DirecTV was one of the first pay television operators to offer multiview features on its legacy satellite TV platform — and, now, the perk is available to streaming customers on a permanent basis.
Following a trial run that involved the curation of news feeds during Election Day last year, DirecTV says it is pushing out multiview feeds for news, sports and children’s TV channels on its streaming platform. The channels will assume the same “Mix” branding that DirecTV uses for its multiview feeds on satellite, and will be available to those with “Signature” packages and DirecTV’s new genre-based plans like “MyEntertainment” and “MySports” alike.
The feeds launching this week include:
- Sports Mix — ESPN, ESPN 2, Fox Sports 1 and NBC News Now
- League Sports Mix — MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network
- News Mix — CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Fox Weather
- Business Mix — Bloomberg, Cheddar News, CNBC, Fox Business
- Kids Mix — Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Disney Jr., Disney XD
The availability of each Mix channel will depend on the package purchased by a customer. All five channels are available to those with “Signature” plans, while Sports Mix is also available to those who pay for “MySports.” Similarly, the News Mix and Business Mix packages are available to MyNews subscribers, while News Mix is also available to MySports customers.
In some areas where DirecTV has the rights to stream ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations, a Locals Mix will also be available. Additionally, in September, DirecTV will launch a Sunday Sports Mix channel that includes CBS, Fox, ESPN and Fox Sports 1, which is almost certainly intended to target football fans.
Subscribers will be able to select which audio feed they want to hear from the four options available on each Mix channel, and all Mix channels will support closed captioning that automatically updates when a new audio feed is selected, DIrecTV said.
DirecTV says its streaming Mix channels are now available on DirecTV’s Gemini streaming dongles and set-top boxes, and through the DirecTV app for Android TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices. Support for Apple TV and Samsung’s Tizen OS are coming in the next few weeks.
DirecTV’s signature packages resemble the traditional cable TV bundle, with a mixture of news, entertainment and sports networks, starting at $85 per month for the “Entertainment” package, though the company offers promotional pricing throughout the year. DirecTV’s genre-based packages cost $20 per month for kids channels, $35 per month for entertainment networks, $40 per month for news and local channels and $70 per month for sports networks.
