DISH Network Review: Packages & Prices 2021
Plan | TV channel count | Price | Details |
---|---|---|---|
America's Top 120 | 190 | $64.99/mo. | View Plan |
America's Top 120+ | 190+ | $79.99/mo. | View Plan |
America's Top 200 | 240+ | $89.99/mo. | View Plan |
America's Top 250 | 290+ | $99.99/mo. | View Plan |
DISH Network’s satellite TV packages offer a variety of sports, premium movie channels, and family favorites for a decent price.
You’ll get one of the best DVRs in the business with the DISH Hopper, a bunch of channel lineup options to choose from for you and the family, and the option to sign a contract for cheaper pricing.
We’ll start by recommending DISH’s America’s Top 200 if you’re really looking for the sweet spot between sports and entertainment (which, of course, you are).
Pros
- You'll get straight-up pricing (looking at you, DIRECTV)
- There's lots of sports coverage with DISH
- DISH has Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility
Cons
- DISH doesn't have HBO channels
- DISH doesn't have NFL SUNDAY TICKET like DIRECTV does
How much does DISH TV cost?
No second-year price hikes here, so your monthly bill should always stay the same
We can all agree that price hikes are easily in the top five worst things about TV subscriptions.
But with DISH, price hikes aren’t a thing. Phew.
You’ll have the same monthly price throughout your contract (or no contract) with DISH, unlike other satellite providers (*cough* DIRECTV). So you’ll save money in the long run.
Plan | Price | TV channel count | Details |
America's Top 120 | $64.99/mo.* | 190 | View Plan |
America's Top 120+ | $79.99/mo.† | 190+ | View Plan |
America's Top 200 | $89.99/mo.‡ | 240+ | View Plan |
America's Top 250 | $99.99/mo.^ | 290+ | View Plan |
You can relax knowing that every DISH package comes with your local networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC), plus ESPN, Disney Channel, HGTV, and Food Network. Don’t you feel better knowing you’ll get your First Take, Flip or Flop, and Chopped fix with even the most basic channel package? We feel better.
To find out what truly sets each DISH channel package apart, you’ll want to take a quick look at the full channel lineup, or check out our sneak peek below.
Does DISH have a contract?
As is the case with most TV providers, you gotta sign up for a contract to get the best deal with DISH.
Signing for a two-year term will save you $10–15 per month, which adds up to $240–$360 over the length of the contract. Big money!
DISH does give you the option to live without a contract so you have the freedom to cancel your service anytime. If you’re not into that long-term commitment, you’ll just have to pay that $10–$15 more month to month.
Does DISH have fees?
Yes, but they’re not too horrible.
DISH’s installation team will mount your satellite dish and set up your DVR system free of charge for up to six rooms. Nice.
And if you want out of your contract early, we suggest checking out our guide on how to avoid cancellation fees.
- Installation fee: Free
- Equipment fee: Hopper Duo included (125-hour DVR), $15.00/mo. for Hopper 3 (500-hour DVR)
- 4K Joey DVR equipment fee (additional DVRs): $5.00/mo.
- Late payments: $7.00 fee
- Early termination fee: $20.00 for every month left on your contract
Is DIRECTV cheaper than DISH?
DISH offers you more bang for your buck because DIRECTV has second-year price hikes (gasp!).
If you were to compare DIRECTV’s CHOICE package and DISH’s America’s Top 120 plan, both of which have about 190 channels, DIRECTV is $5 more per month (for year one). For your second year of service, DIRECTV’s CHOICE $70 per month plan changes to about a $115 per month bill (depending on when you buy the service, so we urge you to read the package details on DIRECTV’s site).
But if you’re a TV fan and want 330+ channels, DIRECTV is the service for you.
Which DISH TV package should you get?
Plan | Price | TV channel count | Details |
America's Top 120 | $64.99/mo.* | 190 | View Plan |
America's Top 120+ | $79.99/mo.† | 190+ | View Plan |
America's Top 200 | $89.99/mo.‡ | 240+ | View Plan |
America's Top 250 | $99.99/mo.^ | 290+ | View Plan |
This is where you find out what type of TV watcher you are if you don’t already know.
Maybe you just prefer popular channels. Maybe you need professional and college sports channels. Or maybe you want the most channels because you are a fan of every genre and you don’t want to feel limited.
- America’s Top 120: This is perfect for families who want a variety of popular channels everyone in the house will enjoy. You’ll find channels such as CNN, Disney Channel, HGTV, Food Network, and Lifetime.
- America’s Top 120+: If you want more sports channels, this package will give you NFL Network, PAC-12 Network, and the SEC Network. If you’re an avid sports fan, it’ll be worth the extra $15 per month.
