AT&T TV NOW has ceased accepting new subscribers, a bold move considering streaming service is a big business nowadays. Taking into account the successes of competitions, AT&T has merged its on-demand streaming service with AT&T TV, a cable and satellite TV service, following an announcement in January 2021.
So what does this merger say about AT&T and its streaming service? Well, a lot. Firstly, the new AT&T TV ditches the mandatory lock-in period contract, making it a pay-as-you-go service similar to Netflix, Disney Plus, and Prime Video. Secondly, the merger scraps the need for AT&T streaming boxes that will give you big savings. Lastly, you may already enjoy the streaming service on the go using the AT&T TV app on Google Play Store and the App Store.
Also read: 15 Best Free TV Streaming Apps That Are Legit and Safe (100% No Cash-Out)
Inside This Article
What Is AT&T TV?
The merger between AT&T TV NOW and AT&T TV is aimed at delivering the best on-demand and live TV experience to subscribers. With TV NOW gone after a poor performance against YouTube TV, Sling TV, and Hulu Live TV, the new streaming service from AT&T hopes to change that. Essentially, it is a service that combines cable TV and on-demand streaming.
A quick recap, following its launch in March 2020, AT&T TV requires subscribers to agree on a two-year contract. It goes further by requiring subscribers to have certain equipment for the service to run and comes with an additional fee. But as we’ve previously mentioned, these changed now and have become optional.
There will be a huge discount for signing in with the two-year contract, but if you want to switch to a different provider anytime, AT&T TV’s month-to-month packages aren’t bad.
AT&T TV Packages Compared
Let’s dig a little further into the packages. This way, you will get an idea of what these packages have to offer. Hopefully, this will help you decide which package suits best your considerations.
Entertainment Package
At a decent price of $69.99 per month, AT&T TV Entertainment Package is the cheapest package of its fleet. It costs a little over YouTube TV, which only costs $64.99 but there are pros and cons that influenced the pricing scheme.
In terms of the channel lineup, the Entertainment plan does have fewer offerings. It only offers 65+ live channels and local TV stations and 40,000 on-demand titles. Sounds too many, right? But if you compare this offering to the next AT&T TV plan, Choice Package, this will pale in comparison to its 90+ live channels and 45,000 on-demand titles. However, your household would not miss out on any important channels such as regional and national sports channels, BBC, MSNBC, Animal Planet Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic among others.
For the full and side-by-side channel lineup, check AT&T TV’s list here.
What’s missing from this plan, which is available to others, is the one-year full access to premium channels like HBO Max and Cinemax. HBO Max is an additional $14.99 under the Entertainment Plan while Cinemax is an $11 add-on per month. Getting HBO Max access alone would be an additional $180/ year on your yearly subscription to Entertainment Plan.
PROS
- 1. Has access to regional sports channel with no additional monthly cost
- 2. Has a good number of the channel lineup
- 3. Stream on up to 20 devices
CONS
- 1. No access to premium channels (e.g. HBO Max and Cinemax)
- 2. Requires additional $10 per month to increase DVR capacity to 500 hrs
Choice Package
Choice Package is priced at $84.99 with taxes as extra per month. Among the packages, Choice Package is the only plan that has regional sports networks. You might ask why this is a highlight. That is because most streaming services have already dropped those networks; AT&T choosing to retain that in this package is a huge plus.
This package comes with access to over 90 channels like Discovery Channel, Viacom CBS, and NBC Universal among others. Furthermore, this package also includes access to local channels.
Another highlight of this package is the one-year access to HBO Max. HBO Max is $14.99/ month additional fee under the Entertainment Plan, so getting the Choice Package will give you $180 savings. On top of this, you’ll get access to NBA League Pass Premium. This pass will allow you to download content for offline viewing and stream content on two devices at once.
However perfect this plan is for entertainment, the Choice Package only comes with 20 hours of True Cloud DVR.
PROS
- 1. Has more channel lineup compared to Entertainment Package
- 2. Access to regional sports channel with no add-on fees
- 3. Stream on up to 20 devices
CONS
- 1. Requires additional $10 per month to increase DVR capacity to 500 hrs
Ultimate Package
For $94.99 per month, you’ll get access to AT&T TV Ultimate Package. This package expands its offerings to 130+ live channels and local TV stations and 55,000 on-demand titles. As is with the first two packages we featured, this one also has access to a regional sports channel with no add-on fee on top of the premium monthly fee. On top of that, you’ll also get one year of full access to HBO Max.
One highlight of this package is full access to Lions Gate’s STARZ ENCORE® channel, which is responsible for releasing classic and modern feature films. Other than that, you’ll get important channels like BBC World News, Discovery Channel, and Nat Geo Wild, and CBS Sports Network among others.
