Comcast has a “Plan B” in case rival online-TV streaming providers start a major wave of cable TV cord cutting: the right to offer its own online cable TV replacement nationwide.

Bloomberg News reports Comcast is quietly acquiring national online distribution rights from cable networks, which gives the cable giant the right to sell cable TV-like packages outside of its cable company service area.

Comcast maintains “most favored nation” clauses in its contracts with cable programmers, which means if those networks agree to online distribution of their programming over online competitors like Sling TV, AT&T DirecTVNow and PlayStation Vue, those same rights are also available to Comcast.

For now, insiders claim Comcast has no immediate plans to start competing outside of its home service areas, but it wants to accumulate the necessary rights to hedge against online rivals.

“When you really try to evaluate the business model, we have not seen one that really gives us confidence that this is a real priority for us,” Matt Strauss, Comcast’s executive vice president for video services, said at a conference in November. “There is significantly more upside and profitability in going deeper and deeper into our base first versus following a video-only offering OTT,” he added, using the industry term for nationwide online video.

Comcast has been gradually picking up online distribution rights as it renews contracts with the networks it carries. A sign Comcast may imminently launch a competing product similar to DirecTVNow would come if it chooses to renegotiate contracts before they expire. Comcast last negotiated with CBS in 2010 and ESPN in 2012. Both contracts don’t expire until 2020. Without renegotiation, any online offering from Comcast would not include networks owned by those two companies.

Comcast is downplaying any interest in breaking the traditional cable television business model, which depends in part on friendly relations with other cable companies and staying out of their territories. The prospect of Comcast selling cable TV service in Charter’s service area would threaten a still lucrative source of revenue if a price war develops. Video represents about 50% of Comcast’s cable sales.

For now, Comcast’s most evident online competitor is AT&T’s DirecTVNow which has added 200,000 subscribers nationwide since launching in November. But that remains just a fraction of Comcast’s 22 million cable-TV customers, a reason why Comcast may be in no rush to enter the online streaming cable-TV business. That may change when two high-profile online video providers get into the business later this year. YouTube and Hulu are both expecting to launch cable-TV alternatives in 2017.

Charter Communications is continuing to trim back its cable-TV lineup, this time with the elimination of Chiller, Comcast/NBC’s horror network.

TVpredictions, first to report the channel drop, reports the blow is a big one for the niche network, which will lose 17.2 million more of its 34 million home potential audience, after Dish Networks dropped the network for its 13.7 million subscribers in February. April 25 will be the last day for Chiller on Charter/Spectrum’s lineup nationwide.

When large cable operators drop a network of Chiller’s size and relative obscurity, it is usually not a good sign for the future of that channel. Esquire Network announced its imminent sign-off as a linear TV channel just a month after AT&T and DirecTV unilaterally dropped it. Already gone from the Charter lineup is Cloo, and more channel trimming is anticipated.

Chiller has been on the cable dial since 2006 airing movies and various original series covering the horror and sci-fi genres. Its future as a linear network is questionable, considering it has lost more than half of its potential audience. But NBC Universal claimed in a statement Chiller would continue as-is, with no plans to shutter the channel.

NBCUniversal has discovered fewer viewers than ever care about live, linear television. Fewer still cared about Esquire Network, the studio’s male-targeted cable network you probably never watched.

The cable channel will go dark on your cable lineup for good this spring, according to Advertising Age, and move to the internet on Esquire.com.

Esquire Network launched as a partnership between NBCUniversal and Hearst Magazines, and took over the channel space formerly occupied by the Style network in September 2013. Esquire was supposed to reach young rich guys, among the most difficult audiences to reach. Esquire had an extremely low chance of succeeding, if only because young men in their 20s and early 30s are among the least likely to subscribe to cable television. Men in this age group are also notoriously intolerant of live commercial-laden television, and would be unlikely to treat Esquire’s original shows as worthy of appointment viewing.

