In the heat of the MLB post season, regular season NHL puck drops, and week 6 of the NFL, college football will always wiggle its way into the schedule of a sports fan. For all of the college football fans out there, AT&T and Uber just upped the ante when it comes to how you watch the game.
For a few lucky Uber riders in Nashville, Detroit, Atlanta, and Houston, AT&T will be testing live streaming of college football games in a designated number of Chevy Tahoe SUVs. On the back of the SUV headrests are mounted tablets connected to AT&T LTE providing instant streaming of any college game of the passenger’s choice, upon closing those Chevy doors.
Since their acquisition of DirecTV in July for $48.5 Billion, AT&T’s craving to stream live video content on mobile devices has prompted them to begin this “car connected” initiative. While AT&T already absorbs most of its revenue from the wireless industry, their intent is to acquire additional returns in the future through live-content streaming.
Although subscribers to AT&T would typically use this as luxury service, charging an additional cost to monthly plans to connect OnStar devices to the LTE network, the beta phase of the Uber partnership will be no additional charge for riders.
A way to increase the buzz about car connected live streaming, AT&T intends to push this initiative to gain awareness about its nine other automobile partnerships including GM, Audi AG and Ford.
For the selected Uber drivers, the college football streaming experience will just be considered added-value to the ride. A game changer for the curtesy-car industry, this could be a component that helps leave Lyft and additional car services in the dust.
This is not the first entertainment-oriented partnership Uber has dabbled with. Just last year, Uber announced a partnership with Spotify, allowing passengers to select playlists before the vehicle even arrives.
If all goes as planned, this partnership could be a triple win. A win for AT&T, absorbing new revenue streams. A win for Uber, increasing rides and providing an entertaining differentiator, keeping riders loyal to the brand. Last, but certainly not least, a win for the passengers. Passengers will reap the benefits of arriving to their destination safely, never missing a minute of their favorite college football team play, and even rolling the dice with a chance to catch a ride with their favorite football star.