As part of the recent name change on Dish Network packages, the Classic Gold 250 has gone by the wayside. In its place comes the America’s Top 250 package by Dish Network satellite TV. What can you expect if you are a new satellite subscriber and sign up for the America’s Top 250 bundle?
Not a lot has changed when compared to last year’s version of this package. The Classic Gold 250 bundle was the top package Dish Network offers with the exception of the America’s Everything package. The America’s Top 250 adopts the same channel lineup from the Classic Gold, and will offer you almost all of the basic cable channels, plus local programming in most of the United States. When compared to the America’s Top 200 package, the 250 adds in channels like Chiller, Fuel TV, the Tennis Channel, and the Hallmark Movie channel among others.
This Dish Network bundle will be priced at $62.99 a month for 2010, which is a very good price when compared to your typical digital cable lineup. With Comcast or Time Warner, you will pay in the area of $75 to $80 a month for a comparable channel lineup. If you are comparing to DIRECTV, then the Choice Xtra package is probably what you will want to compare to, and that is priced at $63.99 a month in 2010, but does not have as many channels.
If you are switching over to satellite TV from cable or some other provider, you can also get some discounts and freebies as a new customer. Dish TV offers a $15 savings per month for one year, meaning you will save $180 total on the America’s Top 250. There is a 24 month commitment, so you will be locked into regular prices for the second year, but can leave without penalty after that time. Additional incentives offered with this package include free Showtime and HBO for three months, as well as free installation and activation.
While this package does include quite a bit of content, one thing to keep in mind is that there aren’t any many premium movie channels included. There are a few Encore channels but not any Showtime, Starz or HBO channels unless you want to add them on as premiums. If you are interested in adding movie channels to the Top 250 package, the prices are as follows. HBO is $15.99 a month, Starz is $12.99, Cinemax is $12.99, Showtime is $12.99, and the Playboy channel is $15.99 a month. If you order multiple channels, you get a discount on more than one premium, with all 5 premiums offered for $50 a month.
Other charges you can expect with the Dish Network America’s Top 250 include $10 for access to 80 HD channels, and a $6 a month DVR fee if you have either a DVR or an HD DVR.