Although Esquire Network turned in much better ratings than its predecessor Style, which couldn’t draw flies to a horse barn, NBCUniversal decided to pull the plug anyway after the network averaged only 141,000 primetime viewers nationwide, many outside of the age range advertisers wanted to reach. In 2016, every cable subscriber with Esquire Network paid a portion of their cable bill to keep the network on the lineup, even though it scored less than one-tenth of a single ratings point among adults 18-49 years old. Viewers had as much chance landing on the network by sitting on their remote controls by accident as intentionally selecting the channel. Other channels sharing space in Esquire’s ratings basement include never-heard-of Pop, Reelz, and Destination America.

For the tens of viewers that cannot miss Esquire’s original shows, including  “Edgehill,” an investigative series about a 1998 unsolved murder of a Yale undergrad, no worries — it and other shows including “Borderland USA,” “Knife Fight,” “Brew Dogs,” and “Best Bars in America” will be ready and waiting for on-demand viewing on its website, where it may actually attract a larger audience.

The cable TV lineup comes at an ever-increasing cost for subscribers, and low-rated cable networks that force their way on the dial in bundles with more popular cable networks are partly responsible for the cord-cutting trend. Many customers are finding they can live fine without hundreds of cable channels they pay for and never watch, and as cancellations continue to grow, some studios admit it may be time to slim down the cable package and move low-rated cable channels to on-demand, online viewing instead.

Starting tomorrow, new customers signing up for AT&T’s 100+ channel streaming television package will pay $60 a month, up from the $35 promotional price AT&T has been advertising during the holidays.

Today is the last day customers can lock in the $35/month price, and those willing to pay in advance will receive either an Amazon Fire TV Stick (prepay one month) or a 4th generation 32GB Apple TV (prepay three months).

Since launching, DirecTV Now has received mixed reviews. Many customers like the wide range of popular cable channels, and access to HBO and Cinemax for just $5 a month each. But early after launch technical glitches also proved frustrating for many subscribers. Among the most common are cryptic error messages that claim viewers are attempting to stream from outside the U.S. and another that claims customers have too many concurrent streams running. Several app updates have been released to deal with the problems, and complaints seem to be easing.

AT&T hasn’t reported how many customers convert from its free trial to become paying customers, but some analysts remain skeptical if customers without cable television care about a streaming package of linear TV, even at the $35 price point.

Fool.com:

When it first launched, Sling TV seemed like it would be a big hit. That has not proven to be the case possibly because the cord-cutting audience has learned to live without cable and the cord-never folks (people who never had cable in the first place) perhaps don’t miss what they never had.

[…] By putting an end date on this promotion, AT&T can gauge whether enough interest exists in live-streaming television for the company to continue. These are products that seem like a good idea, that have so far been rejected by the marketplace.

That may be because even the top packages from the live-streaming services have holes compared to cable. In most cases they are missing at least some broadcast networks and their interfaces — while not bad for a digital product — are clunky compared to just flipping around with a remote control.

It’s also very possible that cord-cutters and cord-nevers are finding their entertainment elsewhere.

The CEO of Charter Communications continues to consider “cable TV alternatives” like Sling TV and DirecTV Now not much of a threat, because customers appreciate the convenience of having local channels and DVR capability available, and cable operators claim they provide a better set-top box experience.

“I think there’s a lot of reasons why the packages, the big rich packages, will stay together, and why people will continue to pursue their historic [consumer] patterns,” CEO Thomas Rutledge told the annual Citi 2017 Internet, Media and Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas.

For many ordinary cable TV customers, taking the final step of canceling cable TV has been more psychologically difficult than dropping services like a landline phone because the alternatives available in the marketplace do not yet match the quality and convenience of the cable package.

AT&T apparently also believes a-la-carte cable TV sounds better in theory than practice, considering its marketing efforts have focused on a cable television replacement that most closely resembles traditional cable’s bloated TV lineup. Sling TV’s slim package has not been as successful in the marketplace as some investors had hoped.

For AT&T, there may be more at stake than just a standalone streaming television package. The company announced last week it planned to provide DirecTV Now over its 5G wireless network it plans to test in Austin later this year.

