Dish Network and DirecTV have been the 2 largest providers of satellite television. They were among the first to offer it. They helped shape the network industry. And even today, decades later, Is Dish Network Or DirecTV Better? they are the only two that most of us even know about. Whenever two companies like this stand above the rest of their industry ,you need to take a minute to analyse which one is better. How have they grown? How have they competed?
Historical Facts
Let’s not get too technical about the early days of satellite, but before the 1990’s the networks industry wasn’t much there. If you wanted satellite televisions at your home, they would cost thousands of dollars for very large dishes that operated on c band wavelengths. The signal quality was low and the image quality was very poor. There were not so many channels available. So if the choice came down to getting cables or satellite, almost any sane person will go with cable. But around the 1990s, more technical advancements started happening, and then came the compact version of a satellite.
It was less expensive and more impactful. So, now it was looking like a satellite service could compete with a cable. So, few companies out there saw this as an opportunity, most notable ones later became Dish Networks and DirecTV. Earlier the biggest challenge for anyone who wanted to start on satellite service was the money it took to get started. Obtaining a license, making deals with network services, holding and launching a satellite.
Directv
When comparing both of them, DirecTV was in a much wealthier position. In 1985, general motors bought Hughes aircraft for $5 billion. The name Hughes comes from Howard Hughes because it stems from the company that he started decades ago. They were significant suppliers of the military and the country’s largest maker of communication satellites.
So general motors took that acquisition, combined it with there, and renamed it Hughes electronics. So in the 1990s when they were looking forward to expanding their satellite operation into establishing the first home satellite television services, it was easy enough to secure $750,000,000 from their massive parent company of general motors.They used a lot of their money to launch a satellite that was launched in the orbit in 1993.And in 1994, DirecTV was launched.
Dish network
It was a little more complicated for them. In 1980, Charles Ergen started a business that would make and sell those big c-band satellites. But by the end of the 1980s, Is Dish Network Or DirecTV Better? he too saw an opportunity for home services. He spent the next 2 years securing the license and by 1994 he needed a substantial amount of money.
He raised a few hundred dollars by essentially selling junk bonds at a 13% return. It was seen as a high-risk investment. He needed a high return to convince the investors. And since they already had an existing department of satellite making, most of their money was used to hire Lockheed Martin to build one. In 1995, they launched it into the market. In 1996, Dish networks were first made available to the public. They say that the D-I-S-H stands for digital sky highway.They had each other to compete with and all the other satellite companies like Primastar, and not to forget, the cable company.
Price
DirecTV gives a promotional price that is super low that is like half of the dish, for the first 12 months of a 2-year contract. As soon as the 13th month comes, they basically double their price for the last half of the contract. So budgeting for it is tricky. On the other hand, the dish gives you the same price throughout, upfront. Overall the price total is almost the same. But in the dish, it’s the same, and in DirecTV, it kind of fluctuates.
Channel count
Dish’s largest package contains more channels. DirecTV has more HD channels. So the catch here is either you get more channels with good quality or fewer channels with the best quality. It comes down to what your preference is!
DVR
The DVR battle is hands down the go-to dish as the dish has the hopper which gives you 500 hours of recorded HD video. With DirecTV’s genie, it’s 200 hours.
Conclusion
Choosing which one is better gets down to one’s preference. If you’re into sports just go with DirecTV. You can have all kinds of NBA additional passes, etc. that being said, if you’re really looking forward to movie channels or many music channels or just shows in general, because of that hopper, it goes to the dish as you can record a ton of basically anything you want.Dish network’s programming is much better. Some people say it’s better than the genie HD. The ultimate point that DirecTV has is the NFL ticket otherwise both have the same package. So, choose your satellite wisely.
