DirecTV NOW Raised Prices and Lost 500,000 Subscribers

Just within the last year, DIRECTV NOW raised prices and lost 500,000 subscribers.

DIRECTV NOW is a streaming service that replaces your cable or satellite TV and lets you to watch TV over the internet. This is Cord Cutting.

Read more about DIRECTV NOW Will Become AT&T TV NOW.

DIRECTV NOW Raised Prices and Lost 500,000 Subscribers

In August of 2018, DIRECTV NOW significantly restructured their pricing and streaming packages. That included two price increases within a year, between August of 2018 and March of 2019.

From early 2017 through August of 2018, DIRECTV NOW had the following prices and packages…

Live A Little Package: $35/month with 60+ channels
Just Right Package: $50/month with 80+ channels
Go Big Package: $60/month with 100+ channels
Gotta Have It Package: $70/month with 120+ Channels

DIRECTV NOW Raised Prices

Price Increase #1 – August 2018

The first DIRECTV NOW price increase happened in August of 2018. In August 2018, DIRECTV NOW raised the prices of their packages by $5 each. They maintained this pricing for about six months.

Live A Little Package: $40/month with 60+ channels
Just Right Package: $55/month with 80+ channels
Go Big Package: $65/month with 100+ channels
Gotta Have It Package: $75/month with 120+ Channels

Price Increase #2 – March 2019

Then, in March of 2019, DIRECTV NOW had a major shift in their pricing and package structure. They created more packages. And DIRECTV NOW raised the price of all packages, again.

Plus Package: $50/month with 45+ channels
Max Package: $70/month with 60+ channels
Entertainment Package: $93/month with 65+ channels
Choice Package: $110/month with 85+ channels
XTRA Package: $124/month with 105+ Channels
Ultimate Package: $135/month with 125+ channels

(All DIRECTV NOW prices and packages taken directly from the DIRECTV NOW website, without discounts or specials applied.)

DirecTV NOW Lost 500,000 Subscribers

After a fast start in 2016 and quick subscriber growth, DIRECTV NOW new subscriber numbers have significantly slowed.

DIRECTV NOW has even started to lose subscribers. Since August of 2018, DIRECTV NOW has lost 500,000 subscribers.

The DIRECTV NOW subscriber loss is is likely due to several factors…

Price Increases: Restructured DIRECTV NOW pricing and packages
Competitive Pricing: Competitive and aggressive pricing and deals from competing companies like Hulu, Sling TV, and YouTube TV
Sign-up Offers: Lack of DIRECTV NOW sign-up offers and discounted deals

Live TV Streaming Subscriber Numbers

Here is a breakout of the Live TV streaming subscriber totals.

• CBS All Access – 4 Million subscribers (and another 4 Million subscribers for Showtime) (Lauren Feiner, CNBC)
• Sling TV – 2.4 Million subscribers*
• Hulu Live TV (Only Live TV) – 2 Million subscribers
• DIRECTV NOW – 1.3 Million subscribers**
• YouTube TV – 1 Million subscribers
• Playstation Vue (PS Vue) – 450,000 to 670,000 subscribers (Estimated: Stephen Lovely, Fool.com)

* Dish Network, Dish TV, and Sling TV subscription numbers obtained from SEC Annual and Quarterly Report filings (Forms 10-Q and 10-K).
** DIRECTV NOW/AT&T TV NOW subscription numbers obtained from SEC Annual and Quarterly Report filings (Forms 8-K).

Read more about DIRECTV NOW Will Become AT&T TV NOW.