AT&T launches ‘first ever’ national US TV and mobile bundle

US telco giant AT&T has wasted little time, following the approval of its acquisition of cable company DirecTV, in launching what it claims is the country’s first TV and mobile service bundle.

The speed and positioning of the move indicates how keen AT&T is to capitalise on the competitive window it acquired with the $50 billion it paid for DirecTV. Telecoms in developed markets are clearly moving towards consolidation in order to offer multiplay bundles and AT&T’s main rivals are not currently in the position to offer similar deals.

“Today is the first of many planned moves to enable our customers to enjoy a premium entertainment experience almost anywhere,” said Brad Bentley, CMO of AT&T Entertainment and Internet Services. “We’re going to deliver more TV and entertainment choices to more screens – when and where our customers want it. And we’ll offer incredible value with more flexibility and convenience through our integrated packages that deliver a great experience.”

The ‘All in One Plan’ bundle itself is clearly targeted at families as it offers TV content to four TVs as well as streaming to mobile devices, and a $160 phone package for four devices with ‘free’ voice and text plus 10GB of shared data. Combining the two gives a $10 discount, meaning the cheapest bundle comes in at $200 per month. Broadband comes on top of all that and starts at $30 per month.

Verizon, AT&T’s main competitor, also has fixed and mobile covered, but its main recent content move has been to acquire AOL, which is more of an OTT video play, for less than a tenth what it cost AT&T to buy DirecTV. If Verizon chooses to stick with this path, and focus on OTT, that could set up an interesting divergence in multiplay strategies in the US.