DirecTV has launched a full streaming app on Meta Quest headsets, delivering over 150 live channels — CNN, HGTV, NFL Network — plus an on-demand library. It works on Quest 2 through Pro. It is the first full TV distributor to ship on any consumer XR headset.
Meta reported over 20 million Quest headsets sold as of early 2023, the largest disclosed installed base in consumer XR. Content partners go where the users are. DirecTV did the math.
DirecTV is a declining pay-TV brand with a shrinking subscriber base. Its presence on Quest could reflect a search for any distribution rather than genuine confidence in the platform. Netflix or Apple TV+ choosing Quest would be a stronger signal.
But declining or not, DirecTV saw more value in reaching Quest's audience than in waiting for any competing platform to mature. Content partners don't make those calls lightly. A full TV distributor shipping on a consumer XR headset is a first. Quest is where that happened.