The Future of DirecTV, DirecTV Now, Uverse TV & HBO

[Scott Greczkowski]

DIRECTV is having issues, seems as though they are running out of money. Certain projects such as the HD to SD locals Migration has been put on hold (which was supposed to be completed a few months ago) they have no equipment, and retailers are reporting to me they haven't been paid in months.

Lets hope they get their act together.

 

[navychop]

HD to SD? Not the other way around?

Sounds like another instance of a big company forcing the little guys to finance them. Where I used to work, a couple of our biggest accounts arbitrarily declared they would pay on a 45 day billing cycle. That got rough, especially when they didn’t actually pay on 45 days.


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[NashGuy]

DIRECTV is having issues, seems as though they are running out of money. Certain projects such as the HD to SD locals Migration has been put on hold (which was supposed to be completed a few months ago) they have no equipment, and retailers are reporting to me they haven't been paid in months.

Lets hope they get their act together.

I think a shake-up's a-comin' at DirecTV...

 

[slice1900]

DIRECTV is having issues, seems as though they are running out of money. Certain projects such as the HD to SD locals Migration has been put on hold (which was supposed to be completed a few months ago) they have no equipment, and retailers are reporting to me they haven't been paid in months.

Lets hope they get their act together.

Who says it was "supposed to be completed months ago"? It was always targeted for the end of 2019. They since pushed back the schedule because they had a few major customer types like oil rigs and aircraft that couldn't go all HD as quickly as Directv wanted and have ironclad contracts that basically require them to supply the service contracted for beyond that 2019 date.

Not sure how pushing it back would save money anyway since it is mostly dependent on them getting other people to do things, not Directv doing things.

 

[larry55]

I will not pay for his service.

 

[ncted]

My neighbors down the street are pissed because DirecTV replaced their failed HR54 with an HR44 that looks like it [barely] survived catastrophe. When they complained, the tech told them it was the best he could get. They are coming up on their 2 year contract renewal, and they would really prefer to go back to Uverse, but I uncertain they will be able to get a good deal since they are already AT&T/D* customers and hardware is hard to come by for Uverse as well.

 

[navychop]

Plenty of Hoppers are available.






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[ncted]

Plenty of Hoppers are available.






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Well, my parents are thinking about it, but they are old and hesitant to change. I offered to let the neighbors check out Dish at my house, and they said they would think about it. I think it is hard for people to change from what they are used to unless there is a really compelling reason.

 

[osu1991]

It took me getting my dad a Tivo Roamio for OTA and them using it, then when he saw the $2000 he would save with the switch to a Cox bundle, it was an easy switch. We were both 15yr plus Dish customers when we switched 4 yrs ago. So far Cox has been good with the bundle discounts. We have no other choice for internet other than 3Mb DSL from Windstream or 6Mb DSL from Centurylink in Vegas.

 

[navychop]

Well, my parents are thinking about it, but they are old and hesitant to change. I offered to let the neighbors check out Dish at my house, and they said they would think about it. I think it is hard for people to change from what they are used to unless there is a really compelling reason.

How true. But what happens when the thing they are accustomed to is discontinued? That’s the very definition of compelling reason. Still a tough adjustment.

My MiL is flummoxed by my push to start car. She just can’t “get it” simple as it is.


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[Juan]

When you bleed millions of customers....

Plenty of Hoppers are available.






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[NashGuy]

Some further validation today of my earlier prediction/report that the upcoming WarnerMedia SVOD will be named HBO Max and include HBO, Cinemax and basically all other non-news/non-sports sources of WarnerMedia entertainment:

WarnerMedia Narrows Down a Name for Its Upcoming Streaming Service

 

[NashGuy]

Many thanks to CSM who directed me to the following internal AT&T screenshots that leaked online over at TheLayoff.com.

Looks like I was right that the upcoming product will be named AT&T TV and also right that it is set to debut in August.

