Best Satellite TV Providers and Plans

If you're torn between DIRECTV and DISH, here's a little tip: get DISH if you have a wide range of viewers in your home—or if you like international programming. DISH has our vote as the best variety programming among satellite TV providers. DISH is best for watching a little of everything: movies, TV shows, news, and some sports. Plus, DISH has 85+ Spanish channels. You can get a dozen or so channels in Spanish with most DISH packages, or you can get exclusive Spanish programming starting around $49.99 per month and up.

DISH has the best international programming, so if you're lucky enough to know a second language, practice your skills by watching a few shows in Finnish each month.

Not all major sports will be available on DISH, although you can find many on NFL Network and many other sports stations included in premium plans. Although DISH doesn't include NFL SUNDAY TICKET, DISH does give you a lot of sports stations, including NFL Network, NFL Red Zone, beIN SPORTS, and regional sports networks. Plus, DISH wins big with more international sports than you'll find with DIRECTV.

All in all, it's hard to find someone who won't be pleased with DISH. From Hallmark Channel to NBA League Pass, DISH has something for everyone. That’s why we gave DISH our vote for the satellite TV provider with the best variety.

Our pick for the best DISH satellite TV package is  America’s Top 120+, which includes the pack of 190 channels you’ll get in America’s Top 120 plus a lot more sports. This package includes the NFL Network, Big Ten, Pac-12, Longhorn, and SEC Networks, Sports Alternate, Fightbox, FOX Sports 2, and the World Fishing Network.

If regional and specialty sports aren’t a hit in your household, don’t go with America’s Top 20+. Instead, go with America’s Top 120. By cutting out the sports, you’ll save $15 per month, which works out to $180 per year.

For most mainstream Americans, DIRECTV rules for sports, thanks to the option to add on the coveted NFL SUNDAY TICKET. The exception? If you occasionally like watching specialty or international sports, you might get your fix with DISH and avoid paying expensive sports network fees.

And if your tastes run more to news, movies, travel, cooking, science, the arts, or the good old rom-com, DIRECTV will have plenty of options.

If you don't plan to watch NFL games, opt for DIRECTV and you can save a bundle (which you can spend…plenty of other ways).

DIRECTV CHOICE and above plans include one free year of NFL SUNDAY TICKET, which is valued at $293.94 or more per season (prices vary).* This will automatically renew the following year—which you will have to pay full price for—unless you call and cancel it before the beginning of the season.

Is one season of football worth three hundos? Well, for lots of folks, that's a hard yes. If you're going to watch every game, that's a lot of entertainment and it’ll be worth it. If you aren’t much of a sports fan, we recommend canceling it the second year, or opting for a package that doesn’t include NFL SUNDAY TICKET.

We recommend CHOICE All-Included as the best DIRECTV package. It includes a well-stocked selection of over 185 channels, including drama, news, children’s programming, cooking, reality TV, and more. It also includes one free year of NFL SUNDAY TICKET and three free months of HBO®, STARZ®, SHOWTIME®, CINEMAX®, and EPIX®.

If any of the premium channels happen to tickle your fancy, you can add them individually at $13.99–$17.99/mo., or splurge and add them all for $41.99/mo.

After operating for two years, Orby TV filed for bankruptcy on March 14, 2021, and discontinued all services. The company closed its doors with over $51 million in debt to various broadcasting companies. Although it was a favorite for many, it ultimately didn’t prove to be a profitable business offering.

The bottom line is that you should get the best satellite TV professor that delivers the entertainment catering to your main interests.

• DISH: Best variety
• DIRECTV: Best for sports fans

Satellite TV has a lot of perks over streaming TV options. You'll never get a buffering symbol, (although there are occasional pauses while the programming or menu loads), and you don't have to use valuable internet data on all your entertainment (which is a big plus if you use a satellite internet connection with a data cap).

Get DISH to please a big crowd of watchers at your place. With a two-year price lock and a wide variety of programming, DISH delivers the best in movies, TV shows, news, and more.

For all you diehard football fans out there, we know what you're after. You'll want to choose DIRECTV to get access to NFL SUNDAY TICKET, plus movies, cartoons, National Geographic, E!, and oodles more.

What are you waiting for? Sign up for satellite TV and get watching.

Satellite TV is a TV service that relies on satellites orbiting the earth to bring television programming to homes and businesses. The most well-known satellite TV providers are DISH, and DIRECTV.

Satellite TV delivers national and local TV channels and specialized satellite programming into your home via a satellite dish attached to your home (usually on the roof or on a pole). This dish picks up signals from satellites orbiting the Earth in a geostationary orbit.

DISH does not have a price hike after the first year. DIRECTV prices do go up after a year, more than doubling on some plans. And since you’ll be locked into a two-year contract, you’ll have to pay the high second year prices.

DISH is the cheapest satellite TV provider. For $60 per month, you can get 190 channels (plus taxes and fees). DIRECTV is the most expensive in the long run—although it looks like it's cheaper than DISH at first glance because prices go up after the introductory period.

For example, DIRECTV plans start around $50, plus taxes and fees (although these plans don't include NFL SUNDAY TICKET). But after 12 months of your 24-month contract, your price nearly doubles. DISH is more affordable, although DIRECTV rules for sports programming—especially if you like football.

DIRECTV and DISH are the main residential satellite TV providers in the US. Orby TV went out of business in 2021. There are other specialty satellite providers, but DIRECTV and DISH are the most popular and most widely available.

You can install a large satellite dish in your yard and get some satellite stations for free (mostly the local channels with a few extra add-ons), but you need to know what you're doing or have a professional install it since it takes some tinkering to get it right.

You can install a large satellite dish in your yard and get some satellite stations for free (mostly the local channels with a few extra add-ons), but you need to know what you're doing or have a professional install it since it takes some tinkering to get it right.

Orby TV is no longer available, as the company filed for bankruptcy in March 2021. The company used to offer a pared-down satellite TV service starting at $40 per month, but it no longer operates.