DirecTV Now – A Service by AT&T to Stream 100+ Cable Channels on the Internet
AT&T, the American multinational telecommunications conglomerate rolled out its DirecTV Now service early this week. DirecTV Now offers packages starting from $35. DirecTV Now is not the first of its kind service, we’ve had Dish Network’s Sling TV and Sony’s PlayStation Vue before this. It offers mobile-friendly features like full access to your channel lineup on mobile devices.
If your device happens to be on AT&T, the video won’t count against your bandwidth cap. With DirecTV Now, you can also run two independent simultaneous streams on a single DirecTV Now Account. And like other companies, you don’t need to enter into a contract, you can cancel the subscription anytime.
The Packages it Offers
The basic $35 package on DirecTV Now includes popular cable networks like ESPN, Fox News, CNN, USA, TNT, TBM, AMC, Bravo, FX, and Syfy. You get a better deal if you sign up right now. The introductory offer that is for an unspecified period of time is more alluring than the basic $35 package. It offers the channels included in both $50 and $60 packages at the price of a $35 package. DirecTV has four basic channel packages. Here is the price and the number of channels they offer:
- Live a Little: Offers 60+ channels at $35/month which includes ABC, Fox, and NBC.
- Just Right: Offers 80+ channels at $50/month which includes a lot of sports channels like ESPNU, MLB Network, NBC Sports etc.
- Go Big: Offers 100+ channels at $60/month which includes NBA TV, NHL Network, FXM, Golf, Tennis, Sundance TV, and more.
- Gotta Have It: Offers 120+ channels at $70/month which includes 8 Starz/Encore channels, Boomerang, El Rey, and more.
Limited Period Offer
The biggest admonition is that the introductory $35/month is only for a limited time period. For people who will subscribe at that price, won’t lose any channels and they’ll be exempted from the change and can keep the 100+ channels package for $35/month. But if you decide to cancel and resubscribe, you will have to pay the standard price, whose price wouldn’t vary much from a typical cable or satellite package.
Devices to Run DirecTV Now on
You can run DirecTV Now on the latest Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon FireTV and most other web browsers. If you decide to pay for 3 months in advance, AT&T will give you an Apple TV for nothing, and one month will give you a FireTV Stick. From next year, it will also support Roku, Amazon Fire Tablet, and Smart TV. AT&T says there is also DVR functionality coming in 2017. This service works on both iOS and Android devices.
Using DirecTV Login on other Apps
Using DirecTV Now login details you can sign in the HBO Go app and get access to a full library of shows there. Other apps that will work with DirecTV Now are Max Go, Watch ABC, Watch Disney Channel, Watch Disney Jr., Watch ESPN, few others.
Wrap-up
Under the What’s On Now title in the DirecTV Now you can see a list of currently playing shows. Continue Watching title allows you to resume an on-demand program midway. The other lists are Watchlist, News Shows, Returning Shows, Catch Up, and Kids.
One more great thing about DirecTV Now is that HBO is just $5 a month. There’s a free 7-day trial available. DirecTV Now was made available starting from November 30 but this service is available only in the United States. DirecTV Now offers more channels at a cheaper price, it might be worth giving a shot.
Keval Padia is the founder & CEO of Nimblechapps, a fast-growing mobile app development company. The current innovation and updates of the field lures him to express his views and thoughts on certain topics.