Audio Video News

Barely a week after the FCC approved its merger with DirecTV, AT&T lost no time in offering new bundles exploiting the new entity’s many talents. “We’re going to deliver more TV and entertainment choices to more screens—when and where our customers want it,” said an executive.

Four packages ranging from $50 to $125/month offer various levels of DirecTV satellite service or, where available, AT&T U-verse TV, which combines a fiberoptic network with last-mile copper wiring. Perhaps the biggest deal is a $200/month bundle combining DirecTV or U-verse HD and DVR service for up to four TVs with unlimited talk and text and 10 GB of sharable data for four cellular lines.

AT&T is bucking the cord-cutting tide with these new offerings. However, even before the merger was announced, AT&T announced that it lost just 22,000 U-verse TV subscribers in the second quarter of this year compared to 190,000 at the same time last year. That is certainly a good omen. It leaves nearly six million U.S. TV subscribers—and the acquisition of DirecTV adds another 20.4 million.

Over on the DirecTV side, the satellite operator has begun offering a new set-top box that connects wirelessly to the Ultra HD-capable Genie DVR, extending the Genie’s reach to additional rooms and screens. The Genie Mini box supports Dolby Digital Plus surround sound.