DirecTV is launching a completely free live TV streaming service next month. MyFree DirecTV is due to go live on November 15 and will offer access to a wide selection of free, ad-supported (FAST) channels. The channels will span a variety of genres, including sports, entertainment, kids and family, news, and lifestyle.
Over the past year or so, DirecTV has slowly been building out its library of FAST channels, all of which are already available to those signed up to one of DirecTV’s live TV packages.
Now, and following similar moves by Fubo, Philo and Sling TV, most of those same FAST channels are set to become available next month without the need to pay for a live TV plan.
Some of the FAST channels expected to be available at launch include 60 Days In, After the First 48, American Pickers, Ancient Aliens, Ax Men, Cold Case Files, Court Cam, Duck Dynasty, The First 48, Ice Road Truckers, Jail: Big Texas, Las Vegas Jailhouse, Modern Marvels, On Patrol: Live, Pawn Stars, Power, Power Book IV: Force, Storage Wars, The UnXplained, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
DirecTV also confirmed that additional free channels will be added in the future, further building out the value offered by MyFree TV.
“DirecTV envisions a brighter TV future that offers consumers quality content with more choice and more control at the right value. The launch of MyFree DirecTV will do just that,” said Amy Leifer, chief
advertising sales officer at DirecTV Advertising.
It is not just the channels that are being ported over from DirecTV either, as MyFree DirecTV will also make use of the same Your TV content aggregation carousel that rolled out to paying DirecTV customers earlier this year.
Your TV recommends programming tailored to the user based on user signals, including favorited content and watch history. The idea here is to improve content discovery and speed up the time it takes to find something to watch.
With DirecTV already readily available on a variety of platforms, device support is also not expected to be an issue. MyFree TV will be available to watch through the website and via a mobile app, as well as on select smart TVs and streaming players.
DirecTV recently confirmed that it is also now in the process of buying EchoStar’s video business. Assuming that deal makes it over the usual regulatory hurdles, the acquisition will make DirecTV the owner of Dish TV and Sling TV.
With Sling TV also already offering a selection of affordable live TV packages, as well as a completely free tier through Sling Freestream, DirecTV looks set to greatly expand its presence in both the paid and FAST segments of the live TV streaming market over the coming months and years.
Leave a Reply