Satellite TV Programming

The two largest and best known satellite TV Programming companies in North America are Dish Network and Directv. Both companies are ubiquitous and are seen advertising their services on television and in basically every media. They are both solid companies and both have been rated high in customer service by J.D. Powers and Associates. As a customer of Dish Network for many years now this author can testify that the customer service that has been provided over the years has been excellent. I can’t think of any reason to complain. I also have no reason to doubt that Directv also offers excellent customer service. There are some differences in the satellite TV programming offered by each company, and these will be discussed in this article.

Both companies will set up a customer’s viewing for no cost. That is, all the equipment necessary to view TV in four rooms is included without charge. When satellite TV programming was new, there were charges for various pieces of equipment, like satellite dishes and receivers, for example, but these companies have evolved to the point where they make it as easy as possible for a customer to sign up and begin service. Of course there are fees for service, and each company has four different programming packages based on the number of channels you want to pay for. Also, both companies have reduced pricing on the first year of service that goes up to their standard pricing after the first year. And recently both companies have offered free HD packages for new customers. We will now discuss the satellite TV programming packages offered by these two companies. Of course programming changes occur fairly frequently, especially with more and more HD channels being offered. This article is being written in June, 2010, so there will no doubt be changes from time to time.

Dish Network’s four packages start with 120 channels, and this costs $24.99 per month for the first year and goes to $39.99 a month after that. The next package is 200 channels starting at $39.99 a month for the first year going to $54.99 per month subsequently. Next there is the 250 channel package starting at $49.99 per month for the first year and then moving to $64.99 monthly. Finally there is the 295 channel package, which includes all the premium movie channels, and this starts at $89.99 for the first year and goes to $99.99 after that.

For Directv the 150+ channel package starts at $29.99 and goes to $58.99 per month after the first 12 months. The 210+ package starts at $34.99 for the first year and moves to $63.99. The 225+ package begins at $39.99 per month, moving to $68.99, and finally the 285+ package, which has all the premium movie channels, starts at $85.99 per month and then goes to $114.99.

So Dish Network has a few more channels and costs a bit less, especially after the first 12 month period. Beyond slight price differences, each provider has a certain emphasis. Directv emphasizes sports programming, and they have a very popular NFL package called NFL Sunday Ticket which allows viewers to see almost all the NFL games on a given Sunday during the season. Dish Network has more movie and show channels, more music channels, and more international channels. I personally chose Dish Network years ago because they offered French language programming. Both networks keep adding HD channels and compete to say they offer more HD channels than anyone else.

For the latest information and offers from these companies, click here on their respective links: Directv and Dish Network