Hear me out. Dish has the dispute with the regional sports channels. A few years ago, DirecTV announced they shot their last satellite into space...they were then bought by AT&T who has more TV providers than one knows what to do with, although U-Verse stopped taking new customers and it appears AT&T WatchTV is all but gone. With the streaming options like Hulu and YouTube TV, are Dish and DirecTV all but done? Now it seems like where satellite has the biggest advantage is in the rural areas where cable TV providers may not go and where the fastest affordable internet may be quite slow. The other advantage would be foreign-language and niche sports channels. Try getting TV Japan or TyC on Hulu. If you want EPL, it's everywhere. Boca? River? Of course I heard this opinion from someone who was convinced that as more USA sports teams start their own channel, that blackouts on those channels in favor of league pay packages are going to be a thing of the past... So yeah, I'm taking it with a grain of salt, but...I wouldn't be surprised, ESPECIALLY if Sunday Ticket gets onto cable/streaming options.
Agreed. The rural areas could be the last frontier...part of why the DirecTV/Dish merger wasn't approved.
Satellite isn't an answer for Boca and River, or many other "niche" services which are more frequently provided via streaming. DirecTV has TyC Sports (which carries one Boca or River game per match week) but it's still in SD. You need Fanatiz to see every single Boca and River game. GolTV is also just SD on DirecTV. What makes it more odd is that AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now (or whatever it's called) have both in HD. Other channels like RCN aren't available on DirecTV but are widely available on streaming. Honestly cable and satellite are better for the non-niche channels. No streaming service has all of the top 35 channels (it looked like Fubo would after they announced the deal with Disney, but then they lost the Warner Media channels). But it's a shame that AT&T has basically allowed DirecTV to rust. And AT&T TV basically costs the same and requires a contract, but doesn't include many of the things that DTV still has like Sunday Ticket, Premier League in 4K, Sports Pack... I have some credits rolling off and if they don't give me new credits, I'm considering switching to a combo of Fubo and Sling Blue (to make up for the missing Warner Media channels).
I have Fanatiz and Fubo Latino Sports Pack and pretty much get all the soccer I need. Combined I pay (soon to be more, thanks a lot Fubo) $26/month. I LOVED having Directv back in the day...it was THE place to go for sports. But I’m happy now. I have my Sling trial going now where I literally ticked every box for every package (hey it’s free for 14 days) and yet it’s so expensive if I keep it. I lived in Brasil for a while so that’s what drew me to sling but that package is like $25 alone.
Broadband Internet killed sattelite tv in cities. Can new, broadband quality satellite internet (Elon Musk) kill or dilute the cable company advantage? Will starlink launch a tv service in addition to internet taking away this opportunity for Dish/Direct tv? Will 5G allow more people to drop cable and find alternatives for TV? I'm not sure, even if I can drop Comcast for better internet, that I would go to Satellite TV, as I think some of the digital options are more attractive, but I would look into it! I know that I will drop Comcast the first chance I get.
Actually, RCN is available on DirecTV, of course as the international version called "Nuestra Tele, RCN". But it is in SD, last I checked. That same channel is in HD now on Sling. As to the original question, direct-to-home satellite tv does seem to be winding down. It is a shame in that it is extremely reliable, barring a huge downpour, and can deliver a pretty much perfect picture in close to real time, without any risk of buffering. The requirement that the DTH providers had to carry all of those local channels in HD really did them in. It occupied all of their satellites and forced them to launch more. This really hurt their ability to add new channels, especially in HD. And they ended up leaving most of the international channels, and Spanish language channels in SD as a result. Interestingly, in switching from the DirecTV Spanish language channel add on package to the AT&T TV Now Spanish language channel package, the channels are the same, but only a few of those channels are in HD on DirecTV, while about 50% to 70% of them are in HD on the At&T TV Now streaming service. I think there are only two of them that are even available in an HD version that the streaming service still has in the SD version (TV Chile and Nat Geo Mundo).
I am the minority here but the technology for Dish is superior to anything out there. The Hopper is top notch. Dish anywhere is convenient and you do not need a VPN when traveling anywhere in the world. The "Sports Bar Mode" which allows me to watch four games on a screen simultaneously is unmatched. And I can record up to 16 channels at the same time on a DVR with 2000 hours of recording space. Until a streaming service can provide me all of that I cannot cut the dish.
Now I have to say as a soccer fan the streaming options are very good and I share an account with my father for channels I cannot watch on Dish. That said, going full throttle and streaming only I do not see in the foreseeable future for me.
Fanatiz and ESPN+ all the soccer I need so cutting the chord was easy. Plus getting HBO Max included with my At&t phone bill is sweet! Plus the bundle of Disney+ and Hulu with ESPN + makes the whole family happy
I'm happy with Fios, but I could move within a couple of years. If I move, I may want DirecTV for Sunday Ticket to watch the Giants. Regardless of whether it's Sling, Fubo, or anything else, there are much fewer channels than cable, and I like what I'm used to. I've changed TV providers once in 35 years from Cablevision/Optimum to Fios. I wouldn't want to switch to a streaming service and have channels that I rarely watched but occasionally wanted and no longer have. HomietheClown likes Dish, and where I am now I might be indifferent between DirecTV and Dish if I were to switch, but if I move and want Sunday Ticket and possible something else Dish doesn't have, I won't switch to Dish. I wouldn't focus on more than one game at a time, and I don't need 16 simultaneous recordings with 2,000 hours of space. That Hopper is much better than Fios. Fios' DVR is poorly designed so it wastes my time to set and delete shows.
It's all in the name of competition. If a major player had a 10-tuner DVR, then Dish would probably look at a 25-tuner model. Heck, for all we know, they probably already are. I was beyond happy a few years ago when I got bumped up to 50Mbps. A month so ago, I went from 100 to 1000 to get HBO Max. The craziest thing is that they're charging about the same as they were for 6Mbps with all the discounts and promotions. I'm convinced that the real rip is internet. And I'm with you. A few months ago, I needed Investigation Discovery or whatever other niche channel for one episode of one show. Would I have been able to watch that episode on whatever streaming service at $45/mo with fewer channels? Maybe, maybe not. But if someone has a large family, the Hopper is definitely up their alley. You'd probably not need all 16 tuners at a time, but it's nice to not have to worry about conflicts.
I know many people do not need a 16 channel tuner but I am a HIUUUUUUUUGE sports fanatic. It came in handy in the past, especially in the Fall. Between all the different Soccer Leagues around the world, College football, Baseball playoffs, NHL, Basketball starting up etc. I could use a lot of tuners and DVR storage, Then there are people who have big families who want to record different shows and movies and want to have many televisions available for all the kids in the house who want to see different things. So I am sure it comes in handy for those people too.
One question: Where the hell is all the free time to watch those shows? Yes, I'm sure you FF through lots of the dead time, but that has to leave no time for any dramas, comedies, etc.
I agree with you fans of satellite. The image quality and reliability are great for HD or better programming. But a lot, even most, of the foreign language channels are still in SD. In 2020! With streaming services, most channels are in HD, unless there is no HD version available. And the streaming services usually do a good job of making their SD channels approximate HD quality. Most SD channels look horrible on DirecTV, and only slightly better on Dish.
Well Dish has a deal with a 5G Network which I think can help with picture quality in the future. But it is all speculation right now. Especially in uncertain times.
AT&T is large enough that they won't mind losing rural customers. Dish is sort of a specialty company, and will probably continuing to offer satellite TV.