AT&T Hopes A Confusing Rebranding Will Help Its Muddled Video Plans Make Sense
Furnished content.
Despite spending more than $150 billion on mergers intended to help it dominate the video space, AT&T's video ambitions are falling flat. The company just posted a loss of more than 778,000 "traditional" video subscribers last quarter (satellite TV, IPTV), but also lost another 168,000 subscribers at its DirecTV Now streaming service. The reason? The company's acquisitions of DirecTV ($67 billion) and Time Warner ($86 billion) saddled it with so much debt, the company was forced to raise rates. This, in turn, helped drive AT&T's customers to the exits.Despite its voracious appetite for M&A, it's not entirely clear the company knows what to do from here. The same week it announced record subscriber losses, AT&T proclaimed it would be engaged in a rebranding that will kill off the DirecTV brand. AT&T's DirecTV Now streaming video service will now be, quite creatively, named just AT&T TV Now:
"AT&T is eliminating the DirecTV Now brand name it uses for its struggling Internet-based TV service. DirecTV Now will become "AT&T TV Now" later this summer, AT&T announced today. DirecTV Now (the future "AT&T TV Now") offers a bundle of linear TV channels, similar to traditional cable or satellite services, and AT&T said its core offering won't be changed."The problem, as some were quick to point out, is that AT&T, Time Warner, and HBO all now offer video via an immensely confusing array of options. There's HBO Go, HBO's streaming service for those with cable. There's HBO Now, HBO's streaming service for those without cable. There's AT&T's Watch TV, which is a live, discounted bundle of 35 channels. There's also AT&T TV, which is delivered over IPTV. Then there's AT&T TV Now, which is a rebranded version of DirecTV Now, its on demand streaming option. There's also HBO Max, AT&T's new streaming platform slated for next year. Not confusing at all, right?
For those keeping score, AT&T will be offering TV shows through:
- HBO Go
- HBO Max
- HBO Now
- AT&T Now
- AT&T TV
- AT&T WatchTV
- AT&T U-verse
- DirecTV https://t.co/Je7FNPRNVV— Drew FitzGerald (@DrewFitzGerald) July 30, 2019
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