.5% on March 23.

Well, it won't be. Actually, my bill will be going down 100%.

 

[ikramerica]

I signed up for DTVN early on and had a pretty sweet deal with their largest plan for $30/month. Im now at $44/month with HBO and Showtime. If that goes up even a dollar I am canceling this. I dont use the service enough to justify. I will just go buy HBO and Showtime individually somewhere else.

It will go up almost $20.

 

[bpeeps]

I've tried most of the "cord cutting" services, and Sling has been the best IMO. DirecTV Now was easily the worst, with constant interruptions and the typical horrendous customer service you'd expect from DTV.

I went to HD over-the-air and I supplement with Netflix and Hulu regular services... won't go back.

I will say I scored 3 Apple TVs from DTV, because I kept cancelling and coming back.

DirecTV Now had the best channel lineup for the price (maybe not anymore). Sling has nothing but ESPN and Disney channels, a far cry from the channel lineup DTVN has.
[doublepost=1552494151][/doublepost]

Even the new "Max" package has gotten rid of tons of channels that are in the old "Go Big" package. Fewer channels for more money!

My grandfathered bill is going from $45 to $70 next month.

No it's not, it's going from $45 to $55. It's a ten dollar increase, ATT customer service is calling this a backend glitch while it's likely just an attempt to entice customers to switch to the new plans.

 

[ggibson913]

Oh heck no! Let’s see at $45 per month now with HBO now looking at $65. Bye bye AT&T. Got rid of your cell service last week streaming goes this week. At this point I am going to subscribe to HBO Now and call it a day.

UPDATE: Looks like you get to keep HBO at $5, but cancelling anyway. At $35 it was a great price for Go Big, at $50, not worth it to me. AT&T is likely counting on lots of people staying regardless, I am not going to be one of them.

 

[ayale99]

I just talked to DTV customer service. Grandfathered customers will have a bill increase of $10 but HBO will remain at $5. My "Go Big" package with HBO will now be $55 + tax.

 

[bpeeps]

It doesn’t look like it I’m a AT&T customer and my next bill is going to go up $25 instead of the announced $10.

You'll still receive the discount. They're not factoring it into the price in hopes that you'll switch to a new plan.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DirecTVNow..._just_posted_a_price_change_notice_on/eifgs7c

 

[seek3r]

Looking at my next bill in April, this is not true. Unless there is a glitch in their billing...

Current: Go Big $40 + HBO $5 + Showtime $8 = $53
April 12: Go Big $50 + HB0 $15 + Showtime: $11 = $76 (even though it shows $78 on my next bill)

Do you have the extra discount from an AT&T unlimited plan?

I was only paying $30 for my Live a Little plan with HBO from the promotion I started on plus the AT&T discount, went up to $40 starting next month, so it looks like it's going up by $10 based on whatever *you* were paying before, not the base prices (which would have pushed me to $50/mo as the MR writeup notes). Though someone else above noted that the discount still applies but isnt shown, which would mean I'll only get billed $30 and the price hasnt jumped at all, so we'll see

The whole set of price changes is pretty confusing right now TBH.

 

[nt5672]

These kinds of prices for propaganda is just ridicules. Years ago propaganda was free, but now, making us pay to be subjugated breaks the straw.

 

[tylersdad]

The price is one thing. The number of channels they're removing is another. A&E? AMC? Tennis Channel? Discovery? History? BBC America? The list goes on. These channels aren't available in the new packages. Does that mean they'll be removed from the existing packages at some point?

 

[webbuzz]

Do you have the extra discount from an AT&T unlimited plan?

I was only paying $30 for my Live a Little plan with HBO from the promotion I started on plus the AT&T discount, went up to $40 starting next month, so it looks like it's going up by $10 based on whatever *you* were paying before, not the base prices (which would have pushed me to $50/mo as the MR writeup notes). Though someone else above noted that the discount still applies but isnt shown, which would mean I'll only get billed $30 and the price hasnt jumped at all, so we'll see

The whole set of price changes is pretty confusing right now TBH.

The only discount I had was the Go Big promotion. Hopefully the premium channel pricing is grandfathered

 

[w5jck]

I was bitching about Hulu with Live TV going up $7/month after only having their service for two months! But what AT&T did is the corporate equivalent of raping their customers. AT&T has been a garbage company as far back as I can remember. The antitrust suits that forced it to split off the Baby Bells in the early 1970s just made them richer and the customers poorer. Kind of wish their angry customers would show up at their front door carrying torches, pitchforks, a large rail, a vat of hot, liquefied tar, and plenty of feathers!

