AT&T's DirecTV Now Added at Least 200,000 Subscribers in First Month -- Update
January 20 2017 - 9:07AM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford
AT&T Inc. said its new streaming-video service, DirecTV Now,
added at least 200,000 paying subscribers in its first month of
operation, giving investors a first glimpse into the health of the
business.
The streaming television service was launched Nov. 30 with
special promotional pricing and incentives. It offers four tiers of
channels that are delivered to web browsers, mobile phones and
streaming devices like Amazon's Fire TV stick or the Apple TV. The
smallest package has more than 60 channels, while the biggest has
more than 120.
AT&T had previously said that the service's initial response
exceeded its expectations. Friday, AT&T said it had added more
than 200,000 net video adds through December, driven entirely
driven by paying DirecTV Now subscribers. AT&T might have added
more Now subscribers as company had posted net video losses
recently, including losing 3,000 in the third quarter and 49,000 in
the second quarter.
The service has established competition from streaming video
services such as Netflix and Hulu, and from similar streaming
television services like Dish Network Corp.'s Sling TV. Netflix has
93.8 million streaming customers. Last February The Wall Street
Journal reported that Sling had more than 600,000 subscribers,
citing people briefed on the numbers.
AT&T's service may have gained from media attention
following the launch and from promotional pricing -- it is offering
a bundle of more than 100 channels for $35 a month, usually priced
$60, and throwing in a free Apple TV for those who pay three months
in advance.
Separately, AT&T said it expects to record a fourth-quarter
loss of about $1 billion related to the annual reassessment of
pension and postemployment benefit plans.
The company also said it added a net 900,000 branded domestic
wireless subscribers in the quarter and saw 700,000 legacy 2G
deactivations.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 20, 2017 08:52 ET (13:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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