If you’re looking every day for the DIRECTV Now app to appear on Roku, well, you can stop looking. At least for awhile.
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While the companies said last November that the live streaming service would be offered on Roku in the first quarter, it appears they will miss the deadline. By how much we don’t know.
AT&T, which owns DIRECTV, told CNET’s David Katzmaier last week that DIRECTV Now would be added to Roku sometime “this year.” Katzmaier had asked if the launch would be in the first quarter, as previously announced.
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And Cord Cutter News reported yesterday it was told by Roku that DIRECTV Now would not be added in the first quarter. Instead, as CNET was informed, it would be sometime this year.
The Roku blog, which first announced the DIRECTV Now partnership last November, has updated that original post with an ‘in 2017’ rather than its previous ‘1Q’ launch date. The post, which was written by Andrew Ferrone, the Roku vice president for pay TV, does not provide additional specifics, nor even acknowledge that the launch date has been changed in the original post from the first quarter to ‘in 2017.’
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The sleight-of-hand on the Roku blog reminds this reporter of the ruling force in George Orwell’s Animal Farm which simply erased from the wall any law it no longer supported without providing any explanation or acknowledgement of a change.
So what’s holding up DIRECTV Now and Roku? As I noted in a March 13 article here, DIRECTV Now has suffered from numerous technical snafus since its launch on November 30. DIRECTV Now is likely nervous that the addition of Roku, the leading maker of streaming devices, will significantly increase subscribers, and that could lead to more technical snafus.
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After all, AT&T executives have said the early errors have been caused in part to a larger number of subscribers than the company anticipated. They simply weren’t ready to handle the traffic.
We’ll keep you posted if there are any changes on the Roku-DIRECTV Now front. But for now, you can stop looking for DIRECTV Now on Roku.
— Phillip Swann
If they are THAT worried, why don’t they pause promotions like free HBO and free hardware (Fire Stick and AppleTV)? Get it right and then come hard with the promotions.
I figured there was no way DTVN launches on Roku while the free Apple TV deal continues. That deal ends March 30, so then …. door is open.
Crap crap crap crap crap. I got the free Fire stick, but I hate it! I want my Roku back! I can’t even watch Vudu on the Fire stick!
The worst thing you can do in business is lie to a customer.
Let’s hope it is more of them being wrong about being able to deliver on time vs. being dishonest about it.
I retireed from AT&T. None of their double-talk surprises me and I retired from the REAL AT&T not the present carpetbaggers
Richard Austin, Randal Stephenson is -not- a “carpetbagger.” He is lifelong Bell System.
Thank you!
Thank you for the info. I’m glad I checked here before I signed up and wasted my free trial on Directv Now. Keep up the great work and God bless.
I’m so mad at directv and roku I may just get an antenna and say them both. why lie to us and why not keep people informed of what’s going on.