AT&T's WatchTV and unlimited data plan bundles are now live
The WatchTV bundle will come with 31 channels and cost $15 for non-AT&T customers.
AT&T 's new WatchTV service and unlimited data plans went into effect on Friday.
The company last week unveiled two unlimited data plans, dubbed AT&T Unlimited &More and AT&T Unlimited &More Premium, bundled with WatchTV, a new "skinny bundle" of more than 30 live channels. The plans replace the existing options, with a starting price that's $5 more expensive for a single line. Also gone is the default " HBO for life" promotion. WatchTV is available to non-AT&T customers for $15 a month. The new plans are now live and available here. WatchTV by itself can be found here.
The announcement made good on a plan that AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson teased last week in an interview with CNBC. The standalone price puts in competition with Philo, which strips out sports and news channels for a $16-a-month bundle of entertainment networks. It's the latest in a growing crop of online options for live television, which include players like Sony , YouTube and SlingTV.
The phone plans are also the latest in a slew of new unlimited options to come from the wireless carriers, which are seeking to both redefine how unlimited plans work and add on extras to justify different, more expensive options. These plans come on the heels of Verizon's debut of a new, pricier unlimited data plan, as well as the ability to match different tiers within the same family plan. Sprint , meanwhile, just ended a promotional offering for a stripped down unlimited data plan for $15 a month.
In AT&T's case, it's hoping that the video bundle appeals to new customers.
Unlimited &More starts at $70 a line -- above the $65 cost of its Unlimited Choice Enhanced plan -- for a single line. Its four-line bundle of $160 remains the same. The plan gives you access to WatchTV, standard definition video, no mobile hotspot capability and a $15 credit towards its DirecTV Now service.
The Premium tier starts at $80 a line for a single, and $190 for four lines. In addition to WatchTV, users will be able to choose one premium add-on (options include HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, VRV and streaming music channels Pandora Premium and Amazon Music Unlimited). There's a $15 credit that can be applied to DirecTV , DirecTV Now or U-Verse TV, 15 gigabits of mobile hotspot capability and high-definition video.
Customers on existing plans are free to switch to the new option, but will lose their free access to HBO (premium customers can choose it as the add-on though).
The prices include a $5 discount for signing up for auto-pay, and AT&T may throttle you after you hit 22 gigabytes of data each month.
In addition to your phones , WatchTV will work on Apple TV , Google Chromecast and Safari and Chrome browsers. Standalone WatchTV customers won't be able to add premium channels like HBO -- that is reserved for the premium unlimited tier or DirecTV Now customers. AT&T, however, is looking at that option.
Here's a full list of the channels:
- A&E
- AMC
- Animal Planet
- Audience
- BBC World News
- BBC America
- Boomerang
- Cartoon Network
- CNN
- Discovery
- Food Network
- FYI
- Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
- HGTV
- History
- HLN
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Lifetime Movies
- OWN
- Sundance TV
- TBS
- TCM
- TLC
- TNT
- TRU TV
- Velocity
- Viceland
- WE
AT&T says these channels are coming soon:
- BET
- Comedy Central
- MTV2
- Nicktoons
- Teennick
- VH1
The story originally published at 3:30 a.m. PT.
Update, 2:41 p.m. PT: To include launch timing.
Update, June 29 at 8:41 a.m. PT: To note that the service is live.
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