AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson implied that AT&T’s skinny bundle with no sports, dubbed Watch TV, could be launching as soon as this week.
UPDATE: This story was updated on June 18 to note that the launch of Watch is set to occur this week.
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Stephenson said consumers can expect to hear more about Watch this week. He reiterated that the service will be free for AT&T’s unlimited wireless subscribers and $15 per month for anyone else who wants it. It will include Turner’s channels and other content that is “entertainment-centered.”
AT&T has mentioned Watch several times before and said that the product launch hinged on the outcome of the AT&T-Time Warner merger trial. Earlier this week, a judge sided against the U.S. Justice Department and gave AT&T the go ahead for its $85 billion merger with Time Warner.
In May, AT&T CFO John Stephens described Watch as “very low end, very thin collection of products” with “some of the Turner video channels and bundle them with a small number of other channels and put a very small product for a customer base who is looking for that value and have a price point in the $15 range.”
The idea for Watch is very similar to Philo, an existing streaming TV service that packages cable channels from A&E, AMC, Discovery and Viacom for $16 per month. The key differences for Watch will be the inclusion of Turner’s channels and the free availability for some of AT&T’s wireless customers.
Stephenson said that Watch will be an ad-supported service which will be run on the “significant advertising platform” that AT&T is standing up following the merger.
“You should expect some smaller, not like Time Warner, but smaller M&A in the coming weeks to demonstrate our commitment to [our advertising business],” Stephenson said.
Last year AT&T hired Brian Lesser, former CEO of GroupM North America, to run it advertising and analytics business.