Satellite TV Review

Satellite television has the best prices in the television services market. Cable’s 60 channel packages usually run about $40, whereas Dish Network often runs 60 channel special at half that price, around $20, and DirecTV usually has a similar plan at around $30 per month. Competition is always good for the customer. In satellite television, competition is fierce. That means that within the television services industry, there is a ripe market for the customer to play hardball and get a great deal.

First step, go to each website for satellite services, visit the various authorized dealers, and find the packages that look best. Make notes of the price, channel selection, any premium channels offered, and the number of TVs each package supports, usually 2 or 4, as well as any other features from the respective companies.

After figuring out which company is offering the better deal, it’s good to give the competition a call. Mention the price, premium channels, or anything else missing from their package, that the competitor is offering. Ask them to beat their offer, not just match it. It may depend on which customer service representative answers.

Both DirecTV and Dish Network offer great rates that obliterate regular cable’s prices. But between the two, Dish Network seems to be cheaper on average usually by around $10. At the same time DirecTV is highly rated for customer service and other features. By negotiating a price match by DirecTV, it might be possible to get the best of both worlds.

At any rate, to get the best deal for the customer, it will take a hardball approach in which the company feels they may lose the customer to the competition. Sometimes the sales rep who answers the phone might not want to play game, that’s fine, the customer can always try again tomorrow or for a different rep, but don’t overdo it. Yet don’t be afraid to get the best deal either. As with anything in life, if you call two plumbers or merchanics out to fix something, and tell them only one is going to get the job, prices seem to magically drop to a fraction of what they originally were.

Some might call it unfair, or not be up for that level of negotiations. That’s fine too, after all satellite tv is still drastically cheaper than cable, with a wider selection of channels. The price per channel is often half that of cable, depending on the promotions.

Still using cable? There are many reasons to switch to satellite TV, and DirecTV in particular. First, most cable companies experience outages for their television services in the 4% range, clearly unacceptable. With DirecTV, that rate is cut down to only 1% which is one of the best, if not the best for stability in the industry. The chances of the television feed going out when watching  in the middle of the super bowl, are four times less with satellite television in general. That example is a bit extreme, but there is a far greater possibility of it with cable. Almost every cable user can recall a time in which the cable service had an outage, so the event is not some unpredictable rarity.

Another reason is channels. DirecTV has the best channel selection around, with their ultimate package offering quite possibly the largest selection in the market. Special promotional deals from DirecTV often add in premium channels. DirecTV offers many packages ranging from having more than 100, 150, 200, or 250 channels. For the most part, DirecTV offers a cheap satellite tv service, with one of the best customer service teams around, factor that in with one of the largest selections of channels in the industry, and they are an obvious choice when comparing them against cable television services.

On price, however, competitor Dish Network, however, does usually offer cheaper deals. Dish Network often dips a good $10 a month lower than DirecTV on many packages, depending on the authorized dealer. It’s important to note how many TVs each package offers to support. Regardless, DirecTV is competitive and very reasonable. Upon researching Dish Network’s rates, give a call to DirecTV and ask them to beat Dish Network’s offer or else they’ll lose a potential customer to a competitor. DirecTV usually obliges and may even offer a better rate than Dish Network, especially if the customer insists on a better rate, not just matching. It’s definitely worth a try, and what’s the worst that can happen? Maybe a refusal. At that point, a customer could call again for a different sales rep if they’ve run into a less accomodating rep on the phone. As with all things in life, persistence is key.

In conclusion, DirecTV offers the best selections of channels around, coupled with low prices, lowest outages in the industry, great customer service, and a willingness to please the consumer. Special promotional deals are always available.

Sounds simple enough. Some might say to just pick up the phone and call. This, however, might not be the best approach. Above all, with some research and patience, it may be possible to get a special deal, greater discounts, or given a greater number of channels.

First, the research. It’s a good idea to check with the various DirecTV and Dish Network authorized dealers and their websites for what their rates are. Note the prices, how many TVs it allows, the channel selection, as well as any premium channels offered.

Next, compare the packages. Don’t just buy whichever package looks best, but compare between the two satellite television services which packages from both of them look best. Both companies tend to offer a wide selection of channels at very low prices, but it’s good to also note how many TVs each package supports, which may be harder to find. Usually there are different prices for supporting 2 or 4 TVs. Overall, it seems Dish Network tends to run cheaper packages. Once determined which one is better, it’s time to give the competition a call.

Finally, the negotiation. See if the competition won’t one-up their competitor. Dish Network and DirecTV are both highly competitive companies that don’t want to lose a customer to their rival. Either one may be willing to sweeten the deal and give a special offer to a potential customer that they are about to lose to the competition. This is where the research comes in handy. Mention how the other guy is offering a better deal, getting into the specifics that are better, and if they are interested in obtaining a new customer, they will often pull out a special deal. This same principle can be applied to almost anything in life. For example, a tip learned from ancestors passed, when needing plumbing done, calling out two different plumbers to the area and telling only one of them they will get the job, has helped cut bills tenfold. The same can apply to anything. Getting two or more seperate companies to come out and recognize someone as a potential customer that could be lost to their competitors always leads to a price war between the two that will benefit the consumer.

