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DirecTV's new no-contract 'Genre Packs' start at $35 - and you can try them for free
If you dropped your cable service in favor of a TV streaming service like YouTube TV or Hulu's Live TV, you've probably been as disappointed as we are to see the prices of those one-time bargains climb steadily over the past few years, with most such services offering nearly identical bundles of 50 or more cable channels.
The dream is an a la carte option, where you can pick and choose which channels you pay for and leave out those you're not interested in, building what dedicated cordcutters call a "skinny bundle."
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Today, DirecTV Stream announced a handful of new "Genre Packs" that start at $35 a month. It's not exactly a la carte, but it gets closer than any service we've seen so far to achieving that cord-cutting dream. Each package is available through the DirecTV streaming app and includes unlimited DVR recording, access to more than 90 free channels, and an on-demand streaming library. (Hat tip to Matthew Keys at TheDesk.net.)
New DirecTV Stream subscribers can sign up for a free five-day trial with any of the new bundles. There's no contract required, and you can change the base package and add or remove extra services any time.
Here's what's on offer.
This package debuted in January as a beta, with a tempting discount for early subscribers. With today's announcement, the beta label goes away, and so does the discount.
For $70 a month, you get 25 channels, including MLB TV, the NFL and NBA and Golf channels, all the ESPN variants and ESPN+, TNT, TBS, and both Fox Sports channels, along with a handful of other sports networks.
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The lineup also includes all of the big cable news networks (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNBC) and, depending on your market, local network affiliates from ABC/NBC/FOX/CW. It's the most expensive of the new bundles, but it's a relative bargain for diehard sports fans.
For an additional $13 a month, you can add the five channels in the MySports Extra mini pack, which includes the NFL RedZone and Motor Trend channels.
At $35 a month, this might be the most popular of the bunch. It's 40-channel lineup includes popular offerings like A&E, Discovery, FX, Animal Planet, and HGTV.
It also includes all of the big news channels and the ad-supported Hulu/Disney+ bundle. No local channels are included.
This ultra-minimalist package, which costs $40 a month, includes 10 news channels plus local network affiliates, depending on your market. The lineup includes CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business, and CNBC, which are also available in the MyEntertainment and MySports packages.
The lineup also includes Newsmax and some non-U.S. alternatives, including CNBC World, i24 News, and CNN International.
For the large and still-growing Spanish-speaking market, this $35-a-month package includes more than 50 channels, including Univision, Galavisión, NBC's Universo, CNN EnEspañol, and an assortment of movies and local programming from Mexico and Latin America
Other add-ons include the $10-a-month MyCinema pack, which adds TCM and another half-dozen mostly family-oriented channels. It requires the MyNews, MyEntertainment, or MySports base pack. And, of course, subscribers can add premium channels like Max, Starz, and Hallmark+ on an a la carte basis.
Given the recent surge in subscription prices at all of the big streaming TV services, these new, less expensive packages are likely to be a popular alternative. The big question is how soon those competitors respond with skinny bundles of their own.