At this point, you’ll already get the things that you will get to enjoy from CHOICE and ENTERTAINMENT packages in one place while getting more on the way.
PROS
- 1. Has more channel lineup compared to Choice Package
- 2. Save $180 for a year with the automatic one-year HBO Max subscription
- 3. Stream on up to 20 devices
CONS
- 1. Requires additional $10 per month to increase DVR capacity to 500 hrs
- 2. Gets pricey for $94.99 per month
Premier Package
For a monthly subscription of $139.99, this is AT&T TV’s premium plan. This plan unlocks 140+ live channels and local TV stations and 65,000 on-demand titles. Getting the mainstay features out of the way, subscribers would immediately get one-year full access to HBO Max and the regional sports network.
The Premier Package allows any subscriber to stream content on 20 devices at once but only comes with 20 hours of DVR storage capacity. As a plus, you may upgrade it to 500 hours of DVR for an additional $10 per month. On top of these, you will also get one-year access to NBA League Pass Premium.
If you didn’t guess it yet, the Premier Package streams all channels offered in the previous AT&T TV packages combined. The lineup, though, includes HBO, Starz, Cinemax, Showtime, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. However, some of these channels do not allow streaming on more than three devices simultaneously. These channels are the following:
- Fox channels: Big Ten Network, Fox News, Fox Business, FS1, FS2, Fox Deportes, and Fox local channels
- STARZ®
- NHL Network
- SHOWTIME®
No matter how you look at it, the Premier plan covers every streaming need and leaves no pebble unturned.
PROS
- 1. Massive savings over access to premium channels
CONS
- 1. Some channels are not streamable over three devices simultaneously
- 2. Only 20-hour DVR storage capacity (requires $10 monthly add-on fee for an upgrade to 500 hrs DVR storage)
- 3. Pricey for $139.99 per month
AT&T TV Compatible Devices
It is possible to run and stream AT&T TV content on most devices. Subscribers have an option to pay an additional $5 per month to get AT&T TV branded streaming device. But it is a massive saving if to stream content on the following devices:
- Amazon Fire TV, Fire Stick, And Fire Cube
- Android Phones and tablets
- Apple TV
- iPads and iPhones
- Chromecast
- Roku and Roku TV
- Samsung Smart TV
Detailed Information on Compatible Devices
AT&T TV vs. TV NOW
AT&T TV NOW also known as DirecTV is the satellite TV provider owned by telecommunications company, AT&T. This makes AT&T TV the streamable version of TV NOW. However, these two have their own differences and similarities.
For one, both services have almost the same plan names and pricing. However, the wedge between them is while the former requires subscribers to subscribe to a two-year contract, the latter does not. Moreover, TV NOW is prone to price hikes while AT&T TV is not, making the latter more appealing to many subscribers.
In terms of channel lineup, TV NOW offers more channels and includes those specialty channels that any user would not have in AT&T TV. However, both services offer almost the same sports channels. TV NOW has more music channels, though.
Finally, in terms of DVR cloud storage capacity, both services offer a 20-hour capacity. The wedge between is the add-on fee to increase the storage hours capacity. AT&T TV requires a $10 add-on monthly fee to upgrade to a 500-hour DVR while TV NOW requires a $7 add-on monthly fee to upgrade to 500-hour DVR.
Needless to say, these differences don’t matter now since the two AT&T services were combined.
What Happened to AT&T TV NOW?
TV Now was launched in 2016 and was offered for $35 per month. It features 100 channels and gave away free Apple TVs to subscribers.
It was a decent offer up until its subscription streak went downhill in 2019 when it started losing old and new subscribers. This has been heavily credited to the changes in pricing and channel lineup. And it did not do the service any good when AT&T TV was launched in 2020 and became the network’s priority.
Many say TV NOW deserved losing its subscribership because it was not competitive enough in contrast to other players like YouTube TV, Sling TV, and Hulu Live TV. That is why, fast forward to 2021, only old subscribers of AT&T TV NOW can access the service.
Verdict: Is AT&T TV Worth It?
What we like about AT&T TV is the no-annual-contract option. Not only does it not pin you to a commitment you might not find fulfilling later on; it also saves you from price hikes. However, it’s a little unappealing when it comes to fees that you may encounter along the way. These fees include activation fee, installation fee, DVR fee, regional sports fee, and early termination fee.
Regardless of the pricing, AT&T TV Choice Package is totally worth it. Not only does it unlock most channels that you would be watching regularly, but it also comes with whole year access to HBO Max. Additionally, it also gives you access to regional sports channels. We will not recommend up-front the other plans because they are priced more than their competitions who may offer better deals.
To say the least, AT&T TV is a decent alternative for TV streaming services. It might not be our top choice but we can’t excuse the high points it offers.
