[Update: User trials underway] AT&T is testing a DirectTV Android TV set-top device, trials expected early next year
Last year, Variety reported that AT&T was working on an Android TV-powered device for so-called "over-the-top" streaming of its DirectTV service, based on the contents of an FCC filing. Based on the contents of a recent AT&T earnings call (transcribed by Seeking Alpha), development has advanced to the point of internal beta testing, with trials expected "in the first half of next year."
The DirectTV Android TV set-top remote (left) and unit (right), according to the FCC filing.
According to that FCC filing, the device goes by the non-descriptive model number C71KW-400, and it will presumably allow DirectTV subscribers access to stereotypically satellite-based television service via DirectTV Now, without the inconvenience of an actual satellite dish. That's a huge benefit to potential subscribers, especially those that may not otherwise be able to install the required equipment, though rising ISP data costs could be an impediment.
Apart from those basic details — that this set-top device exists, that it runs Android TV, and that it's being tested for wider trials next year — we don't really know much else. We'll all just have to collectively wait and see what either future leaks or AT&T's announcements reveal.
It looks like AT&T has gotten the ball rolling on testing its DirecTV streaming box with users slightly ahead of schedule, at least based on the H1 2019 timetable we heard about before. Instead, at least some subscribers interested in helping with the beta saw their hardware arrive beginning last month.
While it's nice to know that this project seems to have some good momentum to it, we're even more interested in getting some first-hand accounts of the experience these boxes offer, as well as a closer look at the hardware itself. With any luck, we'll be circling back soon to bring you just that.
End of Update
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