DIRECTV dropping OANN?

@ahwhite I have two firesticks and am considering using them more now.  Replacing the DVR is what is perplexing me.  I'm looking at a trial of VuTV+ as suggested further back in this thread.  I know I don't have to DVR everything and can just grab shows on some of the streaming services and it may be something I need to get used to.  VuTV+ has OAN too.

@Juniper 

In my area, the DirecTV packages are as follows:
Entertainment $102, Plus $110, Choice $129, Max All $130, Ultimate $159, Premier $214.  Entertainment (lowest) used to not have the regional sports fee ($9.95).  I remember paying about $70 which went up to $85 with HD box and something else (maybe the HD service?).  I quit at the beginning of the "pandemic" and came back to the Choice package, got a promo offer, they dropped LMN after 6 months (Aug 2020?) and when I went back to Entertainment, I noticed it was a lot pricier than I had remembered.

From Sept 2020 to Feb 2021 I was still paying Choice promo prices, which were about $72-$79 during those months.  Come March, it went up to $140 and when I dropped back down to Entertainment, I noticed my bill has a regional sports fee.  Maybe I shouldn't gripe b/c I don't see the same fees that the cable company charges and they are just in the package, including the DVR fee.  I've paid $108 from May 2021 up until now.  I don't have any sports channels so I just wonder why I am paying the regional sports fee when we didn't used to at this level.  Maybe they had to spread the costs out somehow.

**EDIT** I am wrong.  Entertainment doesn't include the regional sports fee.  I am looking at the crossover bills from Choice to before I changed packages.  Still, Entertainment is a lot more expensive than it used to be, almost double.  But maybe the others are, too.

@SuzeP1245 

Entertainment does not have the RSNs, so no RSN fee. Those are in Choice and above (except the special Preferred Xtra). When you change packages, it prorates the bill, so it adjusts based on how many days you were on each option.

DirecTV is satellite service so isn't regional service like internet companies making the packages available to all. Only RSNs (and the specific teams), locals, and taxes are dependent on your physical service address. However, "Max All" is not a package I'm familiar with. Perhaps you live in an MDU complex where they have special packages for the building?

Yes, all packages except Family (still $29.99) have raised in cost over the years.

These right wing “news” channels should be an option, not paid for through a basic package.  Are you devoted enough that you’d be willing to pay for them?

In my view, it’s not censorship if the channel is available to those who want to pay for it.  Make a Trumpist package so that people can get whatever misinformation they want without making others pay for their choice.  That’s fair.

@canceled:

vutvplus is the most comprehensive streaming service I have seen, thanks! They have a 12mo term to save even more. I think I still need an internet connection for streaming content so what do u recommend for that?

@Canceled I set up VuTV+ yesterday on both of my firesticks.  It was a bit tough to install, I needed the NoraGo app to grab it.  I barely got through the streaming stuff and older folks may need kids or grandkids to set it up for them, as it is frustrating.  I can get OAN using Kloud and VuTV+ now.  Think I'll run out my DirecTV until April, still haven't decided yet.

Last night, I was configuring my upstairs firestick (where I watch the most TV) and with the shows I usually DVR, I can stream them.  I need to figure out how to get my local ABC affiliate, as I like to watch their news report in the morning and I always DVR it and watch later.  The streaming service recommended to get it is Fubo and I'm not willing to pay $65/mo for it.  I may go the HD antenna route (I have one downstairs) and buy an OTA DVR but it's all coming together, I have a workable plan and will have to make some adjustments.  I even considered for a few seconds, keeping DirecTV and watching OAN elsewhere, than said Nah!  There are so many streaming options, I should have done this years ago!  I even considered getting basic cable & the DVR but if the cable company is charging $50+ in fees not mentioned in their package prices (it may be less per package, I'm not sure), I'll buy my own DVR and indoor antenna.  I could also just record it on the VCR if it's the only thing I feel I need to record daily! 

@4realnews  Just like I should not be forced to watch CNN or MSNBC since they would not know truth if it hit them. Why is it when people dont like something they feel no one should?

You are not being forced to watch OAN, NewsMax or Fox. Go live your life and stop worrying about what other people watch. It is not costing you one penny so dont think you have the right to tell others how the rest of America should feel or think. Thought the left was accepting of ALL people not just who agree with their view LOL

Eshoo/McNerney 

Letter to AT&T DirecTV

February 22, 2021
Mr. John T. Stankey, CEO
AT&T, Inc.
208 South Akard Street
Dallas, Texas 75202
Dear Mr. Stankey,
Our country’s public discourse is plagued by misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, 
and lies. These phenomena undergird the radicalization of seditious individuals who committed 
acts of insurrection on January 6th, and it contributes to a growing distrust of public health 
measures necessary to crush the pandemic. We are concerned about the role AT&T plays in 
disseminating misinformation to millions of its U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV subscribers, 
and we write to you today to request additional information about what actions AT&T is taking to 
address these issues.
Nearly half of Americans get their news primarily from TV.1 However, not all TV news sources 
are the same. Some purported news outlets have long been misinformation rumor mills and 
conspiracy theory hotbeds that produce content that leads to real harm.
2 Misinformation on TV 
has led to our current polluted information environment that radicalizes individuals to commit 
seditious acts and rejects public health best practices, among other issues in our public discourse.3
 
