Well they did pass along the savings. There is no $15 advanced receiver fee or $7 per TV fee on AT&T TV, so there's the $22 you are wondering about. You still save money not paying the $7 even if you get additional clients because $7 a month over 24 months is $168 so you save $48 over the term of the commitment and save $7 a month per client thereafter. Plus you own it and can resell it on eBay to other AT&T TV customers after you leave, or (probably) keep using it as a streaming set top.
The advanced receiver fee may apply to your account but that's not how DTV prices things for new subs any more. The prices they now advertise include all the equipment and service costs for the given package with HD DVR service to a single TV. The only extra charge beyond that is the RSN fee, if applicable to your package.
See screenshot below to see how DTV is currently pricing the Entertainment package with HD DVR service to 3 TVs (one served by the Genie HD DVR, included, and two more by wired receivers at $7/mo each). The $65 package price is just for the first year. It goes to the regular $93/mo price in year two.
If you want to add wired receivers to additional TVs, it's $7/mo per TV. If you have service to 5 or more TVs, then they charge a one-time up-front fee of $49 per receiver beyond the first 3. If you prefer wireless receivers, I think there's a one-time up-front charge of $99 for the overall account, regardless of how many receivers you get.
I couldn't get the shopping cart to all fit on one screen but for some reason, this time DTV was offering me a $200, rather than $100, Visa gift card at checkout. Maybe because I was ordering service for 3 TVs rather than just 1?
At any rate, if you do the math, it comes out CHEAPER right now to get the Entertainment package as a standalone service via DirecTV satellite than via AT&T TV. While the latter charges $5/mo less in the first year, the former is offering at least a $100 Visa gift card plus waiving the $20 activation fee. So for service to
one TV, your net cost in the first year is $60
less on DirecTV than on AT&T TV. Net cost in year two is the same.
If you get service to three TVs (as in the screenshot above), the net cost is $232 less in the first year on DirecTV than on AT&T TV, assuming that you purchase two additional AT&T TV streaming boxes at $120 each. In year two, the net cost is $168
more on DirecTV than on AT&T TV because at that point all your AT&T TV streaming boxes are paid for and the Entertainment package costs the same ($93) on either service, but you're still paying an extra $14/mo on DirecTV for the 2 additional wired receivers. Still though, that makes the overall net 2-year cost of HD DVR service to 3 TVs to be $64
less on DirecTV than on AT&T TV.
Maybe there's something that AT&T's website isn't disclosing on one service or the other but I don't think so. They've always been pretty straightforward about what the pricing will be each month for the full 2-year term.
A bit surprised they are charging $120 for the C71 when it couldn't cost half that to make, but it still saves money over satellite so I guess they figured people wouldn't whine too much.
Even with a one-year contract, AT&T TV ought to be giving away 2 of those boxes to customers. Or maybe offer customers a choice between a $50 Visa gift card and a free second box. With a 2-year contract, it's absolutely ridiculous that they're asking customers to pay $120 for a 2nd box.