DirecTV Now Changes Point to Fallout From Vertical Deal Approvals, PK Says
That DOJ's case against AT&T/Time Warner was shown to be right points to the importance of the agency bringing vertical deals in the future, Public Knowledge Senior Counsel John Bergmayer blogged Wednesday. Noting reports AT&T is hiking DirecTV Now pricing…
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while dropping some affiliated channels and adding more AT&T-owned content to its channel bundle, PK said "something may need to be fixed in antitrust" when arguments "breezily dismissed" by defendants and ignored by the courts "nevertheless come true so quickly after the trial is over." It said there needs to be vertical deal guidelines that show courts how markets actually work and how vertical integration can play out, and there could be a legislative fix to the hurdle the government has to clear for proving a vertical challenge. AT&T emailed us that DirecTV "gave us the scale needed to acquire the mobile rights for content," which in turn let it launch the DirecTV Now streaming service in 2016 at lower prices than the direct broadcast satellite service. "Even with our new DirecTV Now packages, the prices are still significantly lower and there are more choices than ever for live TV service from DirecTV," it said. BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield wrote investors Wednesday that prices for new plans -- $50 a month for DirecTV Now Plus and $70 for DirecTV Max -- and the elimination of its $35 plan were expected, as were the channels to be included and excluded. Both plans include HBO, which AT&T picked up with the TW deal.