T-Mobile's Legere takes swat at AT&T with free DirecTV Now deal
CEO John Legere gets up to mischief again with an offer that looks to co-opt the AT&T-owned streaming service.
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T-Mobile's flamboyant CEO, John Legere, is at it again.
T-Mobile and CEO John Legere are up to their old tricks.
The phone company gave rival AT&T a tweak on the nose Thursday as T-Mobile tried to lure customers away from its competitor. The deal? Leave AT&T Wireless and jump to T-Mobile's One plan and you'll get a year of streaming-video service DirecTV Now for free. The punchline? DirecTV is owned by AT&T.
"AT&T wants you to think DirecTV is theirs exclusively, but that's a load of crap," Legere said in a statement. "Both DirecTV Now and the DirecTV apps stream free on T-Mobile with a faster, more advanced network that covers nearly every American."
As of Friday, AT&T customers who activate two lines and bring their number to T-Mobile One will get a $35 credit every month for a year, as long as the lines remain active. DirecTV Now costs $35 a month.
Legere is known for his outspoken ways. Of rival Sprint he once said, "Put a fork in it. They're done." He's also had some colorful language for Amazon and its Fire phone. The Thursday press release doesn't stop at the "load of crap" remark. T-Mobile says the DirecTV deal is a boon even if customers wind up disappointed by the streaming service:
"And, even if you hate DirecTV Now (we offer no guarantees, since it's an AT&T product after all), you still get unlimited LTE data on a faster, more advanced network -- all at a better price. All you do is win, win, win."
When asked to comment on the release and deal, AT&T declined to take the bait. Of T-Mobile it said, "we're glad they've joined the legions who love DirecTV Now on any platform."