AT&T’s WatchTV Is the Very Cheapest Way to Stream Live TV, But Is It Worth It?

AT&T , despite possess DirecTV and thus thelive TV cyclosis service DirecTV Now , just set in motion another : AT&T WatchTV . Like DirecTV Now , it streams live TV to nearly every kind of mobile gimmick and set - top box . Like DirecTV Now , it has an easygoing - to - navigate interface . Unlike DirecTV Now , AT&T WatchTV is the cheapest way to rain buckets live TV . No cable subscription required , just $ 15 a month .

That feels like a bargain when you consider the Mary Leontyne Price hikes similar services have had in the last week . DirecTV Now costs $ 40 a month(up from $ 35 ) , andSling idiot box Orange is now $ 25(up from $ 20 ) . Of the services you ’ve heard of from established TV provider AT&T WatchTV is now officially the cheapest . It ’s also loud that service of process you might not have hear of , like the$16 a month Philoand the$18 a calendar month FuboTV . But reduce toll when you reduce the cord with WatchTV also means sacrificing some of the most convenient features of its competitors .

For illustration , WatchTV can only pour to one gimmick at a sentence . There ’s also no DVR , which mean you ’re out of luck if the show you want to catch up on is n’t one of the ones AT&T offers on demand . ( It does , thankfully , offer on - demand episodes of major display from every net it airs . )

Photo: Alex Cranz

This is what has stared back at me every time I select the guide.Photo: Alex Cranz (Gizmodo)

And it feel haywire than costly competition like the $ 40 a calendar month PS Vue or $ 40 a month Hulu Live TV . Unlike Sling TV , DirecTV Now , or the novel AT&T WatchTV , PS Vue , and Hulu Live TV actually work reliably . I can trust that carte du jour will load smoothing and channels rain buckets consistently .

While AT&T WatchTV has , to date , been more reliable that Sling goggle box or its sibling DirecTV Now were in their first Day of operation , it ’s still just buggy enough to make me weary of relying on it for a living showing of something like the next episode of AMC ’s Humans . I watched what appeared to be a Peter Lorre battle of Marathon on TCM when the service of process launched on Friday , and encountered the technical hiccups you would carry on the day anew avail launching . When I pilot to the templet on my Apple TV , this is all I cause :

But on my iPad the experience was surprisingly quite in force . The app is almost selfsame to DirecTV Now , except it ’s all snowy where DirecTV Now is all grim . It ’s easy to pilot , the guide itself makes sense when it can be viewed , and there are nice options , like the power to assure stream quality on mobile data point as well as whether or not audio is dull when you launch the app .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

So why should you still be aweary ? Because TV is mean to be an leakage for most masses . It ’s an activity you partake in in to unwind . So a streaming Robert William Service should mold simply , without troubleshooting . And it should be dependable because you do n’t desire to invite everyone over to watch the next sequence of a favorite TV show only to have your flow fail and your party ruined .

AT&T WatchTV does n’t feel that rocksteady yet . And the groove choices it offers are meagerly too . There are 31 communication channel to pick out from , include AMC , TCM , and HGTV , but they do not include other standard channels like MTV , Nickelodeon , or anything that well out a athletics broadcast ( something every other every service discussed here offer ) . You wo n’t get any web options like NBC and FOX either . need to watch theWorld Cup ? you’re able to not . Want to tick off out a new telenovela or mainline some reality television on Bravo ? Look elsewhere .

It ’s awfully likable , until you consider that AT&T is lobbying the FCC to destroy final disinterest ( it ’s currently dead , but not lay to rest ) . Without net disinterest , AT&T and other ISPs can create internet tolls to stream TV competitors like PS Vue , Hulu , and Sling . AT&T ’s conclusion to provide this so - cheap - it - almost - feels - greathearted service while the FCC is doing its damndest to kill net disinterest does not sense like a conjunction .

William Duplessie

If WatchTV ’s lack of channels annoys you , or AT&T growing office over all avenues into your home terrifies you , then there are other options . SlingTV Orange ( possess by Dish)just raised its damage this weekto $ 25 a month , and has around the same number of channels . For the spare money , its sports offering is much more robust , and it has DVR and the the ability to stream to multiple devices at once .