Yesterday, during their Q4 earnings call, we learned that AT&T lost nearly 1.2 million subscribers across DirecTV, U-verse, and AT&T TV NOW. We also learned about the company’s strategy for making up those losses.
In their quarterly report, the company said they hope that new service HBO Max and the nationwide launch of AT&T TV will complement internet services to recover the revenue lost last quarter.
AT&T TV is set to go nationwide in February, starting at $59.99 for 12 months with a 24-month contract. AT&T TV is built on the AT&T TV NOW backend using the same apps but is a different service, just like we saw with DIRECTV and DIRECTV NOW.
HBO Max will be AT&T’s new streaming service, promising content for the whole family. The service is set to launch in May 2020 for $14.99/month.
Both COO John Stankey and CEO Randall Stephenson said that HBO Max is a critical factor in the success of the company moving forward. We know about plans for bundling the service and AT&T is banking on that subscriber base growing in order for HBO Max to become profitable within the next five years. To do that, the streaming service would need to grow from the 10 million HBO subscribers that will have immediate access to HBO Max at launch, to 75-90 million subscribers by 2025.
As the company invests heavily in these two services, Stankey said they will also be shifting their focus with TNT and TBS. HBO Max will be the home of scripted content, while these networks will air more unscripted content. This includes sports, as well as “content that’s more socially relevant.”
“To keep the networks relevant, we will continue to invest in them,” Stankey said. “We’ll continue to make sure that they’re viable for our distributors, but you’ll see a content shift start to occur.”
Did you know we now have a FREE app for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire? Click HERE to download our app.
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.