- America’s Top 200: America’s Top 120+ makes you look like a cute sports fan, but if you’re a huge sports fan, you need this package. On top of the three sports channels mentioned above, you’ll get CBS Sports Network, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, and the Tennis Channel.
- America’s Top 250: Alright, movie lovers. Here’s your package. Have a movie night with FX Movie Channel, MoviePlex, EPIX Drive-In, STARZ Encore, STARZ Encore Action, STARZ Encore Family, and The Movie Channel.
If you want to know what other channels are offered in these packages, just scroll down a little.
How much are DISH’s bundles?
Bundle TV and the internet to save a few bucks and pay one bill
DISH doesn’t provide internet directly, but DISH can hook you up with one of two internet providers and three different options that are available across most of the country.
You get to choose from the following internet connections: broadband/wired, fiber, and satellite. If you’d like to dig into more details, check out our review on Frontier and Viasat.
If you need help making a decision of which bundle to get, our favorite bundle for most families is America’s Top 200 and Frontier FiberOptic.
You’ll get the best variety of channels to entertain everyone in the family, along with fast download speeds for uninterrupted streaming and a smooth work-from-home internet connection.
Plan | Monthly price | Download speeds | Connection type | Details |
Frontier | $27.99/mo. | Up to 45 Mbps | Broadband | View Plan |
Frontier FiberOptic | $29.99/mo. | Up to 940 Mbps | Fiber optic | View Plan |
Viasat | $50.00/mo. | Up to 100 Mbps | Satellite | View Plan |
*Data effective 4/7/2021.
You can learn more about DISH deals here.
Which channels does DISH TV have?
DISH leads the way for college sports content
As it stands right now, DISH has the most college sports coverage. It carries the ACCN, SEC, Pac-12, Longhorn, and Big Ten Network. If you want to know exactly which sports channels you’ll be getting, scroll a little further down.
But make sure to double-check the DISH channel lineup and make sure all of your favorite channels are in the package you’re considering. But whether you’re a sports, lifestyle, reality, or general entertainment fan, you should find basically everything you need with DISH.
America’s Top 120 package includes the following channels:
- ABC
- Animal Planet
- Cartoon Network
- CBS
- CNN
- Discovery Channel
- Disney Channel
- ESPN
- Food Network
- FOX
- FX
- HGTV
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- MSNBC
- National Geographic
- Nickelodeon
- TBS
America’s Top 120+ package includes the channels above and the following:
- Big Ten Network
- Longhorn Network
- NFL Network
- PAC-12 Network
- SEC Network
- World Fishing Network
America’s Top 200 package includes the channels above and the following:
- BBC America
- BET
- Cooking Channel
- Disney Jr.
- Estrella TV
- Galavision
- Hallmark Channel
- Lifetime Movie Network
- MLB Network
- NBA TV
- Nick Jr.
- OWN
- Turner Classic Movies
- Univision
America’s Top 250 package includes the following channels:
- Bloomberg Television
- Destination America
- DISH Music Channels
- EPIX Drive-In
- FX Movie Channel
- MoviePlex
- Nicktoons
- STARZ Encore Action
- STARZ Encore Español
- STARZ Encore Family
- STARZ Encore Suspense
- STARZ Encore Westerns
- The Movie Channel
- Universo
Which premium channels does DISH have?
Let’s be honest—DISH’s premium channel game is about as good as the Lakers without LeBron James. In other words, it’s pretty weak. There’s no HBO or CINEMAX.
You won’t get your Westworld and Succession with DISH, but luckily, HBO has its own stand-alone service.
It would be nice to get your premium channels all in one place. At least DISH gives you all of its premium channels for free for your first three months.
But don’t forget: when your three months are up, make sure you cancel your subscription before you get charged.
Channel | Monthly price | Learn more |
SHOWTIME | $10.00/mo. | View Plans |
STARZ | $10.00/mo. | View Plans |
STARZ Encore | $6.00/mo. | View Plans |
EPIX | $7.00/mo. | View Plans |
DISH Movie Pack | $10.00/mo. | View Plans |
*Data effective 4/7/2021.
Which DISH package is best for sports?
DISH has lots of sports channels, and you can get a decent amount with the first two packages. But if you’re a huge sports fan and basically just want satellite TV for all of its sports channels, get America’s Top 200 package.
You won’t get more sports channels with America’s Top 250 package, but take the plunge if you want all of the extra movie channels for all of the entertainment.