AT&T wants to see how 5G networks manage heavy video streaming traffic, according to a company news release. The development of 5G, which can achieve 14Gbps speeds in lab tests, could be critically important to AT&T’s plan to gradually decommission wired networks in its rural telephone service areas. Should AT&T be able to demonstrate 5G is a more robust replacement for traditional wired communications networks, it could bolster its argument to discontinue wired telephone and broadband service. But it could also mean the eventual end of DirecTV’s costly fleet of satellites in favor of broadband and wireless distribution.

When AT&T announced it would offer 100+ cable television and broadcast network channels under the DirecTV Now brand for $35 a month, Wall Street had a fit.

Craig Moffett, an analyst with Moffett-Nathanson, speculated that AT&T would make at most a profit margin of $5 a month for its $35 a month plan, once programming costs were covered. But then AT&T announced it would sweeten the deal with a free Apple TV Player or Amazon Fire Stick for those confident enough to prepay for the new service. That makes DirecTV Now a purposefully unprofitable service, creating considerable stress for both the cable and satellite industry and their investors.

Variety notes the average DirecTV satellite subscriber delivers about $60 a month in profit to its owner, AT&T. That led the industry magazine to speculate DirecTV Now is a “loss leader” designed to sell its parent company’s AT&T-Time Warner, Inc. merger deal to regulators on the premise of increased competition delivering real savings to consumers.

Thankfully for Wall Street’s nerves, AT&T’s usual practice of marketing things with a lot of fine print emerged in the nick of time, and the $35 dollar price has now turned out to be an introductory offer for early adopters. In the not-too-distant future, AT&T will enroll new customers for its “Go Big” package at a much more profitable $60 a month. Customers who sign up at the $35 rate and stay customers will be able to keep that price as long as they make no changes to their account after the promotion ends.

But Moffett warned investors that the traditional cable television model is still under serious threat, and AT&T’s less-promoted “Live a Little” package offering 60 popular cable networks for the everyday price of $35 is the equivalent of AT&T “running with scissors” because it alone could cause millions of cable and satellite customers to cut the cord and stay more than satisfied with a slimmed down cable package.

“Virtually all the channels that anyone would really want, save for regional sports networks” are included in the lighter “Live a Little” package, Moffett added. Customers who loathe watching sports but want a beefier package can also sign up for a $50, 80-channel “Just Right” package that primarily omits sports-oriented channels and a handful of spinoff cable networks few would miss.

Moffett and other Wall Street analysts were hoping AT&T would bloat its cheaper package with home shopping, religion, and other little-watched, low-cost cable networks and then entice customers to upgrade to unlock more popular cable channels. Instead, AT&T’s most premium package — “Gotta Have It” which costs $70 a month adds the “can live without” networks like Boomerang, Cloo, El Rey, Centric, and other little-known channels that typically live unnoticed in Channel Siberia on 500+ channel cable lineups. The highest premium priced package is attractive only for those looking for Starz/Encore channels and the basic cable network that gets no respect — Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (a/k/a the Dick van Dyke Permanent Employment Network.)

“By stacking their base package with all the best networks — likely a requirement for getting the programming contracts at all — they still have the same problem that was highlighted initially,” by Moffett. “Put simply, they aren’t going to make any money.”

That quest for profit is further challenged with subscriber acquisition programs that dole out free Apple TV units to customers willing to prepay for three months of service at the $35 rate or an Amazon Fire Stick (with Echo remote) in return for prepaying for one month of service. Anyone in the market for either device can sign up for DirecTV Now, get the equipment at an attractive price, and consider the 1-3 months of service a free extra bonus. Customers were reportedly lining up at AT&T’s owned and operated retail outlets (not authorized resellers) to pick up devices and sign up for service today.

At these prices and with these promotions, AT&T DirecTV Now could first decimate the subscriber base of its immediate competitors Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, either of which offer a much less compelling value. AT&T can afford to charge a lower price because it has deeper pockets and enormous volume discounts on the wholesale price of cable programming — combining millions of DirecTV and U-verse TV subscribers together to negotiate what industry insiders suspect are major discounts the smaller providers cannot get.