What I didn't anticipate is that it won't launch nationally at that time. It will have a soft launch in 9 pilot markets in August before rolling out nationally in the fall (Q4). But I was correct in stating that the advent of this new service means the end of sales and installation of Uverse TV for new customers. Rumor mill says that Uverse TV stops selling in those 9 pilot markets the day that AT&T TV launches there and stops selling nationally in Nov. or Dec., presumably when AT&T TV is available everywhere.

Another thing that I think I've sussed out from these screenshots is that in some areas, AT&T TV will be purely OTT, exclusively using unicast streams just as DirecTV Now has always done. But in 6 of the pilot markets, as well as additional markets to launch in Q4, AT&T TV will use a mixture of unicast and multicast streams when the service is delivered over their own broadband network (to customers who have AT&T Fiber or AT&T Internet branded service). I believe that AT&T is using the designation "IF" on the map screenshot to indicate markets that will exclusively use unicast streams, while the designation "IF/IPTV" refers to markets that will use a mixture of unicast and multicast.

 

[ncted]

View attachment 139485

AT&T needs to hire a new cartographer. At a minimum, West Palm, Orange/Riverside, and Corpus Cristi are inaccurate, and El Paso isn't even in the right state!

 

[NashGuy]

AT&T needs to hire a new cartographer. At a minimum, West Palm, Orange/Riverside, and Corpus Cristi are inaccurate, and El Paso isn't even in the right state!

Heh. I've created marketing documents with exactly those kinds of maps before. And while I'm a stickler for those kinds of details, I don't think the typical marketing communications person working in Photoshop/PowerPoint/etc. is. Trust me, whoever made that isn't a cartographer!

 

[NashGuy]

Just checked the availability of local channels from DTV Now in the 9 pilot markets where AT&T TV is going to launch next month. In 8 of the 9, AT&T has contracts and operations in place to live stream the local affiliates for all 4 of the big 4: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. The only market missing a major local is Odessa, TX, where ABC affiliate KMID 2 isn't shown. But that could just be a temporary situation, because that station is owned by Nexstar. Just today I saw where my local ABC affiliate in Nashville, also owned by Nexstar, is telling viewers to prepare for a possible blackout on all AT&T-owned systems. Once that standoff is resolved, I'd expect DTV Now and AT&T TV to both carry all 4 major locals in Odessa.

In 5 of the 9 pilot markets, DTV Now also carries the local Telemundo station and in some instances the local My Network TV or CW stations. DTV Now has been adding some more Sinclair-owned affiliates lately. I expect there to be very few, if any, holes in the nation's top 100 markets by the time AT&T TV launches nationally around November. (Note that Odessa ranks as market 153; Topeka is 137; Wichita is 105; Corpus Christi is 132. The other 5 pilot markets are all top 100.)

Going further than that, I'll predict that AT&T TV launches nationally (and maybe even in some or all of the initial 9 test markets) with live PBS feeds, either local PBS stations or a national PBS feed. PBS has been saying for over a year now that they're trying to figure out a plan of how to get on board with live streaming cable TV services. It does involve some problems for PBS that differ from the situation of commercial networks and their local affiliates in terms of streaming rights, etc. But 15 months or more should be long enough to get it figured out and have some kind of system in place. My bet is that AT&T TV will be the first live streaming TV service that PBS partners with.

 

[NashGuy]

I'll go ahead and post a revised and more detailed set of predictions of how the new AT&T TV will be structured (an update versus my initial prediction in the OP of this thread).

Three base packages: Select, Plus and Max, priced at $30, $50 and $70 per month (or $10 less your total bill if bundled with AT&T Fiber/Internet). All three packages will automatically include the new HBO Max on-demand streaming service, plus live channels for HBO, HBO Family, HBO Latino, and Cinemax. Bundling discounts will also be offered when AT&T TV is combined with certain AT&T Wireless plans.

AT&T TV - Select will include the 35+ channels currently in AT&T Watch TV. This package does not contain locals or all-sports channels. But at some point (perhaps not at launch), AT&T will offer a network-based OTA TV tuner (much like Sling TV's AirTV 2 black box) that can stream your free local OTA channels into the AT&T TV user interface, whether on the AT&T TV box or in the AT&T TV app (when used at home and connected to the same wifi network as the OTA tuner).