America’s Top 120 package includes the following sports channels:
- ESPN, ESPN2
- ESPNews
- ESPNU
- FS1
- NBC Sports Network
America’s Top 120+ package includes the following sports channels:
- ACC Network (ACCN)
- Big Ten Network
- ESPN, ESPN2
- ESPNews
- ESPNU
- FS1, FS2
- Longhorn Network
- NBC Sports Network
- NFL Network
- PAC-12 Network
- SEC Network
- Tennis Channel
America’s Top 200 and 250 package includes the following sports channels:
- ACCN
- Big Ten Network
- CBS Sports Network
- ESPN, ESPN2
- ESPNews
- ESPNU
- FS1, FS2
- Golf Channel
- Longhorn Network
- MLB Network
- NBA TV
- NBC Sports Network
- NFL Network
- NHL Network
- PAC-12 Network
- SEC Network
- Tennis Channel
- TUDN
- TUDNxtra 1–11
- Zona Fútbol
If you want even more sports channels, DISH has a Multi-Sports Pack for $13 per month. It will give you channels like MLB Network Strike Zone, NFL RedZone, ESPN Goal Line, and ESPN Buzzer Beater.
DISH also offers MLB Extra Innings, which gives you all MLB games straight to your TV for the regular season.
Does DISH have on-demand content?
Gone are the days of checking the TV guide to see when the next episode of Survivor is on. Most of your DISH channels come with tons of on-demand content so you can watch any of the shows you may have missed—no need to plan your schedule around the TV guide.
DISH serves up on-demand content in a similar fashion to Netflix. You can enjoy lots of the latest movies and TV shows.
Does DISH have the best DVR?
DISH has the best DVR in the business, and it’s decently priced
DVR | DVR price | Storage hours (HD) | Simultaneous recordings | Automatic commercial skipping |
Hopper Duo | Included | 125 hrs. | 2 | Yes |
Hopper 3 | $15.00/mo. | 500 hrs. | 16 | Yes |
The Hopper 3 is the best DVR on the market right now.
Let’s put those 500 recording hours in context—it would take 134 hours to watch all nine seasons of Suits. It would take about 100 hours to watch The Office from start to finish. It takes 880 hours to watch all five decades of Saturday Night Live.
In other words, you’ll have time to record basically everything, and it will take you a long, long time to run out of space.
The other cool thing about the Hopper 3—you can record 16 things at once. That means no more arguing about wanting to record Monday Night Football over The Bachelor.
And it also wouldn’t be 2021 if a voice remote wasn’t included. Enjoy getting what you want with the sound of your voice.
Can you connect multiple TVs to your Hopper DVR?
So by now, you’ve probably picked up on the kangaroo theme. Can you guess what the little DVRs are called that connect to the bigger DVR? Did you guess Joeys? You’re right—they’re called Joeys.
For every extra TV you have in your house, you’ll want to get a Joey to connect it to your DVR. It’ll cost you an extra $5 per month per Joey. But is it worth it to help your family stop fighting over a single DVR? Yes. Yes, it is.
What’s the DISH Anywhere app?
The DISH Anywhere app works exactly how it sounds—if you already have DISH service, you can watch TV on your phone, tablet, or computer wherever you are.
For example, let’s say you’re on a family trip to Disneyland, and your daughter desperately wants to meet Elsa. The only problem—it’s a three-hour wait. Fortunately, you can just watch the football game while you wait. Sure, you’re paying $100+ to wait in line, but at least you’re watching good TV.
The DISH Anywhere app also lets you watch recorded content offline. There’s no need to worry about streaming with data or watching while in airplane mode. Just make sure to download your recorded content with Wi-Fi before you go out in the world.
Want a more in-depth 4K comparison? Check out our review of the best TV services for 4K.
Recap: Is DISH worth it?
We named DISH our best satellite TV provider for a reason.
Over a two-year contract, DISH usually ends up being the more affordable option out of the two major satellite TV services. DISH also offers more college sports content than DIRECTV and has the best DVR in town.
If you decide to go with satellite over cable TV, DISH is a smart choice.
We recommend the America’s Top 200 package for the best DISH experience since you’ll get access to lots of sports.
You might miss out on premium channels like HBO, but you get the essential channels for a decent price with DISH.
DISH Network TV plans and pricing recap
- America’s Top 120: $64.99/month* for 190 channels
- America’s Top 120+: $79.99/month* for 190+ channels
- America’s Top 200: $89.99/month* for 240+ channels
- America’s Top 250: $99.99/month* for 290+ channels
Data effective 4/7/2021. Offers and availability vary by location and are subject to change.
*For the first 24 months with a 2-year agreement
DISH FAQs
Q: How reliable is DISH TV?
DISH is very reliable, even during snow or rain. DISH says you’ll get 99% reception reliability, according to a nationwide study. Oh, and you’ll also get great picture quality for your football games, remodeling home shows, and HD movies.
Q: Does DISH have CBS?
DISH currently has CBS, and you’ll want this channel for the Super Bowl.
Q: Does DISH have ESPN?
DISH has ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, and ESPNU.
What do you think?
Do you have DISH? What’s your experience with it been? Or do you like a different provider better? Drop us a comment below!
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