DALLAS — AT&T will make its customers pay more to stream television channels starting next month.
The Dallas media and telecom giant is raising prices by $10 a month for its DirecTV Now customers, according to its website. That makes the lowest-tier package $50 a month.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), which acquired HBO with the merger of Time Warner last year, is looking to collect more revenue from online television services as other providers shuffle or raise prices as well. Hulu + Live TV recently boosted its price to $44.99 a month from $39.99, while lowering the price for other lower-cost options.
Netflix, which doesn’t include traditional cable channels, recently increased its prices by more than 10 percent, according to CNBC.
Still, the company raised prices last year as well — by $5 a month — for its packages, according to Cord Cutters News in July. The news came weeks after it closed on its deal to acquire Time Warner, which included HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner, after surviving an antitrust challenge from the Justice Department in federal court. Earlier this year, it emerged the victor after the U.S. Department of Justice appealed.
On Tuesday, the company said it will offer DirecTV Now with HBO and live channels for as little as $50 a month – though it will offer fewer channels otherwise than the cheapest previous package. A $70-per-month option comes with dozens of live TV channels, including local options, and an extensive on-demand library of movies and TV shows, AT&T said.
The coming price hikes will take effect on April 12 for DirecTV Now customers, the company said. They include five different packages that vary in scope and size, such as “Live a Little,” “Gotta Have It” and “Todo y Mas.”
The new offerings come after an uneven fourth quarter. DirecTV Now saw subscribers drop 267,000 as discounted introductory offers ended, while traditional video subscribers fell 391,000. Overall, the entertainment group, which includes video services, saw sales fall to $12.2 billion from $12.6 billion.
