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AT&T to roll out $90 a month streaming TV service by end of February

AT&T’s “Our Thing” campaign. (Image: AT&T/Handout)

AT&T’s next foray into streaming television will launch across the nation later this month — and it will cost about as much as a traditional cable or satellite subscription.

After testing the service in nine pilot markets, AT&T TV will debut to a national audience of hungry TV viewers at a base price of $93 a month plus taxes and fees.

That price will net a handful of features:

  • 70 basic cable channels, including Comedy Central, ESPN and CNN
  • 500 hours of cloud DVR space, though movies and TV shows expire after 90 days
  • A handy Android TV box that touts access to over 5,000 apps and the Google assistant

New customers who agree to sign a two-year contract will get their first 12 months of programming for as little as $50 a month plus taxes and fees.

AT&T is offering two additional tiers of service — a $110 a month plan that includes Sundance Network, the Tennis Channel and MLB Network, and a $124 a month plan that includes the Golf Channel, FXM and National Geographic Wild. Both tiers include regional sports channels, which adds around $9 a month to the base price of each plan.

AT&T is offering three months of free access to HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and Epix to new customers who sign up for AT&T TV. The company says it will charge an extra $54 for all five movie networks after the third month unless a customer calls AT&T to cancel them.

Customers are offered one Android TV box for free, with each additional box carrying a monthly rental charge. Using Android TV allows AT&T to offer Android-powered apps to third party streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and Pluto TV, though it’s not clear if these services will work without an active AT&T TV subscription.

The service requires a broadband Internet connection, which isn’t included with AT&T TV, though customers can bundle AT&T’s high-speed fiber Internet if it’s available in their area.

AT&T TV is expected to roll out nationwide on February 27.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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