AT&T to "give away free Apple TVs" to some DirecTV Now subscribers

PanARMENIAN.Net - AT&T is prepared to go all out on behalf of its new DirecTV Now service: The company is looking to give away Apple TV and Fire TV Stick devices to consumers who sign up for its TV streaming service, according to customer-support documents Variety says it discovered after they were inadvertently released by the company online.

The documents also shed light on which channels are part of the service that they haven’t yet announced, as well as further details about its VOD library and other key features.

AT&T didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

The leaked documents detail that consumers who are willing to commit to at least three months of paid service will be able to get a free Apple TV as part of a device promotion. Consumers who pay for one month will get a free Fire TV streaming stick. Both devices are more expensive on their own than the service charges consumers would have to pay to qualify for each promotion, Variety reports.

AT&T officially announced DirecTV Now as an internet-based live TV service earlier this year. The telco has since given us some idea about the programming, announcing deals with Disney, NBCUniversal and Viacom as well as Scripps, A&E Networks, Discovery, HBO, and Starz. Last month, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson announced that DirecTV Now will cost $35 per month and carry more than 100 channels when it launches in the coming weeks.

The leaked customer-support documents didn’t include complete channel lineups — those also depend on the local markets of subscribers — but they do give us a better idea of which other channels DirecTV Now aims to launch with. A partial list of channels included not only networks from the aforementioned partners, but also Univision networks like Galavision, Univision and UniMas, Fox and MundoFox, CBS, HDNet Movies, the Hallmark Channel and the Sony Movie Channel.