But there are issues likely to be deal-breakers for some would-be DirecTV Now subscribers:

• Local broadcast stations are available only in a handful of selected cities and only a very few include all ABC, NBC, and FOX affiliates. CBS is not participating in DirecTV Now at this time, and that is a major omission;
• NFL Network isn’t on the lineup;
• Regional sports networks are spotty and geographically restricted. Here is a detailed PDF outlining options by zip code;
• There is a limit of two concurrent streams and although video quality is very good, it is not the 1080/HD experience AT&T’s marketing material would suggest. The quality of your internet connection will make a difference;
• No DVR option at this time.

CNET compiled an excellent channel comparison chart to help consumers figure out which, if any, of these upstarts make sense as a cable TV replacement:

DirecTV Now vs. Sling TV vs. PlayStation Vue (top 169 channels, see notes below)

Channel	DirecTV Now Packages	Sling Package	Vue Package
A&E	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
ABC	Yes or VOD	Broadcast extra	Yes or VOD
AMC	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
American Heroes	Go Big	No	Elite
Animal Planet	Live a Little	No	Access
Audience	Live a Little	No	No
AXS TV	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
Baby TV	No	Kids extra	No
BBC America	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
BBC World News	Go Big	News extra	Elite
beIN Sports	No	Sports extra	Core
BET	Live a Little	Blue (Orange lifestyle extra)	No
Bloomberg TV	Live a Little	Base	No
Boomerang	Gotta Have It	Kids extra	Elite
Bravo	Live a Little	Blue	Access
BTN	Just Right	No	Core
Campus Insiders	No	Sports extra	No
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
CBS	No	No	Yes or VOD
CBS Sports	No	No	No
Centric	Go Big	No	No
Cheddar	No	Orange, Blue	No
Chiller	Gotta Have It	No	Elite
Cinemax	PREMIUM ($5/month)	PREMIUM	No
Cloo	Gotta Have It	No	Elite
CMT	Live a Little	Comedy extra	No
CNBC	Live a Little	News extra Blue	Access
CNBC World	Just Right	No	Elite
CNN	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
Comedy Central	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
Comedy.TV	Just Right	No	No
Cooking Channel	Just Right	Lifestyle extra	Elite
CSPAN	Live a Little	No	No
Destination America	Go Big	No	Access
Discovery Channel	Live a Little	No	Access
Discovery Family	Go Big	No	Access
Discovery Life	Go Big	No	Elite
Disney Channel	Live a Little	Orange	Access
Disney Junior	Live a Little	Kids extra Orange	Access
Disney XD	Live a Little	Kids extra Orange	Access
DIY	Go Big	Lifestyle extra	Access
Duck TV	No	Kids extra	No
E!	Live a Little	Lifestyle extra Blue	Access
El Rey Network	Gotta Have It	Orange, Blue	No
Encore	Gotta Have It	No	No
EPIX	No	Hollywood extra	No
EPIX Drive-in	No	Hollywood extra	No
EPIX Hits	No	Hollywood extra	PREMIUM, Elite
EPIX2	No	Hollywood extra	No
ESPN	Live a Little	Orange	Access
ESPN 2	Live a Little	Orange	Access
ESPN Bases Loaded	No	Sports extra Orange	No
ESPN Buzzer Beater	No	Sports extra Orange	No
ESPN Deportes	No	Spanish TV extra Orange	Elite
ESPN Goal Line	No	Sports extra Orange	No
ESPNEWS	Just Right	Sports extra Orange	Core
ESPNU	Just Right	Sports extra Orange	Core
Esquire	No	No	Access
Euro News	No	World News Extra	No
Flama	No	Orange, Blue	No
Food Network	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
Fox	Yes or VOD	Blue	Yes or VOD
Fox Business	Live a Little	No	Access
Fox College Sports Atlantic	No	No	Elite
Fox College Sports Central	No	No	Elite
Fox College Sports Pacific	No	No	Elite
Fox News	Live a Little	No	Access
