Today in the United States there are two dominant satellite TV providers – Dish Network and DIRECTV. While the growth of satellite television services has been incredible over the past 20 years, every new technology has a saturation point. Are satellite TV companies beginning to suffer as the market matures? What factors should you consider if you are considering signing up with one of the satellite companies? What should you know if you are going to compare satellite TV providers?
While both DIRECTV and Dish Network use similar technology, they certainly run their businesses differently. Dish Network continues to focus on price, with the lowest package costs overall. Most advertisements from Dish Network hit on their America’s Top 120 offer, which you can get for an entry level price point of $24.99 a month for one year. Of course this is a bare bones offering, with just a basic receiver. As soon as you add DVR service or need multiple boxes you will be paying more, not to mention this offer is discounted by $15 a month. A more realistic price for Dish Network’s service is probably between $50 and $60 a month once you factor in everything else.
Dish Network continues to be the provider willing to stand up and fight content providers tooth and nail. This probably comes from the fact that their founder and CEO Charlie Ergen is always willing to fight for a good deal when it comes to buying content for Dish Network. While some may call him “cheap” he won’t sign off on contracts he considers unfair. This is probably why some baseball related content like the YES Network, MLB Extra Innings, and the MLB Channel are not yet carried by this satellite television provider.
The other satellite provider, DIRECTV, focuses on the sports fan in much of their marketing. They continue to be the home of the NFL Sunday Ticket, which brings in millions of hard core football fans every season. While this package is a loss leader, costing DIRECTV around a billion dollars a year, it does a great job in insuring football fans both sign up and stay with DIRECTV year after year. DIRECTV is also the home of the NASCAR Hotpass package as well as the Mega March Madness bundle offered each spring. While your DIRECTV package price is probably going to cost you a bit more than a comparable Dish Network package, you will find all of your sports content here.
Both satellite TV providers have had to adopt to added competition in the market over the past few years. This has come in the form of telecom companies beginning to offer their own cable TV packages. Verizon has rolled out FiOS to millions of customers, and the same is true of AT&T and their U-verse packages. These companies also have the advantage of being able to offer triple play bundles which make it easy for the customer to get high speed internet access and digital home phone services through one provider. How have satellite TV companies adapted to this challenge?
DIRECTV has adopted a “keep your enemies” close policy, by signing resale agreements with both AT&T and Verizon. If the technology is not available to the customer for either FiOS or U-verse, they can bundle DIRECTV service along with their home phone and high speed internet. DIRECTV also partners with Qwest in the Western United States, but has more success there as Qwest does not offer their own video product.
Dish Network currently navigates the pay television market on their own, relying on low prices and heavy advertising to battle the competition. Both companies have relied on their HD content offerings to bring in millions of customers. Will the two big satellite TV providers merge at some point? It has been rumored that Dish and DIRECTV will get together at some point, but regulators in the United States government would have a hard time swallowing a deal like this. Many rural areas do not have any other choice when it comes to their pay television provider, so competition between Dish Network and DIRECTV remains a good thing for these individuals.
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