Ultimately, eventually whether the special rate is received or not, after researching and negotiating, the best possible deal will be found. Generally being a little more pushy may get them to budge, but if not, then the potential satellite tv customer has already determined which package is best for them.

After comparing price on cable versus satellite, it becomes very quickly clear that satellite is far cheaper. Typical cable plans for 60 channels average out to $40 per month. If you go for 100 channels it often costs upwards of $60 or more.

First, let’s look at Dish Network. Some authorized dealers, such as VMC satellite, offer plans starting at $9.99 for the first 6 months. No cable plan comes anywhere close. Even after the promotional billing period ends, the price is still far under $40, depending on which package you select, usually close to half the price for a comparable cable plan.

DirecTV on the other hand, is usually about $10 or $20 above Dish Network’s prices. Still usually cheaper than cable, but Dish Network really takes the cake on pricing. If a consumer has heard good things about DirecTV or wants one of their features, there is a possible way to get a price discount. Find a comparable Dish Network plan and call up DirecTV and see if they won’t price match. In most cases, DirecTV is competitive and won’t want to lose a potential customer to Dish Network. That way, it is possible to get DirecTV at a discount. It may be a good idea to have them match a permanent price of Dish Network’s rather than a promotional offer, so that the savings are long-term.

Even if a customer isn’t comfortable with making the move, at the very least they can try to benefit from the prices of satellite in a different way. Give a call to the cable television service and tell them about the possible move to satellite television, having researched comparable rates from satellite. There’s a good chance the cable company, worried about losing yet another customer to satellite, may try to match satellite’s prices, or at the very least cut their rates significantly. If not, then it may be time to consider switching to satellite tv, and even then, it’s possible to get Dish Network or DirecTV to offer promotional deals or match one another. The television services industry has become a very competitive market.

In the end, it is apparent that both Dish Network and DirecTV are vastly less expensive than their cable counterparts. In many areas, such as rural or suburban areas, satellite is the only option as cable simply won’t reach. For most, however, it would be the lower prices and greater selection of channels that should seal the deal.

Watching the big game, bases loaded, the pitcher throws, and oops! The cable just went out. While such a situation is rare, cable users are nearly four times as likely to experience an outage. That means four times the chance of that happening. Imagine watching the super bowl or the world series and the television feed going out. Even if it’s not at a critical moment, it can be frustrating, for the owner him or herself, and for their friends and family. With satellite, that becomes an extreme rarity.

Another important benefit of satellite television is price. The cost of a cable package with only 60 channels is roughly $40. A package with 60 channels is running at $9.99 a month right now with some Dish Network authorized retailers. It’s possible to find packages with 200 channels or more, under $40. DirecTV offers some great packages too, however DirecTV seems to run at a bit higher price. Negotiating between the two, by asking one to beat the deal offered by the other, may help to find an incredibly good deal. DirecTV and Dish Network are highly competitive and often willing to match or beat each other’s deals, depending on who answers the phone. At any rate, satellite far exceeds cable in affordability.

The wider selection of channels at a lower price, means sports watchers can afford more channels with satellite. This most certainly means that sports enthusiasts will not miss their favorite games with the larger satellite packages, as they can afford to buy the larger amount of channels at a price still lower than their old cable plans. Many sports games might not be covered on the basic programming packages of cable. The larger 100 or 200 channel packages with satellite which still run vastly cheaper than cable, have dozens of sports channels covering games that would otherwise be missed if using a smaller number of channels.

In conclusion, whether it’s price, the affordability of larger channel selections, satellite television is the obvious choice for sports enthusiasts. The significantly reduced outages of satellite as opposed to the frequent cable outages are an added benefit, and can be very important when watching the big game with friends. With such affordable packages, perhaps even if adding HD channels and a wider channel selection would still be cheaper than most sports fans average cable bill. Overall, it becomes apparent that satellite is the choice for sports fans.

Cable Television is done. Finished. In terms of pricing, channel selection, and in the face of ever decaying and problematic wiring, Cable television is no longer a viable choice against satellite TV. The average cable television service has roughly 4% outages versus satellite’s 1%. In these economic hardships, there is a chance many cable companies could fail to take care of many of their old cable lines while focusing on expanding to more areas, which would raise outages further.

Satellite television, on the other hand, needs not to expand much further as the satellites reach a much broader area. This means that for many people in rural or suburban areas where cable cannot reach, satellite is the only option. Satellite service will be stable and consistent as opposed to cable. To top it all off, satellite has a wider selection of channels at a generally lower price than cable.

The average cable television service’s lowest possible plan with a bare 60 channels costs $40 per month. Whereas satellite television offers plans with much more for far less. For a similar 60 channel package, some Dish Network affiliates are running specials as low as $9.99 per month for the first year. It is easy to find packages with hundreds of channels below cable’s often bare minimum expense of $40 per month for a paltry 60 channels. The more desirable 100 channel plans for example, cost a mere $30 dollars or less with satellite television, depending what the promotional plans are offering. With cable it often averages in the $60 range. As of 2009, some Dish Network affiliates are running specials with 200 channels for $22 a month, half the price a cable plan with a mere 60 channels would offer.

