AT&T’s ultra-slim TV package WatchTV arrives next week and is free of charge, if you are willing to switch to one of two new unlimited plans that bundle “unlimited” talk, text, and data with your choice of content.
AT&T WatchTV includes more than 30 networks and over 15,000 on-demand movies and TV shows. The lineup:
A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, Audience, BBC World News, BBC America, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, Discovery, Food Network, FYI, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, History Channel, HLN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, OWN, Sundance TV, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, TLC, TNT, Tru TV, Velocity, Viceland, and WE. The service also promises to add a small suite of Viacom networks: BET, Comedy Central, MTV2. Nicktoons, Teennick, and VH-1 shortly after launch.
AT&T’s new “unlimited plans” appear to add to the confusion over exactly what “unlimited” means. Full details of both plans will be on AT&T’s website next week.
AT&T Unlimited &More
- Option to add WatchTV
- $15 monthly credit toward DIRECTV NOW
- Up to 4G LTE unlimited data
AT&T Unlimited &More Premium
- Option to add WatchTV
- Option to add one of these premium services: HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, or Starz, as well as music streaming from Amazon Music Unlimited and Pandora Premium or gaming service VRV.
- $15 monthly credit toward DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW and U-verse TV
- 15GB of high-speed tethering
- High-quality video
AT&T has not disclosed pricing, but the fine print does mention: “AT&T may slow data speeds when the network is congested. Video may be limited to SD.”
AT&T’s marketing language suggests customers will have the option of getting these services, which means you may have to opt-in to get them. If you are not interested in changing your wireless plan or if you are not an AT&T customer, AT&T WatchTV will be available shortly on a standalone basis for $15 a month. Details on that option “are coming soon.”
WatchTV legitimizes the idea of unbundling local channels from cable channels and it is about time. For many consumers, retransmission is a waste, since an OTA antenna could pick the channels for free. That changes the calculus of retransmission disputes. I wish broadcast TV took a route similar to the AM and FM radio market where most broadcasters let you listen to it for free online or as part of a monthly subscription. I was a subscriber to ivi.tv back in the day, which had a $5 a month subscription to watch OTA TV from cities like Detroit, Denver, and… Read more »