AT&T appears to be in the process of making a change to the ability for grandfathered DirecTV Now subscribers to switch plans and potentially without losing some of their discounts. Since the launch of DirecTV Now, subscribers have endured a number of changes, including multiple price increases. However, this option would offer a greater ability to control the streaming experience for legacy DirecTV Now subscribers.
DirecTV Now originally launched in 2016. Since then, the service changed to AT&T TV Now before changing to AT&T TV. As part of those changes, the original DirecTV Now plans have encountered multiple price increases. However, many accounts that are still considered to be DirecTV Now accounts do still have access to some discounts, such as the Go Big early adopter discount, the video loyalty credit, or HBO for Life.
It now seems like AT&T is going to let grandfathered DirecTV Now subscribers upgrade or downgrade between grandfathered plans. For example, Live a Little subscribers upgrading to Gotta Have It, or Go Big subscribers downgrading to Live a Little. According to an internal source document posted to Reddit, the change is due to go into effect on April 1, 2021.
Although AT&T appears to be about to allow grandfathered customers to switch between grandfathered plans, it remains to be seen exactly what impact any of these changes will have on billing. The exact wording of the document suggests that video loyalty credit will remain in effect when switching from one grandfathered plan to another, but not when switching to an AT&T TV Now Plus or Max plan.
Early adopter discount remains unknown
It remains to be seen if subscribers with the early adopter discount or HBO for Life will be able to keep their discount when switching plans. While the HBO discount is useful for existing HBO subscribers, the early adopter discount has the potential to offer the biggest savings. This discount was specific to DirecTV Now’s Go Big plan and it reduced the then $60 cost down to $35 per month – the same price as the lesser Live a Little plan. Since then, and although the price has gone up, the $25 savings have remained in effect for those original Go Big subscribers.
While it remains to be seen if they can downgrade and still keep the discount for a cheaper bill, it also remains to be seen if they’ll be able to upgrade to the Gotta Have it plan with the discount either. If they can, the Gotta Have It plan will offer a much better package overall. Unlike the video loyalty credit, the early adopter discount is not reliant on the DirecTV Now subscriber also receiving a wireless cellular service from the company as well.
Source: Reddit
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