SVOD market to heat up ahead of launch of DirecTV Now

The market for subscription video-on-demand services grew even more crowded in the first quarter with three significant product launches. NBCUniversal introduced its $4-a-month Seeso, Sony expanded its PlayStation Vue offering, and Starz trotted out a standalone OTT service a few weeks ago. Even more new offerings are expected to come to market in the second and third quarters.

SVOD is clearly ramping up in a big way, and mobile is playing a huge role. Carriers have yet to monetize that trend in any significant way, although T-Mobile's Binge On has proven an effective marketing and network traffic tool. But a host of new offerings will launch in the coming months including DirecTV Now, which AT&T announced earlier this year. The looming question is whether AT&T can use its mobile business to differentiate its own SVOD service. Article