AT&T will boost the launch of virtual pay-TV platform DirecTV Now by offering free Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick streaming devices at sign-up, according to Variety, which says it intercepted internal documents.
The report says that those who commit to three months of the $35-a-month DirecTV Now service will receive a free Apple TV. A one-month commitment will get users the less-expensive Fire TV Stick.
An AT&T rep had no comment for FierceCable. Variety wasn’t able to confirm the offer, either.
For its part, Dish Network has also used free streaming devices — Roku streaming sticks — to bolster the launch of its virtual platform, Sling TV.
Notably, the leaked memo contains channel lineups that include networks from 21st Century Fox and CBS Corp., neither of which have announced deals to be included in the upcoming DirecTV Now service.
Other surprise inclusions: Univision Networks Univision, Galavision and UniMas, indie channel HDNet Movies, the Hallmark Channel and Sony Movie Channel.
The memo also describes a “catch-up” service that allows viewers to see content they missed on participating networks up to three days after it originally aired.
RELATED: DirecTV Now to launch November 4, won’t work on Roku, intercepted memo says
Two weeks ago, website Satellite Guys reported that it, too, had intercepted an internal AT&T memo, which highlighted a Nov. 4 launch for the platform. AT&T has said on numerous occasions that DirecTV Now will launch before the end of 2017, but Friday, November 4 came and went without the debut of the service.
AT&T has confirmed the $35 price for the service, which it said will launch with more than 100 channels.