FAST Channels added to DIRECTV Stream/Internet

[KyL416]

4 more testing:
4009 Scripps News
4219 Bob Ross Channel
4230 Court TV
4416 Dove TV

 

[jamieh1]

Glad to see scripps and court tv coming.

 

[jamieh1]

Hope they add Live Now from Fox.

 

[KyL416]

MeatEater is testing on channel 4370

 

[jamieh1]

Court TV , Dove Channel, Scripps News and others went live today on DTV stream.

 

[raoul5788]

WCCT channel 20 in CT has gone live.

 

[KyL416]

These are now live:
4009 Scripps News
4219 Bob Ross Channel
4230 Court TV
4305 Comedy Dynamics
4346 Dog Whsiperer with Cesar Millan
4370 MeatEater
4416 Dove TV


Also, not really a FAST channel, but last week 387 Recipe.tv was added as an app only channel for Satellite/Internet/Stream customers.

 

[larry55]

Will these channels on Directv ?

 

[harshness]

4 more testing:
4009 Scripps News
4219 Bob Ross Channel
4230 Court TV
4416 Dove TV

How much "testing" do streaming channels require?

 

[KyL416]

It's usually about a month of testing. FAST channels rely on dynamic ad insertion and there are different origin and DAI providers they have to deal with like amagi, wurl, akamai, frequency, yospace, etc.

This isn't a DIRECTV only thing, the more established FAST players like Pluto and Xumo have similar delays between when channels first appear on their server and when they go live for users.

EDIT: The joint announcement:
https://investor.cineverse.com/news...m-Cineverse-and-Scripps-Networks/default.aspx
For Cineverse, it says the deal gives them the option to add their other channels along with VOD

After that, DIRECTV and Cineverse will identify other popular networks from within the Cineverse portfolio to potentially add to DIRECTV's lineup in subsequent months.
...
DIRECTV recently added several other channels for streaming customers, and this Cineverse agreement makes nearly 4,000 hours of individual on-demand shows representing all the most popular genres – including action-adventure, anime, animation, comedy, crime, drama, documentary, news, romance, reality, science fiction, horror, kids and family, sports, westerns, and music – available to DIRECTV in the future.
...
Among the other popular channels from Cineverse's portfolio potentially available to DIRECTV customers in the future are lifestyle channel about start-up businesses and entrepreneurship, EntrepreneurTV; children's entertainment on 9 Story Presents: Garfield and Friends and Barney; horror channel SCREAMBOX TV; international unscripted reality channel So…Real; western staple The Lone Star Channel; the Real Madrid Channel dedicated to the popular Spanish football club; The Film Detective (classic films); RetroCrush (classic anime); AsianCrush (pan-Asian entertainment); Midnight Pulp (cult movies and TV shows) ; and the recently-introduced Sid & Marty Krofft Channel, featuring classic 1970s live action children's fantasy programs like "H.R. Pufnstuf," "Land of the Lost," and "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters."

 

[KyL416]

PokerGO is now testing

 

[curbside]

Why aren't these channels available on the Gemini box for Satellite since it is a streaming box?

 

[harshness]

Why aren't these channels available on the Gemini box for Satellite since it is a streaming box?

Because a satellite-configured Gemini streams DIRECTV content exclusively from its associated Genie. If the Genie can't bring it in, the Gemini can't stream it.

 

[curbside]

Because a satellite-configured Gemini streams DIRECTV content exclusively from its associated Genie. If the Genie can't bring it in, the Gemini can't stream it.

Thanks for that explanation. Couldn't DirecTV make an app to put on the Gemini box so we could watch those channels? There's many streaming apps on the box.

 

[KyL416]

The DTV app on the satellite Gemini is basically a Genie client in app form.

The live TV section in OTT apps like Prime Video/Freevee, Roku Channel, Plex, Xumo, Pluto, LocalNow, Tubi or Cineverse will also get you these FAST channels and a lot more that isn't available in the 4000s.

 

[curbside]

The DTV app on the satellite Gemini is basically a Genie client in app form.

The live TV section in OTT apps like Prime Video/Freevee, Roku Channel, Plex, Xumo, Pluto, LocalNow or Cineverse will also get you these FAST channels and a lot more that isn't available in the 4000s.

I totally get that. I know where to find them. So what’s the point of DTV having them if I have to use a different device than the Gemini and then open the DTV app.

 

[KyL416]

Hopefully down the road they will be able to make them available on Genies and Geminis by doing what they do for Tastemade, i24 and Cheddar where the metadata needed to retrieve the streams is sent over satellite or by expanding the signal saver function in a way where it can also be used to deliver the internet only channels.

 

[harshness]

Couldn't DirecTV make an app to put on the Gemini box so we could watch those channels?

If DIRECTV wants channels to be part of satellite packages, they'll be added to the Genie.

There are other apps you can use to access most of the channels.

 

[KyL416]

A new batch is now testing:
Anger Management Channel
Are we There Yet? Channel
MovieSphere by Lionsgate
Ebony TV by Lionsgate
Her Sphere by Lionsgate
Womens Sports Network
Racing America
El Rey Rebel
Somos Novelas

 

[KyL416]

These are now live:
4125 Womens Sports Network
4140 Poker Go
4192 Racing America
4229 El Rey Rebel
4720 Somos Novelas

EDIT: Here's the announcement