Fox Sports 1	Live a Little	Blue	Access
Fox Sports 2	Go Big	Blue	Access
Fox Sports Prime Ticket	Just Right	No	No
France 24	No	World News Extra	No
Freeform	Live a Little	Orange	Access
Fuse	Just Right	No	No
Fusion	Just Right	World News Extra	Elite
FX	Live a Little	Blue	Access
FXM	Go Big	No	Elite
FXX	Live a Little	Blue	Access
FYI	Go Big	Lifestyle extra	No
Galavision	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
Golf Channel	Go Big	Sports extra Blue	Core
GSN	Just Right	Comedy extra	No
Hallmark	Live a Little	Lifestyle extra	No
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries	No	LIfestyle extra	No
HBO	PREMIUM ($5/month)	PREMIUM	PREMIUM, Ultra
HDNet Movies	No	Hollywood extra	No
HGTV	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
Hi-Yah	No	No	Elite
History	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
HLN	Live a Little	News extra	Access
HSN	No	No	No
IFC	Just Right	Orange, Blue	Core
Ion	No	No	No
Impact	No	No	Elite
Investigation Discovery	Live a Little	No	Access
JusticeCentral.TV	Just Right	No	No
Lifetime	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
LMN	Just Right	Lifestyle extra	No
Local Now	No	Orange, Blue	No
LOGO	Go Big	Comedy extra	No
Longhorn Network	Just Right	No	No
Machinima	No	No	Elite
Maker	No	Orange, Blue	No
MGM-HD	No	No	Elite
MLB Network	Just Right	No	No
Motors TV	No	Sports extra	No
MSNBC	Live a Little	News extra Blue	Access
MTV	Live a Little	Comedy extra	No
MTV Classic	Go Big	No	No
MTV2	Live a Little	Comedy extra	No
Nat Geo Wild	Go Big	Blue	Elite
National Geographic	Live a Little	Blue	Access
NBA TV	Go Big	Sports extra	Core
NBC	Yes or VOD	Blue	Yes or VOD
NBC Sports Network	Just Right	Blue	Access
NDTV 24/7	No	World News Extra	No
News 18 India	No	World News Extra	No
Newsy	No	Orange, Blue	No
NFL Network	No	Blue	Core
NFL Red Zone	No	Sports extra (Blue)	PREMIUM (Core and up)
NHL Network	Go Big	Sports extra	No
Nick Jr.	Live a Little	Blue	No
Nickelodeon	Live a Little	No	No
Nicktoons	Live a Little	Kids Extra Blue	No
ONE World Sports	No	No	Elite
Outdoor Channel	No	No	No
Outside Television	No	Sports extra	Elite
OWN	Just Right	No	Access
Oxygen	Just Right	Lifestyle extra Blue	Access
Palladia	No	No	Elite
PBS	No	No	No
Poker Central	No	No	Elite
Polaris	No	Orange, Blue	Elite
POP	No	No	Access
QVC	No	No	No
Revolt	Go Big	No	No
RFD TV	Live a Little	No	No
Russia Today	No	World News Extra	No
Science	Just Right	No	Access
SEC Network	Just Right	Sports extra Orange	Core
Showtime	No	No	PREMIUM, Elite
Spike	Live a Little	Comedy extra	No
Sprout	Go Big	No	Elite
Starz	Gotta Have It	PREMIUM	No
Sundance TV	Go Big	Hollywood extra	Core
Syfy	Live a Little	Blue	Access
TBS	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
TCM	Live a Little	Hollywood extra	Core
Teen Knick	Live a Little	Kids extra Blue	Elite
Telemundo	Live a Little	No	No
Tennis Channel	Go Big	No	No
The Weather Channel	Live a Little	No	No
TLC	Live a Little	No	Access
TNT	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	Access
Travel Channel	Just Right	Orange, Blue	Access
truTV	Live a Little	Blue (Orange comedy extra)	Access
TV Land	Live a Little	Comedy extra	No
TVG	Go Big	No	No
Universal HD	No	No	Elite
Univision	Live a Little	Blue (Orange Broadcast extra)	No
Univision Deportes	Gotta Have It	Sports extra	No
Univision Mas	Just Right	Blue (Orange Broadcast Extra)	No
USA Network	Live a Little	Blue	Access
Velocity HD	Live a Little	No	Elite
VH1	Live a Little	Lifestyle extra	No
VH1 Classic	No	No	Elite
Vibrant TV	No	Lifestyle extra	No
Viceland	Live a Little	Orange, Blue	No
WE tv	Live a Little	Lifestyle extra	Access
WeatherNation	Live a Little	No	No

