AT&T Getting In On IPTV

AT&T have teamed up with MobiTV to launch a subscription-based IPTV service called AT&T Broadband priced at $20 that will stream live TV shows and streamed content via WiFi or Ethernet broadband connection.

This development comes hot on the heels of Amazon’s new Unboxed video downloading service and the expected release of an iTunes Movie Store from Apple later today. Clearly we are in the midst of a landrush for the living room with so many companies either actively pushing their services now or lining up their entrance. However, these download services will only offer movies and TV shows that have already been released to DVD whereas AT&T Broadband will also offer live TV, a considerable step beyond what the download stores will offer.

To use AT&T Broadband you must be located in the USA. The service also requires Windows XP SP2, Flash v8, Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer 6 or above. The service will carry Fox News, The Weather Channel, Bloomberg, a range of Discovery Channels and more.

The telecoms industry in general seems firmly set on the course to convergence, certainly AT&T have been developing their convergence strategy for quite some time. I just wonder how long it will take for someone to buy YouTube? With such a vast array of video content, buying YouTube or even licensing their most popular content for integration with an IPTV service would be the ideal way for a cable / telecom company to get into the online content distribution market.

How things change so fast! Not so long ago the buzz around YouTube was solely about how they planned to generate any revenue. Now they look to be sitting pretty on top of the IPTV wave.