DIRECTV Review 2019
Plan | Price | TV channel count | Details |
---|---|---|---|
ENTERTAINMENT All-Included | $64.99/mo. | 160+ | View Plan |
CHOICE All-Included | $69.99/mo. | 185+ | View Plan |
XTRA All-Included | $79.99/mo. | 235+ | View Plan |
ULTIMATE All-Included | $84.99/mo. | 250+ | View Plan |
DIRECTV’s satellite TV service has all the channels you want—including NFL SUNDAY TICKET and premium channels like HBO and SHOWTIME. Your service includes the Genie DVR with up to 4K resolution, 72-hour rewind, and plenty of storage.
It doesn’t hurt that DIRECTV ranks higher in customer service scores than (most) cable TV providers, either. If you have the budget for DIRECTV, we’d say it’s one of the best options out there.
Plan | Price | TV channel count | Details |
SELECT All-Included | $59.99/mo.* | 155+ | View Plan |
ENTERTAINMENT All-Included | $64.99/mo.* | 160+ | View Plan |
CHOICE All-Included | $69.99/mo.† | 185+ | View Plan |
XTRA All-Included | $79.99/mo.† | 235+ | View Plan |
ULTIMATE All-Included | $84.99/mo.† | 250+ | View Plan |
PREMIER All-Included | $134.99/mo.† | 330+ | View Plan |
Pros
- Tons of channels
- NFL SUNDAY TICKET
- High customer satisfaction
Cons
- 2nd-year price increases
- Fees/deceiving prices
DIRECTV packages and pricing
DIRECTV is a good deal for the first year, but 2nd-year prices might be too much for some.
DIRECTV’s price includes a lot of channels and a sweet Genie DVR, which seems like a good deal . . . until you realize that for most plans, your price will double.
We’d say DIRECTV could be a 5-star service, but this huge price increase is a bit ridiculous.
Plan | Price | TV channel count | Details |
SELECT All-Included | $59.99/mo.* | 155+ | View Plan |
ENTERTAINMENT All-Included | $64.99/mo.* | 160+ | View Plan |
CHOICE All-Included | $69.99/mo.† | 185+ | View Plan |
XTRA All-Included | $79.99/mo.† | 235+ | View Plan |
ULTIMATE All-Included | $84.99/mo.† | 250+ | View Plan |
PREMIER All-Included | $134.99/mo.† | 330+ | View Plan |
Luckily, with DIRECTV, you don’t have to pay for the highest-tier packages to get the channels you want. Even at the base-level SELECT plan, you get the major networks like CNN, TBS, and TNT.
Sports fans will want to upgrade at least to the ENTERTAINMENT plans to get ESPN and other sports networks. The PREMIER package is for those who want it all, including the premium networks.
NFL SUNDAY TICKET
DIRECTV is the exclusive provider of NFL SUNDAY TICKET, which gives you every out-of-market game from every team every Sunday. (Out-of-market games are games that you can’t get on your local broadcast networks.)
The CHOICE package and above include NFL SUNDAY TICKET for a year, but it costs around $400 per season after that.
Which DIRECTV package should you choose?
- SELECT: Great for budget-minded users who still want a little bit of everything.
- ENTERTAINMENT: This plan gives sports fans the basic channels they need (like ESPN) along with a few more popular networks (AMC).
- CHOICE: This package is where you get a big bonus from DIRECTV in the form of NFL SUNDAY TICKET for a season and HBO for a year.
- XTRA: More news and more sports combine with the top entertainment channels for a li’l extra money.
- ULTIMATE: Includes ENCORE channels and other movie networks. This is a good upgrade for film addicts.
- PREMIER: Your one-stop channel shop includes even premium networks like HBO, CINEMAX, STARZ, and SHOWTIME.
When it comes to a package, you should first pick out your must-have channels and then pick a package based around those, as well as around your budget.
And since DIRECTV’s prices increase after that first year, you gotta factor in the higher second-year price into your budget.
DIRECTV contracts
DIRECTV’s prices are good for the first year, but your cost will go up the second year.
Signing a two-year contract isn’t our favorite thing to do, especially when it doesn’t have a price guarantee for those two years. Unfortunately, your price will go up after the first year, and your autopay and paperless billing discounts ($5 per month) will go away.
In fact, your monthly price more than doubles for most plans—except Premier, which still faces a big price hike of around $80.
We know what you’re thinking: is there a contract-free option? Well, yes and no. DIRECTV doesn’t offer a month-to-month service directly, but you can get something close through AT&T TV NOW. So if you really don’t like that contract, check out AT&T TV NOW.
Early termination fees
Say you realize, around the one-year mark, that you want to get out of your contract. Well, we’ve got some bad news. If you bail on your contract, you’ll have to pay early termination fees: $20 for every month remaining on your contract.
That’s not great. But you can avoid even more fees if you return your leased equipment promptly. Otherwise, you’ll face equipment non-return fees.
Other fees
We like that DIRECTV includes installation (and equipment fees) for your first Genie DVR.
However, if you want another receiver, it’ll cost you. For each additional receiver, you’ll pay a one-time $99 installation fee, as well as an extra $7 per month per receiver.
What we’re saying is, for individuals or single-TV households, DIRECTV makes sense. But for larger households with multiple TVs, that’s a lot of extra money for each TV.
The good news is that DIRECTV doesn’t charge for HD programming—unlike Xfinity, which charges $10 per month just to watch that sweet crispiness. Good for DIRECTV.
The only other fee to watch out for with DIRECTV is the regional sports fee of $8.49 per month. This fee applies to the CHOICE package and above. That’s an extra hundred bucks a year you might not have expected—yeesh.
