AT&T launches new streaming TV service to compete with Vue, Sling

But customers will have to lock in that deal.

AT&T officially introduced its DirecTV Now streaming service today – offering less than analysts expected after CEO Randall Stephenson vowed to provide more than 100 channels for as little as $35 a month.

Bundle up: DirecTV Now offers a lot of channels for less money than cable. That tier normally will cost $60. Effectively, the target customers are younger, price-sensitive consumers who have been resistant to buying higher-priced traditional cable or satellite services. It’s another cut-the-cord TV service that works on a variety of platforms and through a variety of apps. AT&T estimates that some 20 million USA households do not have pay TV service today. And the practice isn’t discriminatory, the company argues, because competing services can get the same treatment if they agree to cover the cost of their customers’ data usage, as AT&T says it does for DirecTV Now.

Customers are curious about AT&T Inc. You can also add on HBO and Cinemax content for an additional $5 a month.

Those who pre-pay for 1 month of service can receive a free Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Information is still emerging about DirecTV Now, such as in what markets you’ll be able to live stream network TV programming and which ones will offer on-demand viewing the next day.

AT&T also says that DVR functionality will be coming in 2017. AT&T has a substantial ownership interest in Fullscreen.

But the service has gaps, too.

The potential of bundling services also is part of AT&T’s game plan here.

National Football League content is tricky, generally, on DirecTV Now. Mobile users will not be able to stream National Football League games to their smartphones because of Verizon’s exclusive deal with the NFL.

And ABC, NBC and Fox will only be available live in a handful of mostly large cities – those in which the national broadcasters own its local TV affiliate. All major entertainment giants, with the exception of CBS and Showtime, have deals to be included.

DirecTV Now won’t have DVR features at launch. Executives stressed that DirecTV Now would launch as a first version of the service and that they would refine and improve it on an ongoing basis.

The content on the service includes most of the major U.S. broadcast networks except CBS and a range of popular cable networks through deals with 21 Century Fox, Disney, Time Warner and others. As such, the company has been telling installers it will go out of its way to avoid advertising or mentioning this service to the company’s existing DirecTV or U-Verse TV subscribers. The channel list is more comprehensive, and includes some not available on Sling or PlayStation Vue.

You pay for the service on a monthly basis, much like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue.

The competitive field will only grow more crowded.

“Hello Sunshine is deeply committed to creating content that will reach women where they spend time, whether it is at a movie theatre, at home or on their mobile device”.

Mobile sets DirecTV Now apart. Taylor Swift Now, featuring content that is curated by the singer, including concert and behind-the-scenes footage, will debut by year’s end.

“This is the foundation for how we’re going to do things in the future”, he said. Pay-TV companies lost about 755,000 subscribers over the past year, compared to a loss of about 445,000 the previous year, according to Leichtman Research Group.