AT&T sets launch of WatchTV, offers new unlimited plans
Hot off completing its acquisition of Time Warner, AT&T announced on Thursday that next week it will be launching its first post-merger consumer video offering called WatchTV, which you can consume on an Android or iOS smartphone or tablet app, the Chrome and Safari web browsers and on Apple TV, Roku and Google Chromecast.
The service, a so-called “skinny bundle” with more than 30 live streaming channels and more than
15,000 TV shows and movies on demand, will be offered free to consumers under two new AT&T unlimited plans, starting at $70 for a single line.
The new unlimited plans replace AT&T’s existing unlimited plans, though current customers can hold onto the plan they have.
If you do opt to keep your current unlimited plan or are not on any AT&T plan, you can fork over $15 monthly for WatchTV as a standalone cutting-the-cord streaming option. Under such a scenario, AT&T not only will be competing against its traditional wireless rival
Verizon, but against the cord-cutting Sling
TV service, which starts at $20 a month.
WatchTV has been in the works for a while, but AT&T was waiting for clarity on the Time Warner deal before proceeding with the launch. The deal got the green light last week when a federal judge rejected a government suit to block the $85 billion megamerger. That decision also has prompted the renewal of a high-stakes bidding war between Comcast and Walt Disney Co. for a collection of TV and entertainment assets put up for sale by 21st Century Fox.
The WatchTV lineup includes several former Time Warner channel properties, including CNN, TBS, TNT and TruTV. Since the new service centers around live TV, it will be largely ad-supported.
Though there’s no 24/7 sports channel such as ESPN, AT&T says sporting content that is broadcast on TNT and TBS, such as the NBA and MLB, respectively, will not be blacked out to WatchTV viewers.
Of course, WatchTV is but one offering in AT&T’s now expanding entertainment portfolio. The portfolio includes DirecTV Now for cord-cutters who demand a larger and broader set of channels, starting at
$35 a month for some 60 channels on up to $70 monthly for 120-plus channels.
There also are the more traditional cable and satellite offerings with even more channels and sports packages you can get via DirecTV or U-verse TV. For example, NFL Sunday Ticket is limited to DirecTV.
“This (WatchTV offering) is really the first step of many steps,” said David Christopher, president of AT&T Mobility and Entertainment. “What we’re doing is creating a portfolio of ‘ good, better, best’ that aligns with what different customers care about.”
The unlimited plans under which AT&T will provide WatchTV gratis go by the names of AT&T Unlimited & More ($70 for a single line; $160 for four lines) and AT&T Unlimited & More Premium ($80; $190).