AT&T video customers will get an exclusive from pop star Taylor Swift this week as the first portion of her pre-Super Bowl concert in Houston goes online.
Only people who signed up for AT&T’s DirecTV Now online video service or subscribe to the company’s satellite or wired cable TV service will be able to watch the concert clips, split into three portions with the first going online on Tuesday. Filmed at Houston’s Club Nomadic on February 4 before a live audience, the videos will include live versions of “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” “Shake It Off,” and “Bad Blood,” AT&T said.
The exclusive comes as part of a deal announced last year with the singer/songwriter to help AT&T’s video services stand out in a crowded market. Sony (SNE), Dish Network (DISH), and, most recently, Google’s (GOOGL) YouTube have created similar services that deliver a cable-TV like package of channels over the Internet for less than then cost of traditional cable to appeal to cord cutters.
AT&T’s strategy to move beyond its shrinking telecom roots largely relies on getting more people to subscribe to watch video, and the ads that come with them, via cable, satellite, or Internet connections. After spending $49 billion to buy DirecTV and working on acquiring Time Warner (TWX) for another $109 billion, it’s no small bet.
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Apple (AAPL) has had some success with a similar strategy to bolster its streaming music service, which has signed up more than 20 million subscribers. Netflix (NFLX) and Amazon (AMZN) are pouring billions of dollars into developing exclusive traditional movies and TV shows to attract customers to their services that, in some ways, compete with AT&T’s (T) efforts.
The concert footage will appear as part of an on-demand video service, dubbed Taylor Swift Now. Available via AT&T’s cable-based U-verse service and satellite viewers of regular DirecTV, the Swift-focused platform previously included behind the scenes clips, commentary, and special videos along with a healthy helping of all of the singer’s previously released oeuvre. AT&T says the concert is coming soon to its DirecTV Now app, as well.
Two more portions of the February 4 concert will be made available as online exclusives over the next few weeks, AT&T said.