If you want the widest selection of channels possible, satellite television is the only way to go. Both DirecTV and Dish Network have packages with over 250 channels. In the rarity that a cable company even has that wide a selection, the price is often almost double that of satellite tv. As a bonus, many premium channels, such as HBO and Starz, come free with certain packages of DirecTV or Dish Network, usually for a limited time.

Overall, it is clear that cable television is no longer economical, nor does it have the great selection of channels that satellite television has. As such, during these trying economic times, it is inevitable that many cable tv subscribers will switch to satellite television services. The price savings, coupled with a wider selection of channels, and a more reliable service with only one fourth as many outages as cable, make satellite television a choice that is simply impossible to resist.

Competition is a natural part of business. That said, in satellite television the price wars have been a constant battle for supremacy, that is slightly more complicated than simply the barebones lowest possible price. The composition of the packages is of great concern to the average customer, so aside from the number of dollars, each company has played their hand at a number of channel selections and enticed customers with various strategies.

Dish Network is winning the battle for the lowest possible price, as they offer enticing introductory rates often dipping as low as $10 a month for the first year or other extremely low offerings, coupled with a decent number of channels often anywhere from 60 to 100. One wonders then, why DirecTV has made little in the way of comparable pricing efforts to hook in customers with low prices.

The average television customer starts with one of the lower priced packages, then upgrades over time as they desire new channels. So to one of those individuals, Dish Network would be the quick choice, and DirecTV, by not making a comparable effort to ensnare the consumer who is mostly concerned about price, is losing out on that potential customer. These consumers may also upgrade in the future, so if DirecTV is concerned about mark-up, they should reconsider that in the longterm there are potential upgraders in the bunch.

If you look at the plans, Dish Network truly defeats DirecTV in terms of price. It’s baffling that DirecTV has not made bigger efforts to fight back against Dish Network’s aggressive price cuts. I was hard pressed to find a single package DirecTV was better priced on with similar numbers of channels. The only way they could outsell Dish Network would be by other methods, such as focusing on converting users from cable television to satellite. However, over time, that source of customers will become a smaller and smaller group to choose from. Instead DirecTV must look to ways to win over customers from their competitor. If they do not desire to lower prices, and are focused on increased markup, then perhaps DirecTV should offer a discount solely for Dish Network customers who switch to them, or some other method to entice Dish Network customers.

Otherwise, DirecTV risks losing their own customers to Dish Network’s lower prices without making any attempts themselves to woo over Dish Network subscribers. Perhaps short term focused executives at DirecTV have been considering the quarterly profits rather than the long term growth of their customer base. A quick remedy could be made with an aggressive price campaign targeted specifically at Dish Network customers, offering a special rate for those who switch. Otherwise, customers might not find any reason to do so. Score one for Dish Network.

In the modern age, television is constantly changing. First it was broadcast mostly via massive towers, then eventually cable television was born. Next, satellite television after commercial satellite launches. Finally, the internet branches of many media corporations have begun to air full episodes of what were originally television shows. So who will win out?

There are many factors to consider within satellite tv, first is price. DirecTV and Dish Network both usually have their lowest bare bones plans around $20 to $30 a month, whereas the cable companies would be $40 a month for a comparable package, with both the cable and satellite providers having roughly 60 channels.

However, if you were to select the DirecTV plan at $40 versus the average cable plan at $40, DirecTV has over 200 channels, whereas Cable only offers that mere 60 channels. Dish Network’s plans are also similarly priced with similar features, so you can tell that across the board, satellite TV outclasses Cable in price per channel received. Currently some Dish Networks plans are running introductory rates, including one at $9.99 a month for 100 channels, comparing it to cable’s $40 a month for 60 channels, it can be a real eye opener. A more aggressive marketing campaign could be made on that price point to devastating effect against cable television.

On price per channel, satellite consistently outclasses cable in almost every respect. For the lowest bare bones pricing, satellite dominates the competition, particularly Dish Network. You could get one of the largest Dish Network packages with far more than 200 channels even for the same price as cable’s most bare bones 60 channel packages. Cable has got to find a way to be competitive with that level of pricing or they could be facing a big hurdle as they lose customers to the cheaper, more reliable, satellite television companies which offer a wider selection of channels.

Another factor is downtime, there is little point in paying for television if you’re not receiving any. Cable television outages vastly exceed Satellite TV by a large margin, with the average cable television experiencing about 4% outages, versus satellite television having only 1% outages.

Finally, location. Millions upon millions of Americans live in an area where cable simply cannot reach. Yet satellite television broadcasts over a much larger area, and can reach the millions of Americans in suburban and rural areas that do not receive cable.

With all of the factors laid out above, it is clear that satellite television has the edge on cable.

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