{"id":342282,"date":"2017-05-31T01:00:42","date_gmt":"2017-05-30T17:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1497072"},"modified":"2017-05-31T01:00:42","modified_gmt":"2017-05-30T17:00:42","slug":"as-its-growth-slows-directv-now-hits-the-roku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/as-its-growth-slows-directv-now-hits-the-roku\/","title":{"rendered":"As its growth slows, DirecTV Now hits the Roku"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=738\" class=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\">AT&amp;T\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2016\/11\/28\/att-unveils-its-tv-streaming-service-directv-now-which-will-launch-on-nov-30\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">live TV service, DirecTV Now<\/a>,\u00a0is today launching on another major platform, with its added support for Roku. However, the service itself has already lost momentum in terms of\u00a0new subscribers \u2013 according to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-05-25\/at-t-s-directv-now-online-service-said-to-see-growth-sputter\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a recent Bloomberg report<\/a>, DirecTV Now peaked in January with about 328,000 subscribers, but then lost 3,000 customers in February and saw flat growth in March.<\/p>\n<p>Roku, however, is\u00a0one of the last, significant platforms that DirecTV Now needed to support in order to be competitive with rivals. At launch, the service had been\u00a0available on the web, iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and other select smart TVs.<\/p>\n<p>With the launch on Roku, a free one-month trial of the service will be also available, which could help boost sign-ups. After the month is up, customers will be automatically enrolled in DirecTV Now\u2019s base plan ($35 per month), unless they cancel. This tier, dubbed the \u201cLive a Little\u201d plan, offers over 60 channels. From there, you can bump up to 80+ channels for $50\/mo, 100+ channels for $60\/mo, or 120+ channels for $70\/mo.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Roku launch comes at a time when DirecTV Now\u2019s service has seen\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2017-05-25\/at-t-s-directv-now-online-service-said-to-see-growth-sputter\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">slowed growth and a pull back on marketing<\/a> from AT&amp;T while it tries to work out the service\u2019s issues.\u00a0Early on, customers experienced a number of glitches \u2013 including freezing and buffering \u2013 leading them to fill up AT&amp;T\u2019s online forums with complaints and contact the company for refunds. Some even <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/01\/16\/att-denies-refunds-for-directv-now-customers-despite-the-services-performance-issues\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">filed complaints with the FCC<\/a>, when they found they couldn\u2019t get their requested refunds even though the service wasn\u2019t working as expected.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these issues, the service initially saw promising adoption\u00a0\u2013 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/01\/20\/despite-glitches-atts-directv-now-hits-200000-subscribers-in-its-first-month\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reaching<\/a> 200,000 subscribers in its first month of operations.<\/p>\n<p>Some\u00a0consumers\u00a0may have signed up because of AT&amp;T\u2019s\u00a0launch offer which included over 100 channels for only $35 per month. But that deal has since expired \u2013 it\u2019s now $60 to get that many channels today.\u00a0In addition, DirecTV Now had at first\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2016\/11\/28\/att-unveils-its-tv-streaming-service-directv-now-which-will-launch-on-nov-30\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sweetened<\/a> the deal by giving away either an Amazon Fire TV Stick or Apple TV, with new subscriptions. That deal, too, is no longer available.<\/p>\n<p>Since its debut, DirecTV Now has also been challenged by other newcomers to the live TV space. Though initially competing with existing services like Dish\u2019s Sling TV and Sony\u2019s Playstation Vue, today it has to take on other arrivals as well, like <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/02\/28\/youtube-launches-youtube-tv-its-live-tv-streaming-service\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube TV<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/05\/03\/hands-on-with-hulus-new-live-tv-service\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hulu\u2019s new live TV service<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how large\u00a0the market for live streaming TV is today \u2013 after all, many consumers who are cutting the cord are doing so because there\u2019s enough to watch via the mainstream, on-demand services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. To what extent people\u00a0want to replicate the cable tv experience in a browser or app is not yet known, as it\u2019s still\u00a0early days in this market.<\/p>\n<p>Roku says DirecTV Now will be available on select devices, including the\u00a0Roku TV 4K models, the Roku Ultra, Roku Premiere+, Roku Premiere, Roku Express, Roku Express+, Roku Streaming Stick (model 3600R), Roku 4, Roku 3 and Roku 2 (model 4210).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"453\" src=\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=680\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"DirecTV Now event\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=680 680w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=1360 1360w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=150 150w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=300 300w, https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/11\/img_0125.jpg?w=768 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/>&nbsp;AT&#38;T&#8217;s live TV service, DirecTV Now,\u00a0is today launching on another major platform, with its added support for Roku. However, the service itself has already lost momentum in terms of\u00a0new subscribers &#8211; according to a recent Bloomberg report, DirecTV Now peaked in January with about 328,000 subscribers, but then lost 3,000 customers in February and saw flat growth in March.&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/05\/30\/as-its-growth-slows-directv-now-hits-the-roku\/?ncid=rss\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:2mJPEYqXBVI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=2mJPEYqXBVI\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:7Q72WNTAKBA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=7Q72WNTAKBA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:-BTjWOF_DHI\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?i=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:-BTjWOF_DHI\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:D7DqB2pKExk\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?i=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:D7DqB2pKExk\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?a=KKm5PWaeR-8:wmJemoieCIk:qj6IDK7rITs\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/Techcrunch?d=qj6IDK7rITs\" border=\"0\"><\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/Techcrunch\/~4\/KKm5PWaeR-8\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"\/> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-342282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}