Notes

Broadcast networks including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are not available for live streaming in many cities, except where noted as “yes.” The term “VOD” means viewers can watch these shows on-demand 24 hours after airing.

Most RSNs (Regional Sports Networks) not listed; varies per locality PREMIUM = Available for an additional monthly fee beyond base package DirecTV Now package key: Live a Little = $35/month (Local ABC, Fox, NBC broadcasts included in select markets) Just Right = $50/month Go Big = $60/month ($35 / month introductory price) Gotta Have It = $70/month Sling TV package key: Orange = $20/month Blue = $25/month other “”extras”” = another $5 /month each (Sports extra with Blue is $10) Broacast Extra: ABC, Univision and Univision Mas available to Sling Orange subscribers in select cities PlayStation Vue package key: (for New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Miami ONLY) Access (Base) = $40/month Core = $45/month (includes Access channels, some Regional Sports Networks) Elite = $55/month (includes Access and Core channels) Ultra = $75/month (includes Access, Core and Elite channels, plus HBO and Showtime) (for all other cities, where ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are available via VOD only) Access Slim (Base) = $30/month Core Slim = $35/month (includes Access channels, some Regional Sports Networks) Elite Slim = $45/month (includes Core and Access channels) Ultra Slim = $65/month (includes Access, Core and Elite channels, plus HBO and Showtime)

Time Warner, Inc. did its part, offering a substantial deal to DirecTV Now to allow customers to add HBO and Cinemax for just $5 a month each, substantially less than what both networks charge customers signing up a-la-carte. This also unlocks access to streaming options on both networks’ websites.

In fact, as a DirecTV Now customer, you will also become an authenticated pay television subscriber, unlocking access on various cable network websites to extra streaming and on-demand options.

The implications of DirecTV Now depend on how long AT&T extends its $35 offer, which is going to be compelling for a lot of Americans. Moffett predicts DirecTV Now could sign up a staggering 11 million Americans — at least two million cannibalized from its own DirecTV satellite customer base, six million cutting the cord on their cable company (including AT&T U-verse) and another three million cord-cutters or “cable-nevers.” Most of the latter are Millennials, and research suggests $35 may be low enough of a price point to sign them up.

AT&T is also raising concerns among internet activists because online streaming of DirecTV Now will not count against an AT&T postpaid customer’s data allowance. This zero rating scheme is seen as an end run around Net Neutrality, particularly because AT&T is not as generous with its competitors. AT&T said it will offer other video streamers the possibility of being exempted from AT&T data allowances, if they pay AT&T for the privilege.

How It Works/Signing Up

AT&T DirecTV Now starts with the Google Chrome 50+, Safari 8+ or Internet Explorer 11+ (on Windows 8 and up) web browsers or the DirecTV Now app. AT&T recommends Chrome for desktop viewing. The service doesn’t work with Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or legacy browsers.

The first step is registering for a 7-day free trial. Before handing over your credit card number, if you scroll down you will find a small free preview option is also available that includes a largely useless streaming barker channel promoting the service and a respectable collection of video on demand options from basic cable networks. The free video streaming option will give you a clue about how the service is likely to perform on your internet connection and devices. For the record, DirecTV Now now supports:

• Amazon Fire TV
• Amazon Fire TV Stick
• Apple TV (4th generation)
• Android^TM phone 4.4 and higher
• Android tablet 4.4 and higher
• Chromecast (for Android only)
• iPad iOS 9 and higher
• iPhone iOS 9 and higher
• iPod Touch version 9 and higher

Support for other devices like Roku is coming next year.

