A report from Variety on Sunday claims AT&T will entice viewers to its upcoming DirecTV Now television streaming package by giving an Apple TV to new subscribers who commit to at least three months of the new service. Those who commit to one month will get an Amazon Fire TV Stick. Both devices will offer the DirecTV Now app when it launches. Variety bases their report on customer-support documents discovered after they were inadvertently released by AT&T online.
DirecTV Now is AT&T’s internet-based live TV streaming service slated to launch in late 2016. The cord-cutter service will start at $35 per month and provide access to more than 100 channels, such as ABC, A&E, CBS, ESPN, Fox, HBO, MTV, NBC, Nickelodeon, and Discovery, on smartphones, tablets, streaming boxes, and other devices. Availability of channels may vary based on regional restrictions.
DirecTV Now will provide either one or two simultaneous streams to subscribers, with the ability to add more for an upcharge. The service can also be bundled with AT&T’s home broadband and mobile service, and subscribers who stream DirecTV Now content won’t have to worry about it counting against their data plans. Five million AT&T wireless customers have already taken advantage of AT&T’s new unlimited plan, which requires a DirecTV subscription.
The company is still in talks with a number of content providers, so the actual debut of the service depends on when AT&T can get all of those ducks in a row.
The new service is expected to offer a three-day window for subscribers to catch-up on shows they missed, a video on demand library of around 14,000 titles, and is also expected to offer a free 7-day trial when the service becomes available.
