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U-verse TV

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This article is about the current IPTV service. For the former AT&T triple-play telecommunications service, seeAT&T Internet § U-verse.
U-verse TV
TypeIPTV
FoundedJune 26, 2006;18 years ago(2006-06-26)
OwnerAT&T(70%)
TPG Capital(30%)
ParentDirecTV
Official website
watch.att.com/uverse-tv/

U-verse TVis aninternet protocol television (IPTV)service operated byDirecTV.Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse was originally atriple playpackage that includedbroadband Internet(now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber),IP telephone(now AT&T Phone), andIPTV(U-verse TV) services in 22 states.[1][2]

On February 25, 2021, AT&T announced that it wouldspin offDirecTV into a separate entity, containing the U-verse TV and AT&T TV services, selling a 30% stake toTPG Capitalwhile retaining a 70% stake in the new standalone company. The deal was closed on August 2, 2021.[3][4]

History

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The current U-verse TV ultimately derives from the IPTV part of the formerAT&T U-versetriple-playtelecommunicationsservice.

SBC Communicationsannounced its plans for afiber-opticnetwork andInternet Protocol television (IPTV)deployment in 2004 and unveiled the name "U-verse" (formerly "Project Lightspeed"[5]) for the suite of network services in 2005. SBC eventually became AT&T in late 2005, and the AT&T name was applied for the service. AT&T U-verse was commercially launched June 26, 2006, in San Antonio.[1]

By the third quarter of 2012, AT&T U-verse had 4.3 million TV subscribers.[6]

At an analyst meeting in August 2015, following AT&T's acquisition of satellite providerDirecTV,AT&T announced plans for a new "home entertainment gateway" platform that will converge DirecTV and U-verse around a common platform based upon DirecTV hardware with "very thin hardware profiles". AT&T Entertainment and Internet Services CEO John Stankey explained that the new platform would offer "single truck roll installation for multiple products, live local streaming, improved content portability, over-the-top integration for mobile broadband, and user interface re-engineering."[7][8]

In February 2016,Bloombergreported that AT&T was in the process of phasing out the U-verse IPTV service by encouraging new customers to purchase DirecTV satellite service instead, and by ending the production of new set-top boxes for the service. An AT&T spokesperson denied that U-verse was being shut down and explained that the company was "leading its video marketing approach with DirecTV" to "realize the many benefits" of the purchase, but would still recommend U-verse TV if it better-suited a customer's needs. AT&T CFO John Stephens had also previously stated that DirecTV's larger subscriber base as a national service gave the service a higher degree of leverage in negotiating carriage deals, thus resulting in lower content costs.[9][10]

On May 16, 2016, AT&T acquired Quickplay Media, a cloud-based platform that powers over-the-top video services.[11]

On September 19, 2016, AT&T announced that the "U-verse" brand would no longer apply to its broadband and phone services, renaming them "AT&T Internet" and "AT&T Phone", respectively.[12][13][14]

In selected markets, AT&T began to replace AT&T U-verse TV with a new service based on its DirecTV Now platform,AT&T TV,in August 2019.[15][16][17]

On April 3, 2020, AT&T began announcing that U-verse would no longer be available to new customers. New customers ended up receiving AT&T TV for TV service.[18]However, by September 2020 AT&T spokesman Ryan Oliver, when asked if AT&T was still selling U-verse, said that “U-verse is available in select locations,” and "AT&T never stopped selling U-verse", even though an AT&T customer attempted to order U-verse, but ended up receiving 2 boxes of AT&T TV instead.[19]

On August 2, 2021, the spin off ofDirecTV,AT&T TVand U-verse was completed. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of DirecTV, with AT&T TV becoming DirecTV Stream.

Services

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AT&T U-verse'selectronic program guide

AT&T used theEricsson Mediaroomplatform to deliver U-verse TV viaIPTVfrom theheadendto the consumer'sreceiver,[20]required for each TV. Transmissions usedigitalH.264(MPEG-4 AVC) encoding, compared to the existing deployments ofMPEG-2codecand the discontinuedanalog cable TV system.The receiver box does not have aRF tuner,but is anIP multicastclientthat requests thechannel or "stream"desired. U-Verse TV supports up to four/six active streams at once, depending on service tier. The system uses individualunicastsforvideo on demand,centraltime shifting,start-over services and other programs.