 

[ayale99]

This banner is on my account now. lol.

 

[burgman]

I lost my grandfathered $25 a month discount because my credit card on file had expired. After contacting customer service they would credit me every month and assure me next month would be different but I would always have to get a hold of customer service to get the correct discount. I saw the writing on the wall then and dumped them.

Yeah, $25 discount plus free HBO is why I stay. I can’t imagine why anyone would signup for the new plans given the competition.

 

[phulton]

This is why I just buy my content off iTunes instead of dealing with these services. All my season passes are cheaper than any monthly payments.

I was just thinking about this. The main reason I still have DTVN is so I can sign in to individual channel apps and watch new seasons. So at 50 a month (new price), 600 for the year, iTunes seasons are 29.99, we'll call it 30. That's 20 seasons a year of shows I can purchase, and watch without commercials. I don't think I could name off more than 10 currently airing shows that I watch.

Sports may be an issue without DTVN, but there are obviously ways around that.

 

[azentropy]

I just talked to DTV customer service. Grandfathered customers will have a bill increase of $10 but HBO will remain at $5. My "Go Big" package with HBO will now be $55 + tax.

Yeah people seem to be getting/seeing different answers on that.

Originally I paid $35 for the Go Big and got HBO for free for a year. Then they ended the HBO for free but it was only $5. Then they raised the Go Big $5 so I'm currently at $45. Now the are going to raise the Go Big to $50 by itself. If they keep the HBO at $5 I’ll probably keep it ($55 total), but if they raise that too and make it $65 total then I’m out. There are better options for me other there.

I have no clue what new users they would attract with the new packages.

 

[jwdsail]

I'm not sure why one would give up their satellite to switch to this that sucks up your bandwidth. This isn't cutting the cord, it's about paying much more.

But any company you have to call up every 6 months to plead (threaten to cancel) for credits stinks. The calls every other week offering free premiums for a time get old. I usually just hang up. DTVNow looks to pull the same garbage now.

Well, for one, my internet doesn't stop working when it rains?

Not that I'd give DirecTV a penny of my money even before the merger, just see why some would have considered going from one to the other if internet speeds allowed?

 

[simplynando]

I still get my $25 video loyalty credit from my AT&T Unlimited plan and free HBO for life. I currently pay $30 for the Just Right package but it looks like I'm going to be jumping ship. I really love that I can stream DTVN on my iPad (I only have a 1GB plan for it) without it counting towards my data but it wont be worth it. The DVR is a joke, the live rewind never works and if you pause live TV for more than 30 seconds it skips the entire section that was paused and put you back into (almost) live TV once you resume. I'm not paying $40 for a service that has the most problems out of all of them.

 

[tkukoc]

Same here. Time to move on and I will give Youtube TV.

Bingo! I cancelled a few days ago when I read about this.. moving to YouTube TV once this month is up on DirecTV. And if YouTube TV ups their bill.. done buying streaming services for TV. I can definitely live without it.

 

[mikesilv]

I just checked DTVNow and two of the channels I watch, Paramount and Discovery, are not offered on either of the two new plans (PLUS and MAX). Is their MAX plan less than their previous Go Big and Gotta Have It plans?

Yes, they've cut Viacom and Discovery owned channels, which the story doesn't mention.

 

[burgman]

I stopped watching commercial TV thirty years ago. I get basic internet service now (I had dialup in the 80's) and don't miss the garbage TV offers. It's amazing how bad the programing is. The terrible acting, the outright fraud of "non-fiction" shows, the too frequent commercials, and dramatized news programing is an awful experience when I'm "induced" to watch it in a waiting room.
Life is too short to watch that garbage.

Instead of TV, go for a walk, read a book, learn a new language, volunteer or, post more comments on MacRumors

Or yell at kids to get off your lawn

 

[ELman]

I just talked to DTV customer service. Grandfathered customers will have a bill increase of $10 but HBO will remain at $5. My "Go Big" package with HBO will now be $55 + tax.

Let's hope that is true. Whenever I try to reach them chatbots are more intelligent.

 

[sinsin07]

How can they charge $15 for HBO when you can go directly through HBO to get HBO Now for $15?

Question is hard to follow.
ATT now owns HBO.
When you got directly to HBO Now you’re in effect going to ATT.

I understand it is not a premium, but you aren't getting any sort of deal for bundling... which isn't that supposed to be the whole point?

NO, the point now is they want you, the consumer, to help pay for the purchase of Time Warner”.

 

[jtrenthacker]

To the torrents!!!