Recently DIRECTV started to unify the branding around DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM. Now DIRECTV promotes DIRECTV via satellite and DIRECTV via internet as the two main ways to get DIRECTV. You can still get DIRECTV STREAM if you want to use your own device, but DIRECTV is heavily promoting its own streaming player over the bring your own device DIRECTV STREAM option.
Now as part of the unifying plan, the DIRECTV STREAM apps on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, and more are now just called DIRECTV. No longer will you find DIRECTV STREAM listed in these app stores when you look for it. Instead, you will find just a DIRECTV app that is now for DIRECTV customers and DIRECTV STREAM customers, but you won’t know that until you read the description.
Here is how DIRECTV describes the new DIRECTV app on these platforms:
The DIRECTV App, for DIRECTV and DIRECTV STREAM customers, is the fresh way to stream all the entertainment you love.
Live or On Demand, at home or on the go, big screen or small – no matter how you like to watch, we bring your TV together.
No matter your passion, we’ve got you covered with live sports, breaking news and thousands of On Demand titles.
Binge hit movies & most talked about shows, and quickly find your favorite shows using our intuitive user interface.
So if you have been thinking about trying out DIRECTV STREAM just know that you will now be using the DIRECTV app on your favorite streaming players.
So why the change? Last month, DIRECTV started selling an internet version of DIRECTV’s satellite service. The pricing is the same as the satellite service, but you get fewer channels with DIRECTV internet as it is the same packages DIRECTV STREAM already offers.
DIRECTV’s internet service is just a rebrand of DIRECTV STREAM for anyone who leases DIRECTV’s new streaming player instead of using their own streaming player. This new streaming player is an updated version of the DIRECTV STREAM’s old streaming player.
DIRECTV’s new internet option starts $10 cheaper than DIRECTV STREAM but there are some new fees that push the price up. Now if you lease a DIRECTV streaming player, you have to pay a $15 a month leasing fee for the box plus an RSN fee that can go as high as $13.99 a month.
If you are a DIRECTV STREAM customer, the only thing you should notice changing right now is the name of the app you use.