DirecTV tests convenient new feature for streaming customers | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

DirecTV has been ramping up its investments in streaming as it continues to suffer from the yearslong cord-cutting trend, in which consumers are ditching cable TV in large numbers for streaming platforms to save money.

According to a recent report from MoffettNathanson, traditional pay-TV providers saw a 12.6% decrease in customers during the second quarter of 2024.

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Specifically, cable providers lost 1.03 million subscribers, while satellite services, such as DirecTV and Dish, lost 495,000.

Amid this growing trend, DirecTV has been shifting its focus onto streaming since consumers have made it loud and clear that they won’t be returning to cable in the near future.

Last month, DirecTV began warning new customers looking to sign up for satellite TV on its website that the service is no longer available in all areas nationwide. Instead, DirecTV urged customers to sign up for its paid streaming services.

The warning came after DirecTV began offering customers access to over 90 channels — such as CourtTV, ABC News Live, and Bravo Vault — for free through its MyFree DirecTV app last year.

In January, DirecTV also unveiled its MySports streaming package, which offers access to over 40 sports and broadcast channels for $70 a month. By February, it launched three new streaming bundles called Genre Packs, offering customers genre-specific channels for under $50 a month.

DirecTV is testing a new feature that some customers have requested.

Image source&colon; Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

DirecTV quietly tests a highly anticipated feature for streaming

As DirecTV ramps up its efforts to compete in the booming streaming business, the company is reportedly testing out the addition of a bold new feature to its streaming packages to help stand out from its competitors.

DirecTV customers who have Gemini and Gemini Air streaming devices may soon be able to watch multiple channels simultaneously through a new feature called Multiview.

The company briefly added the feature to the streaming apps last week, but it quickly disappeared hours later. DirecTV has not shared when the feature will officially launch on its platforms.

The move from DirecTV comes after it first tested out the feature for 2024 presidential election coverage last year, allowing Gemini users to watch live election results and news feeds on the same screen.

The feature generated praise from some customers, with many even pushing for DirecTV to make it permanent.

DirecTV’s upcoming Multiview feature mirrors a few of its competitors. Streaming apps like Max, YouTube TV, and Fubo have similar multiview features on their platforms.

YouTube TV, for example, allows subscribers to watch up to four channels at once.

DirecTV faces a growing threat

The new game-changing feature from DirecTV comes during a time when many streaming companies are facing increased competition from free streaming platforms such as PlutoTV and Tubi, which are growing in popularity among consumers as paid streaming prices go up.

A recent survey from digital security firm All About Cookies found that 42% of Americans now watch TV through free streaming services.

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Paramount, which owns PlutoTV, revealed during an earnings call in May that PlutoTV “delivered its highest consumption ever” during the first quarter of this year.

That same month, Fox also revealed during an earnings call that its free ad-supported streaming platform Tubi faced “accelerating growth” during the same quarter.

“Tubi really is becoming a mainstream service across America,” said Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch during the earnings call. “What we’ve seen the difference over the last year or two is Tubi becoming something that’s a very, very good business that serves 65% of its audience.”