Viacom TV Networks Joining DirecTV Now Streaming Service

4 Oct, 2016 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Viacom Oct. 4 announced that its line-up of broadcast and pay-TV channels will be available on DirecTV Now, the pending online TV service launching in the fourth quarter from AT&T.

The standalone subscription service will offer more than 100 channels, including live and on-demand programming from broadcast networks, as well as premium add-on options. AT&T and DirecTV customers will be able to stream the service over a wired or wireless Internet connection using a variety of connected devices without requiring additional hardware, satellites, long-term contracts or credit checks.

DirecTV Now joins Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, Charter Spectrum TV Plus and the pending Hulu Live in an emerging online TV ecosystem that aims to replicate linear TV with a less-expensive “skinny bundle” offering via broadband.

Online TV is evolving from an antidote to subscription streaming to a mainstream strategy for capturing millennial consumers and cord-cutters who reject traditional pay-TV.

Average monthly revenue generated from pay-TV subscribers accessing the 120-channel bundle topped $161 in 2015, up 35% from $119 in 2010, according to SNL Kagan. But the veritable cash cow has hit a snag. More than 800,000 pay-TV subscribers terminated service in the second quarter (ended June 30), according to Kagan. The domestic pay-TV ecosystem now totals fewer than 96 million households, from a high of more than 100 million.

 

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