Is DirecTV now AT&T?
A notable deal that took place in the year 2015 was when AT&T acquired DirecTV, the largest satellite television provider in the United States, and the company that provides the largest mobile and landline phone services. Now yes, DirecTV is an AT&T company and is in the AT&T group of businesses and companies.
The merger formed one of the biggest paying television service providers across the United States of America and Latin America with more than 26 million users. The acquisition granted AT&T Internet a detailed point of entry into the home TV and streaming market to offer value-added products with Internet and wireless phone services. On the other hand, AT&T provided DirecTV with financial support and a huge customer base which would allow it to more effectively challenge cable companies with altering the home entertainment market.
So, what did DirecTV consumers lose or gain after the acquisition in the hands of AT&T?
DirecTV has a different brand identity even when being owned by AT&T
While AT&T wholly owns DirecTV, it has largely maintained the two’s branding and management quite independent and separate from each other than have fully incorporated DirecTV into all their services and products.
DirecTV currently uses the DirecTV brand without much change in its logo and marketing identity even to the present year 2021 since 2015. Customers still use the same DirecTV web address to make payments to DirecTV and even address their concerns to the usual DirecTV customer service team.
However, the fact remains that today AT&T has firmly transformed itself into the company that was making the major corporate-level decision on the direction, technology, and resources for DirecTV. However, the DirecTV television subscription service, which is directly to consumers, still functions mostly the same after the AT&T acquisition.
This keeps continuity for the satellite subscription of millions that DirecTV has as it enables AT&T to integrate the services provided by DirecTV in whichever way they wish.
Integration with the AT&T Wireless & Internet Services
While there is some integration between DirecTV and AT&T, most of it occurs in the service bundling domain.
DirecTV satellite services have continued to be maintained, but AT&T has created appealing value propositions in which DirecTV programming is bundled with AT&T wireless phone plans, AT&T Internet, and others.
For instance, if a customer subscribes to both the AT&T wireless phone service and the DirecTV satellite service, the total monthly subscription fees can be reduced by at least $10. This encourages existing AT customers to subscribe to DirecTV for their television needs and DirecTV customers to switch their cell phone service to ATT.
Other current bundled deals include AVOD for adding DirecTV to AT&T home Internet service and AT&T home Phone service packages. This makes sense because the AT&T family of brands generally makes it very easy to bundle, which effectively gives customers a discount for all services from the AT&T family of brands.
Another one is that AT&T also gives the possibility of unification of personal accounts for using various services. For instance, customers with an AT&T account can log into DirecTV apps or streaming services with their account username and password. This convenience assists in the flow of the customer experience between all of the different AT&T brands.
Thus, AT&T has its ‘normal’ business where DirecTV continues running as an independent business as it was before the acquisition while on the other end, the subscribers can save money by getting bundled services from DirecTV and other services such as wireless, internet, and phone from AT&T under a single account.
What About DIRECTV Streaming?
Furthermore, the satellite TV service has become ongoing with the help of AT&T which introduced new streaming services under the brand name DIRECTV Stream.
DIRECTV Stream (formerly known as AT&T TV) is a live TV streaming service that does not use a satellite dish for internet connectivity but rather relies on an internet connection. Program and channel lists are quite similar to the package provided by the DirecTV satellite service.
That is why while technically being branded differently, DIRECTV Stream can be considered as an option for switching from receiving the offer of current DirecTV as it provides access to similar or almost identical TV channel lineups via home internet connection instead of having a satellite dish installed. This streaming plan is suitable for cord-breakers or customers who cannot install satellites.
For now, AT&T still maintains both the DirecTV satellite service that offers a full range of satellite TV services, and the DIRECTV Stream streaming service that adopted a streaming-only approach as both of them remain relevant to handle both the old-school TV audience and the modern streaming-only customers within its customer base.
Why It Pays for DirecTV to Stick Around
That is why, in 2023, eight years after the acquisition by AT&T, DirecTV is still going strong as a satellite provider primarily because AT&T decided to maintain the identity of the brand and its operations separately. This maintains the status quo and provides consistency for the current DirecTV satellite consumer base.
As for the future, it is still unknown if the DirecTV name will be used less and less and the service will always exist for the part of customers who are still more interested in satellite TV than in streaming.
On one hand, the DIRECTV Stream platform itself theoretically could make satellite obsolete if it reaches the same feature and channel offering of the satellite service but is delivered through a modern software and streaming backbone. Maybe “DirecTV” could disappear as the technology is phasing out and be united under one banner of DIRECTV streaming.
However, the DirecTV satellite still has some differentiating factors that may persist into the future to justify its current existence. It is crucial to realize that for all rural Americans with no access to high-speed home internet, satellite is the only available method of getting television programming. Satellite does not have the problem of the internet service provider limiting the bandwidth required for internet usage.
Thus, the destiny of traditional satellite TV might be sealed long-term, but customers should not expect DirecTV service to quit abruptly. The fact that AT&T seemed to remain the company’s steadfast commitment to the DirecTV subscriber base should be expected for many years to come. However, the evolution toward streaming under DIRECTV and other AT&T streaming services does appear inexorable as consumer tendencies gravitate toward the internet.
Upgrade to faster, more reliable AT&T Fiber Internet today! Call us at +1 844-905-5002 and get connected with speeds that keep you ahead.