It appears the novelty on DirecTV Now is wearing off on subscribers. Growth which was quite accelerated in its first three months growing to a peak of 328,000 subscribers. But Bloomberg reports that in February, the streaming service lost 3,000 subscribers and in March, growth was flat.
So does it mean that DirecTV Now is going to struggle for the rest of the way? Maybe. Streaming services haven’t picked up the slack for what cable has lost. Some 477,000 customers have signed up for services like DirecTV Now, Sling TV and Sony PlayStation Vue in the first quarter, but pay TV (cable and satellite) have lost 732,00 subscribers according to estimates.
However, AT&T executive vice president for marketing, Brad Bentley tells the Hollywood Reporter that he remains bullish on DirecTV Now saying the response to the new service has been “great” and that “we are ahead of our targets for the quarter and for the year.”
But one gaping hole in its service is CBS which hasn’t signed on and in the six months since the DirecTV Now launch, is still off meaning that it’s not just the broadcast network and its entertainment, news and sports programming, but also its sister network Showtime.
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.