Carriage negotiations

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  • AT&T removedHallmark ChannelandHallmark Movie Channelfrom AT&T U-verse TV effective September 1, 2010, due to acarriage dispute.An AT&T spokesperson stated, "Hallmark has refused to provide AT&T and its customers with a fair deal—one that is no worse than similarly-sized and smaller providers—and refused to adhere to key obligations under our current deal", while Hallmark Channel's president and CEO Bill Abbott said he was "...stunned by the apparent disregard for the facts... If they are really serious, my team and I are ready for truly fair negotiations." After the removal, the channels temporarily provided free previews ofStarz Kids & FamilyandTurner Classic Movies.[21][22]Crown Media Holdingsoperates the two Hallmark channels in the United States.
  • Univision tlnovelasandUnivision Deportes Networkbegan on U-verse on May 11, 2012, after a carriage agreement was signed withUnivision Communications.[23]
  • Just prior to the 2010 series premiere of theAMCprogramMad Men,AT&T andRainbow Mediaresolved a carriage dispute without interruption to any channels. AT&T stated that Rainbow, "...had been trying to force the renegotiation of a contract for one of their other channels that is not yet expired." It was speculated that this additional contract renegotiation was forSundance Channeland was successfully concluded, due to Rainbow Media's summation, "We're pleased to have reached an agreement with AT&T for AMC,WE tv,IFCand Sundance Channel that truly recognizes the value of our networks. "[24]
  • HGTV,theFood Network,theDIY Network,theCooking Channel,andGreat American Countrywere temporarily inaccessible between November 5 and November 7, 2010, due to a carriage dispute withScripps Networks.[25][26][27]U-verse vice president Brian Shay stated afterward that AT&T had received a "fair deal".[28]
  • U-verse picked up theLonghorn Networkon August 31, 2012, increasing its availability to 12.9% of the Austin, Texas television market.[29]
  • On January 15, 2013, U-verse came to terms withDisneyon a new wide-ranging multiple-year carriage agreement for all Disney, ESPN and ABC Networks, which included the addition of Disney Junior.[30]
  • On February 28, 2015, 46Music Choicechannels andMC Playwere removed and were replaced by 75 Stingray Music channels.
  • On October 26, 2015, U-verse came to terms withTribune Mediaon a new wide-ranging multiple-year carriage agreement for all Tribune stations, which includes the addition ofWGN America.[31]
  • AT&T removedUnivision,UniMás,Galavisión,Univision Deportes NetworkandUnivision tlnovelasfrom AT&T U-verse effective March 4, 2016, due to a carriage dispute.[32][33][34][35]Although U-verse was in an integration process with DirecTV, which became a subsidiary of AT&T, it did not affect DirecTV customers during the process. All of Univision's channels were later returned to the U-verse lineup on March 24, 2016.[36][37][38][39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"AT&T U-verse Timeline"(PDF).AT&T. 2008.Archived(pdf)from the original on October 15, 2007.RetrievedJanuary 2,2015.
  2. ^Post Alexander, Atlanta, Ga.,p. 24.Archived2013-01-22 atarchive.today
  3. ^Goldsmith, Jill (February 25, 2021)."WarnerMedia Parent AT&T Sells DirecTV Stake To Private Equity Firm TPG".Deadline.
  4. ^Hayes, Dade (August 2, 2021)."AT&T Completes DirecTV Spinoff; Satellite Operator Unites Its Internet-Delivered Bundles Under New Brand DirecTV Stream".Deadline Hollywood.
  5. ^U-verse TV TimelineArchivedSeptember 23, 2015, at theWayback Machine
  6. ^U-verse Update: 3Q12ArchivedAugust 10, 2012, at theWayback Machine
  7. ^Bode, Karl (August 14, 2015)."AT&T Outlines the Changes DirecTV (and U-Verse) Users Will See".DSL Reports.RetrievedAugust 15,2015.
  8. ^Baumgartner, Jeff (August 17, 2015)."AT&T to Put 'Genie' Into U-Verse's Bottle".MultiChannel News.RetrievedApril 24,2022.
  9. ^Moritz, Scott (February 16, 2016)."AT&T Takes U-Turn on U-Verse as It Pushes Users Toward DirecTV".Bloomberg.RetrievedFebruary 16,2016.
  10. ^Baumgarnter, Jeff (February 16, 2016)."AT&T Stops Making U-verse TV Boxes: Report".MultiChannel News.RetrievedApril 24,2022.
