AT&T Drops Lowest-Priced DirecTV Option, but There's a Method to the Madness
On the surface, it seems like (another) bad decision from telco giant AT&T (NYSE: T). The company is no longer offering its cheapest "Select" package to new DirecTV subscribers, making it even less compelling for newcomers to sign on to the struggling service. That move follows DirecTV's similarly uninviting decision made in June to raise the price of several plans by $10 per month -- at least for newcomers. Existing subscribers will continue to pay their same recent rates, which remain above new customers' discounted costs during their first of service.
For a cable television brand that's lost nearly 4 million satellite cable customers over the course of the past four quarters, though, this isn't a time to close any doors. There's a certain logic to the move, however, not despite resurfaced rumors that AT&T is looking to shed at least most of DirecTV, but because of them.
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Source Fool.com
