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AT&T to Challenge Netflix, HBO With DirecTV Now

Dubbed DirecTV Now, it will be offered to consumers before the end of the year.

 & Tom Brant Managing Editor

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AT&T plans to launch a streaming video service by the end of the year, CEO Randall Stephenson said this week at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference.

Dubbed "DirecTV Now," it will offer more than 100 channels at a "very, very aggressive price point," Stephenson said. He indicated that the data required to stream it would be "incorporated into the price of the content," suggesting it will be exempt from data caps.

It's likely that such an exemption would apply to a customer's home broadband plan from AT&T in addition to mobile data plans. AT&T, which owns DirecTV, recently announced that its cellular plan customers who are also DirecTV subscribers can now watch streaming TV content without using up their mobile data allotment.

If the data cap exemption extends to mobile viewing, it would follow in the footsteps of services like T-Mobile's Binge On, which allows unlimited audio and video streaming from many different providers. It has been popular with consumers but drawn criticism from net neutrality advocates.

Stephenson did not elaborate on how much the DirecTV streaming service would cost or whether it would be available to people who don't already have a DirectTV subscription. But he said the cost of providing it would be lower than that of traditional TV service, since there's no installation required.

Whether or not DirecTV Now will be a worthy competitor to the likes of Netflix, HBO Now, and Amazon Video depends to a large degree on partnerships with TV and movie studios. Stephenson said that "we've been doing what I would consider some win-win arrangements with the content providers."

A DirecTV spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

About Our Expert

Tom Brant

Tom Brant

Managing Editor

I’m a managing editor at PCMag.com focused on PC hardware. Reading this during the day? Then you've caught me testing gear and editing reviews of Wi-Fi routers, printers, laptops, and tons of other personal tech. (Reading this at night? Then I’m probably dreaming about all those cool products.) I’ve covered the consumer tech world as an editor, reporter, and analyst since 2015.

I've covered most major consumer tech events, including CES, Computex, Google I/O, and IFA. I've also appeared on CBS News, in USA Today, and at many other outlets to offer analysis on breaking technology news.

Before I joined the tech-journalism ranks, I wrote on topics as diverse as Borneo's rainforests, Middle Eastern airlines, and Big Data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, I also have a master's degree in journalism and French Studies from New York University.

The Technology I Use

While most people buy a phone or laptop and stick with it for years, I’m lucky enough to use devices based on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows daily as part of my job. As a result, I cycle through lots of tech in addition to my IT-issue work laptop. (Yes, that's a ThinkPad.) Personally, I’ve also owned a lot of tech products both cutting-edge and cringeworthy, from the Nintendo GameCube and the original MacBook to the Palm m105 and the CueCat.

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