Customers must be within the United States to use the service. If you travel abroad or to any U.S. territories like Guam, the Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico, DirecTV Now will stop working until you return. When you sign up, keep in mind your billing zip code will mean a lot when it comes to accessing regional sports and local broadcast channels. DirecTV Now uses your billing zip code and your actual location to determine whether you are qualified to access regional sports networks and local stations.

Score a Free Apple TV Player or Amazon Fire TV Stick

If you are looking to score an Apple TV (4th generation) or an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you will want to skip the 7-day free trial and enroll in a paid plan immediately, which will allow you to select which player you want. If you want the Apple TV, you will prepay for three months at $35 a month ($105). The Amazon Fire TV Stick only requires you to prepay for the first month of service ($35). One device per email address, but you can sign up for multiple accounts (using individual email addresses) and get a device for each — especially useful for larger families that could run into DirecTV Now’s two-stream limit.

Consider your choices before enrolling. If you want to add premium channels or upgrade your plan, and you select the three-month prepay option to grab an Apple TV Player, adding premium channels like HBO and Cinemax or moving to a higher plan will result in three months of prepaid charges for those upgrades as well, billed automatically to your credit card on file — which amounts to a $30 charge if you select HBO and Cinemax. After your promotional prepaid term ends, your account will continue to be billed at the $35 (plus any add-ons) rate until you cancel. AT&T covers you for the forfeited first free week by extending your bill date out by seven days. Allow 2-3 weeks for the device(s) to be shipped to you.

You can also sign up at an AT&T owned and operated retail store, but be aware AT&T “authorized” reseller stores are not participating in this promotion. That may allow you to bring home a device today.

Don’t care about the device promotions? Take the 7-day free trial, but be aware that you are giving AT&T your credit card number and charges begin immediately after the free week ends unless you cancel. Here’s how:

1. Sign in to your account.
2. From your User Account overview page, select Manage My Plan.
3. Select the Cancel Plan link.
4. Choose one of the listed reasons.
5. Select Cancel Now to confirm cancellation.

Your subscription will continue until the end of the billing cycle. No refunds or credits are provided for partial months. Your account will revert to Freeview demo status after you cancel a subscription.  You can add a subscription package back at any time.

Oddly, AT&T is not charging sales tax for New York, California, Maryland or Virginia residents. Customers in states like Tennessee where AT&T provides local phone service were most likely to face sales taxes. Those signing up early are in the best position to exploit what appears to be an oversight, or it represents the first time the New York Department of Taxation and Finance left money on the table.

Streaming from Your AT&T Wireless Device Does Not Count Against Your Data Allowance

If you’re a DirecTV Now and AT&T Wireless customer, streaming most DirecTV Now movies and programs over the AT&T wireless network won’t count against your data usage allowance, according to AT&T. But believe it or not, AT&T’s fine print indicates advertisements and non-streaming app activity do count! There are some other important disclosures to be aware of:

• You must be on the AT&T Wireless network within the U.S. (U.S. territories are not qualified for zero rating);
• You must be a postpaid, not a prepaid AT&T wireless customer to qualify and must not have “data block” on your mobile line;
• If you are grandfathered on an unlimited data plan, using DirecTV Now will not count against the 22GB data threshold which subjects you to speed throttling;
• This offer may disappear at any time and/or is subject to change.

DirecTV Now Qualifies You as an Authenticated Pay Television Subscriber

Many cable networks require customers enter their cable, satellite, or telco TV login credentials to unlock video streaming and on-demand features. DirecTV Now is a qualified provider for these websites (more coming):

• ABC
• Disney
• Disney Jr.
• Disney XD
• ESPN (WatchESPN)
• Freeform
• HBO GO (requires subscription to HBO)
• MAX GO (requires subscription to Cinemax)

Other networks are not yet enabled for DirecTV Now. CNN, for example, has a prompt for DirecTV satellite customers to log in, but DirecTV Now has its own account registration system.

