DirecTV has been through a multitude of name changes and service changes over time. The history is more than enough for another article on its own. Its current offerings are complicated enough as they exist at the moment. We took an hour or so looking over the DirecTV website so you didn’t have to, and we set up links to the most relevant sections to save you time. You’re welcome. We must note. The company still offers its satellite service, but for the purposes of this article, we are covering the streaming offers. Let’s get into it.
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There are two completely different sets of rules depending on how you access DirecTV
We wanted to cover this from the start. Does DirecTV require a contract? The answer depends on how you would like to get the service. DirecTV has two different billing models.
- Customers who access DirecTV via a physical mounted satellite dish (the old-fashioned way) must agree to a standard 24-month contract.
- Customers who sign up and access DirecTV via the Internet using either smart TV apps or streaming boxes and dongles can sign up and cancel whenever they want to.
How Much Does DirecTV Cost?
DirecTV has a bunch of different price plans depending on what kind of channel package you want. And the range is between, and I am not kidding $19.00 per month for a 12 channel package they call the “Mykids genre pack to $164.00 per month for its 185-channel Premier package. The Premier package provides all of the channels that DirecTV can offer, including HBO Max (may as well start calling it again that now), Showtime, STARZ, and Cinemax.
The Premier package is essentially the old big bundle that used to dominate the market. If you want a no-questions-asked, yes, it’s covered service, this is it. But it will obviously cost you a lot.
We are not going to reprint their entire lineup here. So, for your own reference, we are going to provide a link to their package section below.
See all the DirecTV Choice Packages Here
See All DirecTV Genre Packs Here
Does DirecTV’s streaming option offer DVR?
Yes. If you are using one of its “Choice” or Genre packages, you get unlimited hours of DVR recording, but the recordings are deleted after 9 months.
Does DirecTV’s streaming option require extra hardware?
No. Customers can access the service via smart TV apps and apps for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Google/Android TV. Customers will also get one free Gemini Air device. The Gemini Air is a Google TV dongle that integrates a DirecTV interface with streaming apps like Netflix, all in one package. This is what you have been seeing those pigions freak out about. If customers decide they want Gemini Air devices for more than one TV, they must pay a $10.00 per month fee.
We highly recommend that customers do not pay extra fees for a branded Google TV device. There are a number of more cost-effective devices on the market that you can buy outright if you don’t already have smart TVs and other streaming devices available. Paying $10.00 per month means that a second Gemini Air will cost you $120.00 per year. If you want 3 Gemini Air dongles, it will cost you $240.00. Get it? On the other hand, a Fire TV Stick would cost you $24.99 for one purchase.
What is the difference between the Choice Packages and the Genre Packs?
DirecTV’s Choice packages are like old cable bundles. They are packed with general entertainment channels, over-the-air channels like major networks (Depending on where you live), popular news channels, sports channels, and the like. They start (without monthly specials) at $84.00 for a pretty general channel package (what one used to call basic cable) and the prices go up from there. Each additional choice package adds channels from across a range of general cable channels, sports, and news. For example, the “Choice” package includes ESPN and ESPN2 amd even the three major cable news channels, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, but it does not include ESPN U or the ACC Network. The next package up does include the other ESPN channels as well as league-based networks like NBA TV. DirecTV provides a flow chart so that you can scroll and search for the various channels.
The Genre packs are much smaller collections of channels. Hardly à la carte but much more flexible than the choice packages. They seem to be taking a page out of Sling TV’s handbook with mini bundles of channels directed at more specific TV watching needs. There are general offerings that include the heavy hitters from the News and general entertainment world, including over-the-air networks. There is a sports package that offers the big-name channels like the ESPN networks and even local NBC, ABC, and Fox (No CBS). This way if you don’t care for sports, you can get an inexpensive lineup of channels that may well cover your needs and also have the choice to be a sports fan with no need for all that other stuff.
What is the best package on DirecTV?
If I were recommending a package for a customer who did not want to watch sports but loved the basic offerings of cable TV, I would recommend the “My Entertainment” package. It provides many of the entertainment channels people gravitate as well as cable news channels, and ignores sports, which allows it to be a pretty good deal $34.99 per month. It also includes access to the ad-supported version of Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max. Those three streaming services cost $16.99 on their own. So that means that the TV channels you pay for only cost $18.00. That is a really good deal, as long as you can also appreciate or already love Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max. Keep in mind, some people just have those for all their TV needs. There is a surprising lack of USA Network on this package.
If general entertainment and sports are both important to you and or the rest of your family, it is more cost-effective to go with the “Choice” Entertainment package. It’s not inexpensive per se, but it will cost $84.00 and cover the needs of essentially everyone in the home. And I guess when you compare that to the $164.99 per month that is the Premier package, it looks like a bargain.
Conclusion
The good news is that DirecTV does not have a monopoly on TV Streaming options. I hope this helped clear up any confusion you have regarding DirecTV. If it did not, I’m afraid you are going to need to take your own deep dive or have a conversation with their customer support people at 1-844-900-2455.
