DirecTV Loses Major Network

DirecTV has completely dropped the Bloomberg TV network after over 25 years of broadcast. Bloomberg is no longer available through DirecTV satellite services, DirecTV stream or AT&T U-Verse, according to a report by Streamable. Fortunately, there are a few ways that fans can access Bloomberg TV through other streaming services if they so choose.

“We were the first to launch the original Bloomberg Direct financial news service in 1994 and have often enjoyed a productive business relationship in the several years since,” DirecTV said in a statement on Friday. “Despite several creative attempts, it’s unfortunate we were unable to continue this relationship.” Bloomberg TV is a news channel specializing in business and market news, with economic data analysis and Wall Street insights. It adapts many stories from Bloomberg News and Businessweek to video formats.

If you are a DirecTV subscriber looking for a way to keep Bloomberg TV in your lineup, you may already have access to it through another service. First off, a free, abbreviated version of the channel is available on most major streaming devices including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Roku and Samsung Smart TV. Bloomberg TV isalso available on Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and Philo, all of which range in prices and features. However, Philo is the cheapest among them for those trying to get Bloomberg back at a minimal cost.

Of course, some may turn to other financial news programs that are included with their cable package. Similar programming is available from CNBC, Fox Business Network and Cheddar — all of which are still on DirecTV. Other news networks cover economic stories — albeit with less specificity — including CNN, MSNBC, BBC World News and CSPAN.

AT&T highlighted these other offerings in another public statement reading: “While we regret this inconvenience to viewers of Bloomberg TV, please be aware that we offer several other financial news outlets featuring up-to-the-minute information and diverse perspectives on our DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and U-verse lineups.”

For its part, Bloomberg TV issued a statement saying: “DirecTV’s decision to remove Bloomberg TV at the end of our current agreement on September 30 is disappointing, given our active negotiations and good faith engagement throughout the process.”

The removal of an entire channel from a major TV provider would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, and many are marveling at this sign of the changing times in the home entertainment industry. In many cases, subscribers do not have a different cable provider they can choose, so this may be the straw that drives some of them to cutting cable and relying on streaming exclusively.