The satellite TV system, DirecTV is owned by AT&T. householders can choose to get the DirecTV service delivered to their homes by satellite dish or they can bypass all of that infrastructure and get the same system over the internet.
The internet video streaming service of DirecTV used to be called DirecTV Now. However, that name as changed. The online live TV service now takes the name of DirecTV’s parent company and is called AT&T TV Now.
How is AT&T TV Now different?
The unique selling point of AT&T TV Now lies in the importance of the entertainment brands to which it has access. AT&T owns WarnerMedia, which is the largest TV company in the world. Other brands in the WarnerMedia stable include HBO, TNT, TBS, CNN, MLB Network, NBA TV, DC Entertainment, and Cartoon Network. These assets enable AT&T to offer a very attractive entertainment package on its video streaming service.
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Who is AT&T TV Now best for?
AT&T TV Now aims to provide home TV services in competition with regular cable TV companies. So, it is put together as a family entertainment package, which the company hopes, will appeal to a wide market in the USA.
The internet delivery system of AT&T TV Now means that the service can be reached from everywhere in the world. However, despite the technical ability to serve the entire population of the planet, AT&T TV Now can only be accessed by people who are physically located in the USA. The technicians of the service have put access block in place to anyone outside of the USA because of licensing issues. For much of its content, AT&T only owns the broadcast rights within the United States and is legally obliged to prevent visitors from any other country from accessing its videos online.
Without any risk to its own equipment being stolen or damaged, AT&T TV Now can be a little more relaxed about the financial status of its customer base than its satellite and cable counterparts.
Many customers at new addresses or in high-crime areas might find it difficult to pass the credit check requirements of cable and satellite TV service providers; low-income families sometimes struggle to pay the up-front installation and hardware charges of those systems. AT&T TV Now has no installation costs and does not require a deposit. There are no credit checks for the streaming service and no contract lock-ins. AT&T TV Now is accessible to many more Americans than traditional TV systems.
How to access AT&T TV Now
As an internet-bound service, the base requirement of connections to AT&T TV Now is an active internet connection. Beyond that, any device that can connect to the internet can receive the live TV service and on demand video streaming system.
Those who have a computer or mobile device can access the AT&T TV Now service through a browser on a computer or through an app for mobile devices. The AT&T TV Now website has a media player embedded in it and that can be accessed through Google Chrome and Safari web browsers. Apps for mobile devices run on Android phones and tablets plus the Kindle Fire tablets. An iOS app makes the service accessible on an iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. TV streamed to these devices can be forwarded to a TV set by using Google Chromecast.
Internet-connected streaming devices offer other methods to get AT&T TV Now onto a TV set. These include Android TV boxes and Apple TV 4th Generation and 4K models. The Amazon Fire TV Stick and the Amazon TV Fire Cube will also channel AT&T TV Now. Samsung Smart TVs can receive the streaming service without any streaming device attached.
