AT&T TV Live Streaming Service Launches Nationwide With Set-Top Box and Two-Year Contract

AT&T today announced the nationwide launch of AT&T TV, which is a live TV streaming service that is available through a set-top box powered by Android TV (via Variety). This isn't the same thing as AT&T TV Now, the company's app-based live TV streaming service available on Apple TV and other devices.

att tv box
After testing AT&T TV in 13 markets, the company is moving AT&T TV to the forefront of its TV business with the launch of the service this week across the United States. Simultaneously, DirecTV plans will no longer be actively marketed as AT&T plans to deemphasize the DirecTV branding moving forward. However, DirecTV plans will still be available to purchase.

The new service offers hundreds of live TV channels, 500 hours of cloud DVR storage, and 40,000 on-demand titles. With the box, you'll be able to watch Netflix, Disney Plus, YouTube, and HBO Max as well. The Google Play store will be supported, allowing you to further expand its usage with more than 5,000 apps.


Similar to ‌Apple TV‌, the AT&T TV voice-enabled remote comes integrated with Google Assistant for controlling channels, volume, playback, smart home devices, and more. If you search for movies and TV, results will show options for both streaming content, as well as those available for rental and purchasing on Google Play Movies & TV.

AT&T TV works on any high-speed internet connection, and it can also be bundled with AT&T's 1-gigabit Internet plan. AT&T TV packages start at $49.99 per month for 12 months with a 24 month agreement when you buy the service standalone. According to the fine print on AT&T's website, the prices will be higher in the second year.

Specifically, this means that prices nearly double after the first 12 months with the service. The entry-level Entertainment plan has about 70 cable channels at $49.99/month for the first year, and from the 13th month onward it will run you $93/month. The Ultimate tier has more than 170 channels at $69.99/month for the first year, and then from the 13th month you'll pay $135/month.

"Our customers told us what they want from their TV service and we built AT&T TV around that,” said Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Consumer. “AT&T TV is live TV made easy and when you add AT&T TV to our amazing 1 gigabit AT&T Internet you can’t go wrong.”

There is also a $19.95 activation fee and prorated early-termination fees if you cancel before your two year contract is up. You do get the Android-powered box for free, but if you want to add more into your home you'll have to pay $120 per box.

Over-the-top streaming TV services have been facing numerous issues lately. AT&T rebranded DirecTV Now to AT&T TV Now in 2019, and has been facing ongoing subscriber loss amid increased prices and poor service reliability. Meanwhile, Sony bowed out of the game for good and shut down PlayStation Vue in January.

Variety asked AT&T’s executive VP of broadband and video, Rasesh Patel, if the company is worried about customers' reactions to the high cost of AT&T TV once prices go up. According to Patel, the company feels confident about AT&T TV because of the "product experience" with the set-top box, which is "very unique."

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with AT&T. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Tag: AT&T

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...

Top Rated Comments

calstanford Avatar
66 months ago
Why would anyone even consider getting this?
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topmounter Avatar
66 months ago
2-year contract, STB, activation fee, OTT (you pay for the Internet connection), capped at three streams and the price nearly doubles in the second year? Clearly AT&T is at the top of their game.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mgollaher92 Avatar
66 months ago
Lol what a joke. They've been having declining membership for I think years now and they think a 2 year contract and a re-skinned Android TV box is going to remedy everything? Hilarious.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daveup2bat Avatar
66 months ago
Typical AT&T DirecTV model to double prices in year 2, ... uh NO! #hardpass .
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rocko99991 Avatar
66 months ago
Yeah no. I don't think they get it.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nbuubu Avatar
66 months ago
At least the remote looks ergonomic and functional, which can't be said for my slippery, easily-misplaced, accidental-click Apple TV 4K remote.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)