DirecTV Now is set to take on Sling TV and PlayStation Vue on November 30th. The wait is almost over. AT&T has officially unveiled all the details about its upcoming streaming TV service. The service will be called DirecTV Now. The service lives up to its promises. The new DirecTV Now will have on-demand and live programming from over 120 channels. AT&T was able to get programing from many networks. They also plan to have offer premium add-on options.
It is too early to know if Sling TV and PlayStation Vue have anything to worry about just yet. DirecTV Now will launch on almost every single streaming device you can think of. The app will be on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Fire TV, Fire Stick and Android devices. Don’t worry Chromecast fans. Support from iOS will be available next year but no word for you yet Roku owners.
To get you hooked. DirecTV Now will offer a free 7-day trial at launch and customers who sign up early will be eligible for the $60/month package at $35/month going forward. The streaming TV package includes four tiers ranging from $35/month to $70/month with 60+ to 120+ channels.
Just like with PlayStation Vue, CBS and Showtime are missing. However unlike with PlayStation Vue the folks at Viacom are playing nice and will be on board right at launch with DirecTV Now. Another bonus is the possibility of Sunday Ticket. AT&T says it’s working with the NFL on making Sunday Ticket availability a reality. On the downside, there is no cloud-DVR yet but the feature is expected next year. You only have the option to have two simultaneous streams at a time. Nick, one of our readers pointed out that PlayStation Vue gives you up to five simultaneous streams. So while the DirecTV Now service does shows potential for greatness it still fall short. Right now PlayStation Vue offers more.
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These will be the four programming packages available at launch:
- Live a Little – $35 / month (60+ channels)
- Just Right – $50 / month (80+ channels)
- Go Big – $60 / month (100+ channels)
- Gotta Have it – $70 / month (120+ channels)
These devices that will support DirecTV Now:
- Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- Android mobile devices and tablets
- iPhone, iPad and Apple TV
- Chromecast (Android at launch; iOS in 2017)
- Google Cast-enabled LeEco ecotvs and VIZIO SmartCast Displays
- Internet Explorer, Chrome and Safari web browsers
- Roku devices, Amazon Fire tablets and Samsung Smart TV support in 2017