For months now, we have heard that AT&T was working on a new live TV streaming service. This new service would be separate from DIRECTV NOW and was being built to replace DIRECTV. AT&T reportedly wants to try to move over DIRECTV customers to a cheaper streaming version to help save AT&T money. With a streaming version, AT&T could save money by not having to send a truck to your house and will no longer need to pay for satellites in space.
Now images of what appear to be internal documents from AT&T have been posted online showing that the new service will be called AT&T TV and will soft launch in a handful of markets in August 2019. A nationwide rollout of the service will happen in the 4th quarter of 2019.
Here are the screenshots someone posted online on the website TheLayoff.com:
Cord Cutters News can not confirm how accurate these images are, but they do lineup with what we have heard from other sources.
The screenshots also seem to lineup with what was said by an AT&T President recently. A few weeks ago, AT&T’s President of Mobility and Entertainment David Christopher talked about the news service in an interview with FierceVideo.
Here is what David Christopher told FierceVideo: “Christopher said that AT&T built its new streaming box for the service [the new DIRECTV streaming service] because the company believes it wouldn’t get all the benefits if it had just made the new DirecTV service an application.” FierceVideo went on to say: “Christopher reiterated the benefits that AT&T executives have previously laid out, namely the low-cost piece of hardware that consumers can install, which will help lower the cost of customer acquisition by eliminating the need for truck rolls and installers climbing ladders to put satellite dishes on roofs.”
When you look at the screenshots, it shows how AT&T TV customers will be able to pick up their equipment in AT&T stores. This seems to lineup nicely with Mr. Christopher said.
The AT&T TV name also lines up with what AT&T has been naming new products. AT&T renamed U-Verse Phone and U-Verse Internet to AT&T Phone and AT&T Internet. AT&T Also rebranded Roots Sports to AT&T Sports recently. AT&T TV would be inline with AT&T’s current naming practices.
AT&T will also reportedly stop selling new AT&T U-verse subscriptions in the AT&T TV test markets. This move should be no surprise as AT&T has been downplaying U-Verse TV recently. As far back as 2017 reports started to appear that AT&T would shutdown U-Verse TV. Back in 2016 reports started to appear that AT&T was pushing DIRECTV over U-verse TV.
For now, these are rumors, but they are lining up with what we are hearing about AT&T’s future plans for their TV services.
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