Installation costs
DIRECTV may not charge an installation fee for your first HD DVR receiver, but the company will charge a one-time $19.95 activation fee. We don’t love activation fees, but $20 beats the $100 or more charge you’ll face with other companies. Remember though, extra receivers will incur installation charges.
DIRECTV channels
High channel counts and plenty of premium inclusions across the board.
Source: DIRECTV.com
Even at the SELECT level, you’ll get over 155 channels, including Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, TNT, and USA.
You’ll need to go for the ENTERTAINMENT package or higher to get sports networks like ESPN, ESPN2, and NBC Sports Network.
We like that you have quite a few package options with DIRECTV, but you’ll have to compare channel lineups to figure out which one suits your needs and budget best.
Premium channels
DIRECTV tosses in premium channels as bonuses. Most packages have three months of HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, and CINEMAX. These channels normally run $53.99 per month, and watch out: that’s what you’ll be charged if you don’t call to change or cancel them before then.
The CHOICE package and above includes 12 months of those same premium channels, so if you’re into shows like Shamed, Chernobyl, or another glorious series, then you’ll save a lot of cash by springing for those higher-tier packages—at least for that first year.
Best packages for sports
Most of DIRECTV’s plans include the big hitters, but we’d recommend going for at least the ENTERTAINMENT package, and if you can squeeze out the funds for CHOICE, it’ll be that much better.
Sports package | Monthly price | Season price | Details |
NFL SUNDAY TICKET | $48.99/mo. | $293.94/season | View Plans |
NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX | $65.99/mo. | $395.94/season | View Plans |
MLB EXTRA INNINGS COMBO | $21.33/mo. | $127.96/season | View Plans |
MLS DIRECT KICK | $22.25/mo. | $89/season | View Plans |
FOX SOCCER PLUS | $14.99/mo. | N/A | View Plans |
Data effective 8/10/2019.
On-demand content
DIRECTV has over 50,000 shows and movies on demand. And at least 10,000 of those are free. Try to spend more time watching the shows than surfing through the titles.
Source: DIRECTV.com
DIRECTV offers the following add-on packages:
- Movies Extra pack ($4.99/mo.)
- DOGTV ($4.99/mo.)
- Outdoor Channel ($4.99/mo.)
You can also get DIRECTV packages for the following languages:
- Italian
- Filipino
- French
- Russian
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Chinese
- Korean
- Vietnamese
- Spanish
- Japanese
DIRECTV equipment and features
The Genie DVR is one of the best out there.
We appreciate that DIRECTV includes your first DVR. And it’s got plenty of storage. The Genie DVR holds up to 200 HD hours, which falls behind the 500 hours of the DISH Hopper 3, but is still a lot more than other competitors.
DVR price | Storage | # of shows | Details |
Included | 200 HD hrs. | 5 simultaneous recordings | View Plans |
The Genie DVR is one of the best brand DVRs out there. You get 4K resolution, the ability to switch between games and keep scores, and the ability to connect up to 8 TVs wirelessly. You can record five programs at once with a single Genie DVR, and you can schedule it on your TV or online.
You can take your DVR recordings on-the-go with the DIRECTV app, too. So if you start your day by catching up with Conan, you don’t have to stop once you get goin’ on your commute.
DIRECTV customer service
TV isn’t the place for great customer service, but DIRECTV isn’t the worst.
The ACSI ranked DIRECTV 4th out of all the subscription TV services.1 It’s consistently ranked better than most (but not all) cable companies. If you’re hardcore about customer satisfaction, see if AT&T U-Verse TV or Verizon Fios is in your area.
JD Power gave AT&T and DIRECTV its top awards in the East and South (followed by Verizon and DISH). In fact, DIRECTV ranked among the best in every category.2
AT&T and DIRECTV ranked 2nd in the North Central and the West behind DISH. We’d say that in any area, getting DIRECTV will (mostly) be a good experience.2
Recap: Is DIRECTV good?
Sure it’s pricey, but it’s got everything you need.
We’re not gonna lie, DIRECTV’s second-year price increases are a huge bummer. Even though first-year pricing is okay, if you start adding multiple receivers, it can get spendy real quick.
Beyond the price, though, most people will get what they want from DIRECTV. At every level of service, DIRECTV includes most of our favorites. It also includes premium networks for a few months or a year, depending on which plan you pick.
DIRECTV plans and pricing recap
- SELECT All-Included: $59.99/month*, 155+ channels
- ENTERTAINMENT All-Included: $64.99/month*, 160+ channels
- CHOICE All-Included: $69.99/month*, 185+ channels
- XTRA All-Included: $79.99/month*, 235+ channels
- ULTIMATE All-Included: $84.99/month*, 250+ channels
- PREMIER All-Included: $134.99/month*, 330+ channels
Data effective 08/18/19. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
*For first 12 months w/24 mo. agmt. Autopay & Paperless bill req’d. Prices higher in 2nd year.
We don’t love getting locked into a two-year contract, especially since the price still increases. But at the same time, we’d venture a guess that if you’re going through the effort of installing satellite TV service, you’ll want it (and enjoy it) for a long time anyway.
How has your experience with DIRECTV been? Any fun stories, or is it business as usual? Let us know in the comments below!
DIRECTV FAQ
Q: Which DIRECTV package has ESPN?
Every DIRECTV package has ESPN except the SELECT package—but you can still get it with an add-on package.
Q: Which DIRECTV channels are in 4K?
DIRECTV has three channels offering 4K programming: 104, 105, and 106.
- Channel 104: Mixed content
- Channel 105: Pay-per-view movies
- Channel 106: Event channel
Sources
- American Customer Satisfaction Index, “ACSI Telecommunications Report 2018-2019”
- JD Power, “2018 US Residential Wireline Studies”
Additional contributors
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