AT&T, the largest phone company in the United States, and MobiTV, a streaming video system specialist, said Tuesday they will offer AT&T’s broadband customers online pay-TV service for $19.99.
The service, which is called AT&T Broadband TV, will be made up of an initial roster of about 20 channels, including the Weather Channel, Bloomberg, the History Channel, Oxygen, Fox News, Comedy Time, Maxx Sports, and Toonworld.
It will be an interesting test of the willingness of consumers to pay for TV content on the web, at a time when broadcast TV networks are offering much of their prime time content online for free.
The initial content roster does not include any of the most popular channels. For instance it does not include ESPN, at a time when both major professional sports―baseball and football―are in full swing.
It also does not include a front-line movie channel such as HBO, Showtime, or Cinemax.
According to Michael Coe, a spokesperson for AT&T, the company will add new channels to its roster within 30 days. He would not say exactly what channels would be added, but said that AT&T is working with its content partners to enhance its online choices.
Shares of AT&T rose $0.44 to $32.04 in recent trading.
Steep Price
At $19.99 a month, the price seems a tad steep for online access to shows that customers already pay between $60 and upwards of $100 a month to view on regular pay-TV. But AT&T may not necessarily be looking at the head of household who foots the cable bill.
Mr. Coe said AT&T is looking at attracting highly mobile young people who demand quality content while on the move.
“This is a package designed for broadband,” he said. “The channels are the same as regular TV, but this is content packaged for people who want TV content wherever they are and whenever they want it.”
But the phone company is jumping into a market that is becoming increasingly crowded with a diverse array of services and products that makes TV content available online.
For instance, AT&T Broadband TV will also compete with Sling Media’s Slingbox, a $200 device that redirects the user’s home TV service to an Internet-connected PC located anywhere in the world.
The $200 price is a one-time cost. The user gains access to all the programs he or she already subscribes to at home.
AT&T currently offers cable TV service from EchoStar, the distributor of Dish Network satellite TV, to many of its customers. The carrier is also upgrading its phone network with fiber optic technology, in part to offer IPTV services to consumers.
Contact the writer:CMedford@RedHerring.com
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