DirecTV Now is giving away an Apple TV 4K for four months of service
It's just an OK deal, though
Here we go again. DirecTV Now — which has been hemorrhaging customers for the past few months — has renewed a promotion that helped jump-start it in the first place. If you're a new customer and prepare for four months of service in advance, you'll get a free 32-gigabyte Apple TV 4K .
That's not an awful deal, but it's also maybe not quite as good as it sounds.
First, the hardware. Apple TV 4K is still the best all-around streaming box you can buy. Period. That hasn't changed for us in a long while. Though we do recommend buying the 64-gigabyte model of Apple TV 4K — and therein lies our first dilemma. You can buy the 32GB Apple TV 4K from Amazon for $179. Or get twice as much storage for just $20 more. And more storage is always a good thing. DirecTV Now's deal requires you do prepay $200 worth of service for the lesser Apple TV 4K.
That's Problem No. 1.
The other issues is that DirecTV Now's new $50 package — they call it their "Plus" plan — only has 40-some-odd channels. It does include HBO, though, which is something — especially as Game of Thrones comes back this month — but, still. There are more robust options available.
So that's Problem No. 2.
There's also a third problem here, which very much is inside baseball and its AT&T's alone to bear: We just closed out the first quarter of 2019. So when AT&T releases its earnings report later this month, any subscriptions gained from this new promotion won't be reflected, and the headlines aren't likely to be good in that regard.
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But, anyway. If you want a relatively "free" Apple TV 4K, go for it . This deal is better than nothing.
And here's the fine print, for those who are concerned with such things:
4K Apple TV (32 GB): Ends 4/30/2019. New sub's only. Must prepay first four months of service at full price. Requires minimum $50/mo. subscription before taxes. Device and prepayment are nonrefundable. New subscribers only. Online orders will be shipped via FedEx ground to address provided. Allow 1-2 weeks for delivery. Offer limited to 1 per DIRECTV NOW account; 2 per shipping address. Not combinable with select offers. 4k HD not avail. w/DIRECTV NOW.