Experts have noted that the right-wing media ecosystem is “much more susceptible…to 
disinformation, lies, and half-truths.”4 Right-wing media outlets, like Newsmax, One America 
News Network (OANN), and Fox News all aired misinformation about the November 2020 
elections.5 For example, both Newsmax and OANN “ran incendiary reports” of false information 
following the elections and continue to support “an angry and dangerous subculture [that] will 
continue to operate semi-openly.”6 As a violent mob was breaching the doors of the Capitol, 
Newsmax’s coverage called the scene a “sort of a romantic idea.”7 Fox News, meanwhile, has 
spent years spewing misinformation about American politics.8
These same networks also have been key vectors of spreading misinformation related to the 
pandemic. A media watchdog found over 250 cases of COVID-19 misinformation on Fox News 
in just one five-day period,
9
and economists demonstrated that Fox News had a demonstrable 
impact on non-compliance with public health guidelines.10 One online platform suspended and 
demonetized OANN’s channel online because it was spreading COVID-19 misinformation.11
Newsmax has amplified allegations that members of the Chinese Communist Party helped to 
develop the COVID-19 vaccine.12
Sadly, these facts are not new. One popular television show aired a segment about OANN last 
April that included a dire warning: “the kind of misinformation [OANN] is spewing right now 
could end up getting people killed.”13
Yet, to our knowledge, the cable, satellite, and over-the-top companies that disseminate these 
media outlets to American viewers have done nothing in response to the misinformation aired by 
these outlets.
14 AT&T currently carries Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, DirecTV, 
and AT&T TV.
15 As a company that serves 17 million Americans,16 AT&T plays a major role inthe spread of dangerous misinformation that enabled the insurrection of January 6th and hinders 
our public health response to the current pandemic. 
It is for these reasons we ask that you provide us with responses to the following questions about 
AT&T’s policies toward content carried on U-verse, DirecTV, and AT&T TV by March 8, 2021:
1. What moral or ethical principles (including those related to journalistic integrity, 
violence, medical information, and public health) do you apply in deciding which 
channels to carry or when to take adverse actions against a channel? 
2. Do you require, through contracts or otherwise, that the channels you carry abide by any 
content guidelines? If so, please provide a copy of the guidelines.
3. How many of your subscribers tuned in to Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, 
DirecTV, and AT&T TV for each of the four weeks preceding the November 3, 2020 
elections and the January 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol? Please specify the number of 
subscribers that tuned in to each channel.
4. What steps did you take prior to, on, and following the November 3, 2020 elections and 
the January 6, 2021 attacks to monitor, respond to, and reduce the spread of 
disinformation, including encouragement or incitement of violence by channels your 
company disseminates to millions of Americans? Please describe each step that you took 
and when it was taken.
5. Have you taken any adverse actions against a channel, including Fox News, Newsmax, 
and OANN, for using your platform to disseminate disinformation related directly or 
indirectly to the November 3, 2020 elections, the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, or 
COVID-19 misinformation? If yes, please describe each action, when it was taken, and 
the parties involved. 
6. Have you ever taken any actions against a channel for using your platform to disseminate 
any disinformation? If yes, please describe each action and when it was taken.
7. Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on U-verse, 
DirecTV, and AT&T TV both now and beyond any contract renewal date? If so, why?

I think DirectTV’s mind is made up. They plan to remove OAN yet allow CNN and MSNBC to stay on the menu of channels. Hmmmm, CNN and MSNBC do not tell the truth. We are canceling DirectTV within days. Have already signed up for new services which are far better and cheaper. We will not patronize a company that supports misinformation and disinformation. 

suze/cancelled:

I joined vutv today and had problems right away with their onetime passwork. I dread the prospect of trying to set it up on my streaming devices and getting a dvr and antenna for recording local channels. My spouse will refuse the complications. This is why ATT pushes customers around because they provide value in giving u a turnkey system.

@semockru 

Hang in there. Change is hard, and we went through the same moans and groans about switching to new providers, but since making the decision and trying new providers, we are thrilled. Many more shows are available through Hulu and we can stream OAN in through Klowd, all for less money. Funny, DirectTV is straight out asking why we want to cancel DirectTV. When we said due to the planned cancellation of OAN the response was, “no other cable services provide OAN.” So this is why DirectTV feels they can take away a popular show valued by many of its customers with no financial impact? Mislead customers into thinking there’s NO WAY one can get OAN so they have second thoughts? Rep at DirectTV had many questions in addition to “why do you want to cancel DirectTV.” It was our pleasure to tell the truth and speak out against the suppression of a trustworthy news outlet such as OAN. 

@Canceled thank you for the info. Yeah, we caught DirectTV in their untruth and told them so. 

@LindyK my cable provider does (not national).  OAN has only been around since 2013 and before it came about, the folks at AT&T went to the Herring brothers and asked about creating another con..ser..va..tive network.  https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-oneamerica-att/  They came online with DirecTV in 2017 which what I would guess was a 5 yr contract.  It's up for renewal, some things were said, submitted etc. and here we are.  I would imagine the DTV operators aren't aware of channels coming and going, nor would they know what cable companies carry them.  Unfortunately, it has been reported that DTV provides a huge chunk of revenue to OAN and I for one hope they have a plan to soldier on without the DTV contract.  For the fact that DirecTV has OAN is the sole reason I haven't quit my service, as I have thought about it many a time.  I'm glad we aren't being broadsided and have time to decide what to do to keep getting OAN, whether leave DTV or use an alternate platform to watch it.  I, like many of us in this thread, am choosing to leave.  I'm almost there, just gotta get the last few pieces of the puzzle in place.

I mentioned earlier the onetime password I got from vutv after opening an account still doesnt work 8hrs later. If this was att it would have been fixed in 10min or less which is why I stayed with them so long.

   I got a response from vutv 3min before they closed today with 12 password emails all at once from robs@vumediaplus. None of the passwords worked however. This shows incompetence with their customer support and bodes ill for this company as a tv provider but now I have tubi and tivo to look into as well thanks to a post above.

   Finding another internet provider is still problematic because att&spectrum are the only ones in my neighborhood and spectrum has a miserable front office. frontier & verizon do not serve my neighborhood so I might have to stay with att for inet service or goto satellite.