AT&T today announced that it's managed to ink a deal with CBS to bring CBS channels to the DirecTV Now streaming service. The deal includes CBS entertainment, sports, and news programming, plus Showtime, The CW, CBS Sports Network, and Pop.
"This is another key milestone in bringing DIRECTV NOW users access to their favorite entertainment, news and sports from all of the major broadcast networks," said Daniel York, senior executive vice president and chief content officer - AT&T Entertainment Group. "As we add more live national and local channels, we know even more people will choose DIRECTV NOW as their go-to streaming service."
Video-on-demand catalogs will be available from CBS, The CW, Pop, and Showtime, and DirecTV Now customers will be able to access live local coverage on close to 25 local CBS and The CW stations in the following areas:
- New York
- Los Angeles
- Chicago
- Philadelphia
- Dallas - Ft. Worth
- San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose
- Boston
- Detroit
- Minneapolis-St. Paul
- Miami-Ft. Lauderdale
- Denver
- Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA
- Pittsburgh
- Baltimore
CBS and The CW content will be available in all DirecTV Now packages, which start at $35 per month. Pop will be included in the "Just Right" and higher tier, while CBS Sports Network will be available with the "Go Big" plan. Showtime can be added to any plan for $8 per month. According to AT&T, the new content will be rolling out "in the coming weeks."
AT&T also plans to add 30 additional ABC, FOX, and NBC affiliates on DirecTV Now in the near future, bringing the total to more than 170 live local channels in over 80 metro areas. Some DirecTV Now customers have also begun receiving beta invites for the cloud DVR feature that is being added to the service this fall.
Top Rated Comments
How much longer will scheduled broadcast television be a thing?
My question is somewhat rhetorical... as I don't think it will go away in my lifetime. I'm sure the billions of dollars in ad sales on the hundreds of hours of daily programming will keep it around for a while.
But it seems like we are clinging to an obsolete idea.
The reason you even need a DVR is because most television is still delivered to your home on a set schedule. If you're not home at 8:30pm on a Tuesday... you can't watch your show.
DVR fixes that problem. Hooray!
But today... nearly all pre-recorded TV content exists on a server somewhere. There's no technical reason why a TV show needs to be broadcast at 8:30pm on a Tuesday.
Everything could be delivered on-demand. Wouldn't that be better?
But like I said... I doubt scheduled television will go away anytime soon.
Though today's younger generation doesn't abide by a set TV schedule. Broadcast TV might be in for a tough time in the future.
Sorry for the rant... hearing "DVR" sparked this thought. :)