DirecTV adds Alexa support for satellite TV customers

Following its promise earlier this year, DirecTV has officially launched Amazon Alexa support for its satellite television customers. The company first revealed plans to offer support for the assistant back in March, something that would bring voice control as an optional alternative for the ordinary remote control. That new functionality is now live...but you can only use it if you have the right hardware.

Amazon Alexa is supported by a huge number of devices, DirecTV's Genie HR44 DVR and higher now counted among them. Satellite TV customers with one of these newer boxes can now control their television experience using Alexa via their preferred device, such as an Amazon Echo smart speaker.

A variety of expected commands are supported, including changing channels, recording content, searching for a specific show or movie, and more. Users can, for example, say, "Alexa, record this show," and the assistant will automatically add the show to the DVR queue.

As well, commands like "Alexa, watch HBO" and "Alexa, play Succession on DirecTV" can be used to turn to specific networks or launch particular movies. Voice commands also support controlling the playback of the specific content. For example, the user can tell Alexa to rewind the show by a number of seconds or minutes, no remote control required.

To use the new support, the DirecTV satellite customer must pair their Alexa device with their DirecTV account using the Alexa app. Of course, the satellite box must be connected to the Internet as well as the Alexa device.