Local Channels Are Very Spotty

Local over the air channels are very limited on DirecTV Now and are geographically restricted. You can access these channels only if you are located in or very near to the cities listed below and your billing zip code is in the same area. If you travel outside of the immediate area, live streaming will stop working until you return.

Giving the Service a Test

Stop the Cap! enrolled as an ordinary customer this morning and gave the service a rigorous test, including multiple streams over our 50/5Mbps internet connection. The service debuted today, and there is little doubt there is intense interest from consumers, so we expected some performance problems from the initial demand. We didn’t see any evidence of traffic congestion, however, and that is a good sign.

A similar test of Sling TV did not perform as well during peak viewing times, when streaming problems emerged. DirecTV Now seems to be built to withstand intense demand.

One customer with a 6Mbps U-verse internet connection “in the boonies” was impressed the video quality of DirecTV Now was high even on a relatively slow DSL-like connection.

“This blows SlingTV away,” the person shared. “I only have U-verse 6Mbps internet service and it is not pixelated or buffering at all. Looks exactly like my regular DirecTV picture.”

AT&T published these recommendations for DirecTV Now customers regarding internet connection speeds:

• 150kbps – 2.5Mbps – Minimum broadband connection speed for Mobile devices
• 2.5 – 5.0Mbps – Recommended for HD quality

We’ve been led to believe DirecTV Now should perform equivalently to 1080i HDTV service (depending on the video source of course). We cannot say we agree it does right now. We noticed significant artifacts on high-motion video and picture graininess that left us feeling this was closer to a 720p HD experience. It isn’t possible to say whether the video player reduced playback quality because of internet traffic issues we were unaware of or if this is how the picture is supposed to look. It did not significantly detract from the viewing experience and the lack of buffering and pixelation was far more important to us.

DirecTV Now would serve adequately as a cable TV replacement if it had local station coverage and some type of DVR. At present, DirecTV Now is limited to a “Restart” feature that allows you to restart shows already in progress on certain channels, but you cannot fast-forward or record a restarted show. Once AT&T introduces a cloud-based DVR and fills out the local station lineup, this service could be lethal to overpriced cable TV packages.

AT&T’s marketing attempts to undercut the powerful position of inertia by setting an unknown time limit for customers to enroll in the $35 a month video package. If you don’t sign up today, you may not get the “free” Apple TV or Amazon Fire Stick and a respectable cable TV package for just $35 a month — about half what cable operators are charging these days for their bloated video packages. AT&T doesn’t care if you stick with your current cable provider and signup for DirecTV Now, if only to grab free streaming video equipment while sampling the service. They get their money either way.

Had AT&T permanently kept the price at around $35, many consumers would likely sit back and wait for AT&T to sort out the streaming contract issues it has with the TV networks — CBS in particular, and come up with a DVR solution before those potential customers decided to sign up and make the change. Based on several “hot deals” websites, the mentality among many consumers is to “lock in” the $35 price now and wait for AT&T to build out the package while continuing to invest $35 a month on it. That doesn’t seem so bad when you get free electronics as part of the deal.

Our Final Take

AT&T’s DirecTV Now is a potential winner and worth signing up for because of the introductory price and free equipment offers. But if you decide not to disconnect your cable/satellite television service, it is probably safe to drop DirecTV Now after your prepayment expires and return to resume service a little later. There will probably be some warning when AT&T will end the introductory price for the service, and interested customers can hop back on board before that date arrives. DirecTV Now will be a formidable competitor, but it will fight against consumer resistance to confront the cable company and cut cable’s cord until it solves the local channels issue and has a credible DVR option. The service could also use an add-on to make adding additional concurrent streams possible and more affordable than just signing up for a second account.

Don’t count out Big Cable just yet. With data caps and other internet overcharging schemes, Comcast, Cox, Suddenlink, and others can play games with usage allowances to deter customers from streaming all of their video entertainment online at the risk of blowing past their allowance. DirecTV Now’s $35 price won’t mean much after overlimit fees begin appearing on your internet bill.