Cutting the cord with live TV streaming services may still be cheaper than cable, but it’s not as cheap as it used to be. Earlier this year YouTube TV raised its price for new subscribers, and just last week Sling TV announced it was raising the price of its Sling Orange plan by $5 per month. Now DirecTV Now is following suit, increasing the price for each of its plans by $5 per month, CordCutters reports.
DirecTV Now’s lowest-tier programming package, Live a Little, will rise from $35 to $40 per month, while the Just Right package will go from $50 to $55 per month. The second-highest package, Go Big, will increase from $60 to $65 per month, while the offering with the most channels, Gotta Have It, will rise from $70 to $75. According to the company, this price increase is about keeping up with the competition.
“In the 18 months since our launch, we have continued to evolve our DirecTV Now products to serve this new customer set and compare favorably with our competitors,” the company said in a statement issued to CordCutters. “To continue delivering the best possible streaming experience for both new and existing customers, we’re bringing the cost of this service in line with the market — which starts at a $40 price point.”
While this does put DirecTV Now, which had surpassed 1 million subscribers by late last year, more in line with its competition, it makes the timing of last week’s launch of parent company AT&T’s WatchTV streaming service look like it was carefully planned. WatchTV starts at $15 per month, and is also free for subscribers of certain AT&T wireless plans, but lacks options found in DirecTV Now like sports channels and local programming.
Previous DirecTV Now price increases have only been for new customers, but it appears this increase is across the board. The date mentioned in the email sent to CordCutters is August 1, but some Reddit users have reported seeing earlier dates, so it seems likely that your next DirecTV Now bill will be a little higher. If this has you wanting to jump ship, be sure to take a look at our comparison of live TV streaming services.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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