AT&T TV - Plus will contain all of the channels, including locals, that are currently part of the Plus package on DirecTV Now. In addition, it will also have A&E, History, Lifetime, AMC and BBCAmerica.

AT&T TV - Max will contain all of the channels, including locals and regional sports networks (RSNs), that are currently part of the Max package on DirecTV Now. In addition, it will also have A&E, History, Lifetime, AMC, BBCAmerica as well as Viceland and IFC. In addition, Max subscribers will get to choose one add-on Extra pack at no additional charge. (Besides RSNs, Viceland and IFC, the other cable channels in Max but not in Plus are sports channels Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, ESPN News, ESPN U, FS2, Golf, Longhorn Network, MSG, MSG+, Olympic Channel, SEC Network, YES, and entertainment channels CMT, TV Land, and Paramount Network.)

Nearly all of the local affiliates for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in the top 100 largest TV markets (and many in the next 100) will be available in the Plus and Max packages when AT&T TV launches nationwide this fall. Many Telemundo, CW and My Network TV affiliates will also be included around the country. I also believe that PBS channels, whether in the form of live local stations or a live national feed or some hybrid of the two, will also be included in AT&T TV this year.

There will be 4 different Extra packs, priced $5-7 each, that optionally can be added to any of the three base packages. (Your first Extra pack is free if you have the Max base package.)

Discovery Extra Pack (featuring all of the channels owned by Discovery)
Discovery
HGTV
Food Network
Investigation Discovery
Animal Planet
OWN
TLC
Travel
Cooking
DIY
MotorTrend
Science
Discovery Family
Discovery Life
Destination America
American Heroes Channel
Great American Country

Sports Extra Pack
MLB Network
NBA TV
NHL Network
ESPN Goal Line
ESPN Bases Loaded
ESPN Buzzer Beater
ESPN Classic
Altitude Sports
beIN Sports
Tennis Channel
Stadium Plus 1
Outdoor Channel
Sportsman Channel
World Fishing Network
Ride TV
TVG

Entertainment Extra Pack (including Sundance TV, AXS TV, HD Net Movies, Pop, MTV Live, Lifetime Movies, etc.)
Sundance TV
We TV
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Hallmark Drama
AXS TV
HD Net Movies
MGM HD
Pop
Logo
MTV Live
MTV2
MTV Classic
Lifetime Movies
Reelz
TV One
Fusion
Game Show Network

Family Extra Pack
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Hallmark Drama
Nicktoons
Teen Nick
Game Show Network
RFD-TV
Cowboy Channel
FYI
Crime & Investigation
Baby First
UPtv
The Weather Channel
Outdoor Channel
World Fishing Network
Sportsman Channel
Ride TV

As mentioned above, AT&T's own HBO and Cinemax will automatically be included in every AT&T TV plan. Showtime, Starz and Epix will each be available as a la carte add-ons to any base package. Spanish-language and International packages, as currently offered in DirecTV Now, will also be available as part of AT&T TV.

All packages will come with 20 hours of TrueCloud DVR, which can be expanded to 120 hours for an extra $10/mo. Packages allow 2 simultaneous streams but up to 2 additional streams can be purchased for an extra $5/mo each.

Select live and on-demand content in 4K and 4K HDR will be streamed in those formats, as available, for no additional charge (assuming your network connection supports the increased bandwidth necessary for those advanced picture formats).

Customers *may* be required to take and activate the AT&T TV box (i.e. Osprey C71 streaming box) on their account but there will be an AT&T TV app for all popular devices that allow customers to watch at home or out-of-home on their own devices.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

The Weather Channel will want to be in the basic package
MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network will want to be in the same package as Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network.

 

[RandallA]

I'd like to add that beIN Sports is currently not carried by Directv, Uverse nor Directvnow.

 

[CSM]

AT&T confirms Warner Media streaming service will be called HBO Max.

HBO Max: WarnerMedia Confirms Name of Streaming Service, New Home to Friends, Fresh Prince, CW Dramas