DirecTV Now ‘sustainable’ at $50 price point, AT&T CEO says

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.fiercevideo.com/video/directv-now-sustainable-at-50-price-point-at-t-ceo-says

DirecTV Now withstood another quarter of subscriber losses, but AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said, at current price levels, the product is reaching sustainable levels.

During today’s earnings call, Stephenson called back to DirecTV Now’s recent moves on OTT pricing and rationalizing content lineups. DirecTV Now has shifted to selling two packages, both of which include HBO: DirecTV Now Plus offers more than 40 channels for $50 per month, and DirecTV Now Max offers more than 50 channels (including Cinemax) for $70 per month.

“I think we’re getting to a place now where the product, we all look at it and say, ‘OK, this is a sustainable place if you can get the advertising revenues to where we think we can get them,” Stephenson said.

Directv Now was coming off in the lost of subscribers in the past few quarters.

 

[Don CT]

Sustainable as in, this is what we need people to pay, or this is what people are willing to pay?

 

[CTListener]

Sustainable as in, this is what we need people to pay, or this is what people are willing to pay?

Probably the latter, as profit margin has to be figured in. DirecTV Now wouldn't be offered at a price point that would barely cover the payments to the originators of the programming, so I think one can assume that $50 represents what DirecTV thinks enough users will be comfortable with as a monthly payment for the amount and variety of content provided to assure that providing that programming returns a solid profit to DirecTV.

 

[TheBigA]

The big catch in all these systems is the price per set. You need a satellite box for each set, and there's an additional monthly charge for that box. For OTT, you buy the box, and there's no monthly charge. If you have multiple sets in your house, that monthly rent adds up.

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/business/media/att-warner-hbo-streaming.html

Here is another one

With its acquisition of Time Warner last year, AT&T was on its way toward creating a streaming service that will one day be the exclusive online home for “Game of Thrones” and the blockbuster film franchises centered on Wonder Woman, Batman and Harry Potter.

The $80 billion deal gave the phone giant ownership of the Time Warner networks CNN, HBO, Turner Broadcasting, as well as the Warner Bros. film and television library — enough content to allow the company to stake out a two-front strategy of competing against traditional rivals like Verizon and T-Mobile while also challenging Netflix and Hulu.

But AT&T’s ambitions for its streaming service, set for an early 2020 debut, have hit a snag on a small but important detail: How much should it cost for subscribers?

The source of the problem is HBO, which has seven million online customers. The premium cable network costs $15 a month — a price that’s practically locked in because of contracts with distributors like Comcast and Dish.