AT&T's Partnership With Dish Officially Ends
Telco Now Resells DirecTV Service In All 22 States in Its Footprint
Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 2/2/2009 12:56:36 PM
AT&T announced Monday that it is now offering a co-branded satellite service with DirecTV, in all 22 states in the telco's footprint -- officially spelling the end of AT&T's reseller deal with Dish Network.
AT&T said it offers "quadruple play" bundles with DirecTV, which include TV, broadband, home phone and wireless services and noted that the quad-play is "something cable competitors do not offer today."
The telco selected DirecTV as its partner in September, after going with Dish for most of the year while it engaged in longer-term contract discussions with both satellite TV companies. AT&T's agreement with Dish expired on Jan. 31.
DirecTV now is the exclusive satellite partner for the three largest U.S. telcos, including Verizon Communications and Qwest Communications International.
AT&T and DirecTV said they plan to extend their combined services in the future, to combine AT&T broadband and wireless assets with DirecTV's exclusive content so that customers will be able to access programming on TVs, PCs and wireless devices.
"Consumers today are looking for TV programming, features and equipment that enhance their entertainment experience, at a great price and as part of a complete, integrated bundle of services," said Jeff Weber, AT&T vice president of video services, in a statement. "By combining the strengths of our companies, we're well positioned to grow our subscriber base and build the foundation for future innovative features and integrated services."
The AT&T-DirecTV service starts at $29.99 per month for the Family package with 45 channels. The top four packages carry one-year introductory pricing on some packages: Choice Xtra with more than 200 channels for $29.99 per month for 12 months ($57.99 thereafter); up to Premier with 265 channels including 31 premium movie and 35 sports channels $79.99 per month for 12 months ($104.99 thereafter).
AT&T customers who bundle qualifying DirecTV packages (Choice Xtra or higher) with any other AT&T service will receive an ongoing $5 monthly discount. The discount is also available to existing customers who already have AT&T and DirecTV services and choose to bundle.
For example, AT&T said, a quad-play customer could save up to $15 per month and receive a $200 rebate with all four services, compared with standalone pricing.
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