Prices can be "lower" if it is one dollar less so that's hardly going to be difficult for them. Since there's no Genie and thus no reason to charge the $15 "advanced receiver fee" I think it should be at least $15 + taxes cheaper. Maybe more depending on what they do about the $7 per TV fees. I expect the package prices themselves to be the same.
What you state may end up being how they price it, but I would still think that AT&T would offer their "full package" streaming customers -- at least those who will be using the C71 Osprey box -- the same opportunity to sign up for a 24-month contract with up-front incentives (reduced pricing for the first year, Visa gift cards, etc.) as they offer their satellite TV customers. Because, without those deals -- which are currently NOT available with DTV Now's Entertainment, Choice, etc. packages -- the streaming version would be a much worse deal for a lot of potential customers.
Yes, I realize that part of the allure of these "cord-cutter" cable services like DTV Now, YouTube TV, etc. is that they have no contract and can be stopped and started whenever one wants. But that's not something that the majority of cable TV subscribers are interested in doing. Most folks, when they sign up for a new service, plan to keep it year-round for quite some time. And those consumers would be expecting up-front discounts and rebates.
It will be interesting to see which route AT&T takes with regard to marketing/branding. On the one hand, they could do what I think would make the most sense, and offer streaming versions of their full satellite packages under the main DirecTV brand, with the same contracts, promotions, billing system, etc. Only real differences would be that the streaming customers would get the self-installed C71 box and possibly pay less for DVR service, additional TVs/STBs, and installation. Meanwhile, DTV Now would continue as it is with only their Plus and Max packages. In this scenario, "DirecTV" = traditional full-scale cable TV service with all the bells, whistles, costs and commitments while "DirecTV Now" = flexible, skinnier, lower-cost no-contract streaming cable TV on any device, aimed at cord-cutters. The former can be bundled with AT&T home internet at a discount and the latter with AT&T mobile service at a discount.
The other branding option would be "DirecTV" = any TV service offered via satellite, regardless of package size, price, or commitment and "DirecTV Now" = any TV service offered via streaming, regardless of package size, price, commitment, and whether you use your own device or an AT&T STB. In this scenario, we would see full-price, full-scale packages and the C71 box roll out under the DTV Now brand. This doesn't make as much sense to me but it may be the route that they're going given that we now see the traditional satellite packages offered under DTV Now and the two new DTV Now packages (Plus and Max) offered via satellite under the DTV brand. We'll see...
