Goodbye DirecTV Now, hello AT&T TV Now

The AT&T TV app will be available sometime in the "coming weeks," and existing customers will see the change take effect automatically through software updates. More details will come when rollout starts in earnest, AT&T said.

This saves you trouble downloading yet another app and is more in line with AT & T's strategy. DirecTV Now doesn't have much to do with satellite TV, so why pretend otherwise? However, simplicity does not necessarily translate into clarity. Two services in one app can be confusing depending on the execution.

One thing is certain: this reduces the power of the DirecTV brand. Although there is no evidence that the core DirecTV service is disappearing, you will not see the name if you are only interested in streaming. This can be important at a time when AT&T is quickly bleeding out conventional TV customers (it lost 778,000 in the second quarter alone) and will increasingly depend on Internet video as a cornerstone of business.