  11. ^Sawers, Paul (May 16, 2016)."AT&T acquires OTT video platform Quickplay ahead of DirecTV streaming service launch this year".Venture Beat.RetrievedMay 16,2016.
  12. ^Bode, Karl (September 19, 2016)."AT&T is Getting Rid of the U-Verse Brand".DSL Reports.RetrievedSeptember 19,2016.
  13. ^Arnason, Bernie (September 19, 2016)."AT&T Says Goodbye to U-verse".Telecompetitor.com.RetrievedSeptember 19,2016.
  14. ^Farrell, Mike (September 20, 2016)."AT&T Readies U-verse Brand for Ether".MultiChannel News.RetrievedSeptember 20,2016.
  15. ^"AT&T's New Online TV Service Looks a Lot Like Current Offerings".Bloomberg.com.19 August 2019.Retrieved2019-08-30.
  16. ^Newman, Jared (2019-08-19)."AT&T TV is here, but cord cutters should read the fine print before signing up".Fast Company.Retrieved2019-08-30.
  17. ^Blumenthal, Eli."What is AT&T TV? Here's what we know now".CNET.Retrieved2019-07-31.
  18. ^"AT&T Stops Selling U-verse TV".TV Answer Man.3 April 2020.Retrieved2021-07-20.
  19. ^Swann, Phillip (2020-09-25)."Updated: AT&T Says You Can Now Order U-verse (Sort Of)".TV Answer Man.Retrieved2021-07-20.
  20. ^AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR
  21. ^"Hallmark Channels Go Dark On AT&T U-verse".Multichannel News.September 1, 2010.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  22. ^Steinberg, Brian (July 22, 2015)."Hallmark Channel Returns to U-verse After Nearly Five Years".Variety.RetrievedJanuary 3,2016.
  23. ^"Univision signs deal to launch cable networks on AT&T U-verse".Media Moves.May 11, 2012.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  24. ^"UPDATE: Rainbow And AT&T Ink New Deal, 'Mad Men' Season Saved On AT&T U-Verse".Deadline.com.July 2010.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  25. ^"AT&T's U-verse Drops Food Network, HGTV and Other Scrippy-s Networks".Chicago Tribune.November 5, 2010.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  26. ^"Food Network, HGTV, Back on U-verse".Chicago Tribune.November 7, 2010.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  27. ^"AT&T U-verse, Scripps Reconnect on Carriage Contract".Multichannel News.November 7, 2010.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  28. ^"AT&T & Scripps Networks Reach Agreement".Deadline.com.November 2010.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  29. ^"Longhorn Network hooks U-verse".KXAN.com.September 4, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-03-08.RetrievedOctober 3,2015.
  30. ^Farrell, Mike (January 15, 2013)."Disney Strikes U-Verse Carriage Deal".Broadcasting & Cable.RetrievedJanuary 15,2013.
  31. ^Littleton, Cynthia (October 26, 2015)."AT&T Sets U-verse, DirecTV Carriage Deal with Tribune Stations, WGN America".Variety.RetrievedOctober 27,2015.
  32. ^Lieberman, David (March 4, 2016)."Univision Charges AT&T With" Redlining "As Programming Goes Dark On U-verse".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedMarch 4,2016.
  33. ^Littleton, Cynthia (March 4, 2016)."Univision Blasts 'Discriminatory Behavior' as Stations Go Dark on AT&T's U-verse".Variety.RetrievedMarch 4,2016.
  34. ^Szalai, Georg (March 4, 2016)."Univision Goes Dark on AT&T U-verse, Accuses Telecom of" Discriminatory Behavior "".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedMarch 4,2016.
  35. ^Ramos, John (March 5, 2016)."AT&T, Univision Communications fail to reach U-Verse distribution deal".Hints News Network.Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedMarch 6,2016.
  36. ^Eggerton, John (March 24, 2016)."All Univision Content Restored to U-Verse, For Now".MultiChannel News.RetrievedMarch 24,2016.
  37. ^Eggerton, John (March 24, 2016)."All Univision Content Restored to U-Verse, For Now".Broadcasting & Cable.RetrievedMarch 24,2016.
  38. ^Villarreal, Yvonne (March 24, 2016)."Univision restores UniMas and Galavision to AT&T's U-verse as negotiations continue".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMarch 24,2016.
  39. ^Lieberman, David (March 24, 2016)."Univision Networks Return To AT&T's U-verse While They" Finalize "Carriage Deal".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedMarch 24,2016.
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