These are the three new products AT&T is offering to attract cord cutters (T, VZ, TMUS)
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AT&T has an ambitious plan to capture cord cutters.
The second-largest U.S. wireless carrier announced that it would debut three new over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services as it tries to attract the continually expanding group of consumers who are giving up their traditional pay-TV subscriptions.
The three services are DirecTV Now, DirecTV Mobile, and DirecTV Preview:
- DirecTV Now will provide several content packages that include on-demand and live programming from a variety of networks, along with some premium add-ons.
- DirecTV Mobile, as the name suggests, targets mobile users and will offer premium videos and other content specifically tailored to mobile, regardless of the customer's wireless carrier.
- DirecTV Preview will be supported by ads and will provide limited programming from DirecTV, AT&T's Audience network, and more. Preview will be available on wired and wireless devices.
AT&T has not released prices or other details, but said that Now and Mobile would be subscription-based. These services will not require annual contracts, satellite dishes, or set-top boxes, which means they will not be exclusive to AT&T or DirecTV customers.
AT&T's strategy is further evidence that traditional pay-TV is suffering as subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services rise in popularity. SVOD services that allow viewers to stream the programming they want anywhere, has led many to question what the future of video entertainment looks like — and whether traditional pay-TV has a place.
Margaret Boland, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on subscription video on-demand services that examines how the growth of SVOD is coming at the expense of the pay-TV industry. The report analyzes the state of the pay-TV industry and maps out which demographics are more likely to stop buying traditional TV packages.
The report also discuss the user base, original content offerings, and subscription models of the major subscription streaming services available today, including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video. Finally, it looks at how traditional pay-TV companies and premium channels like HBO and Showtime are addressing the shift to digital viewing, as well as the implications of their response for advertisers.
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Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:
- Those abandoning pay-TV packages fall into three main groups: cord-nevers, cord-cutters, and cord-shavers. Whereas video streaming services have found favor with younger viewers in particular, an increasing portion of older subscribers also are leaving behind their pay-TV packages. Still, younger viewers watch four times as much video content online than older viewers.
- Netflix is the largest SVOD service and will continue to dominate the industry with an impressive original content lineup and aggressive expansion plans.
- Amazon is trying to compete with Netflix by investing significant resources in original content.
- Hulu is the third-largest SVOD service, but the only one to offer ad-supported membership tiers. Hulu has been the slowest to roll out original and exclusive content, but it has inked numerous deals in the past year to boost its content library.
- Pay-TV companies are responding to the rise of SVOD services by offering subscribers "skinny bundles" and their own streaming services.
In full, the report:
- Illustrates the fall of the traditional TV package and the rise of broadband only cable subscriptions.
- Lays out the different types of viewers that are leaving behind pay-TV: cord-cutters, cord-shavers, and cord-nevers.
- Examines the leading SVOD services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and premium channel offerings from HBO and Showtime.
- Explains the various ways that pay-TV companies are responding to the rise of SVOD services, notably skinny bundles and standalone streaming services.
- Considers what the migration to SVOD services means to marketers.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
- Purchase an ALL-ACCESS Membership that entitles you to immediate access to not only this report, but also dozens of other research reports, subscriptions to all 5 of the BI Intelligence daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
- Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of subscription video on-demand services.