Today’s post is a guest post from Kevin at www.satellitetvguru.net. He’s helping us sort out complicated questions about satellite TV versus cable costs. With all the advertising being thrown at consumers its difficult to really know which is a better value. The average person doesn’t have time to separate the hype from the facts. Watching pennies is all the more important with the holidays looming before us. Saving on media costs is another excellent way to keep cash in your pocket.
Is Satellite TV really THAT much cheaper than cable?
Ads for satellite TV really paint a cost-saving picture for consumers, which are growing increasingly important during tumultuous economic times such these. Both Dish Network and DirecTV boast cheaper programming than cable and the better values overall. For any ads it’s important to cut through the malarkey and discover just what consumers are paying for and if satellite TV really is the cheaper alternative.
Currently, the cheapest cable program belongs to comcast who offers a basic package for just $16.99, but before you get too excited this package merely acts as a method to provide local channels to customers who do not want or are unable to obtain a digital antenna. Besides local channels, the basic package contains a handful of public programming. This is also without HD services or DVR functionality. For many families, Comcast’s bargain-basement package serves them well. But for those who are scaling back on TV prices, just having local channels via standard definition leaves a little to be desired. When people say “cable,” we think of channels like ESPN, CNN, USA and TNT. If we were to look at true “cable” packages from Dish Network, DirecTV and Comcast, the choice is clear: Comcast charges much more for the similar packages found in the two leading satellite providers.
Comcast, Dish and DirecTV all offer good deals for new customers (they also offer good deals for existing customers who threaten to cancel. I’m just sayin’). Comcast offers their Digital Starter package for $29.99 which features a pretty extensive line-up containing over 80 digital channels. As good as the deal sounds, it only lasts for six months and then the price skyrockets to $55.99. Bundling this package will save some cash if you want a VOIP phone line and high-speed cable. All of Comcast’s packages have an introductory price but all of them go up considerably. Comcast’s DVR service also costs are also a bit higher.
Dish Network offers similar introductory offers. The “Classic Bronze 100″ and “Classic Bronze 100+” both have discounted services at $24.99 and $29.99 respectively but go up nearly $15 at the end of the year-long commitment. “Classic Bronze 100″ offers more than 120 channels, including locals, CNN, ESPN, Disney Channel and Discovery Channel. “Bronze 100+” merely adds local sports coverage. Customers can add HD service for $10 and DVR service for an additional $6. According to Dish’s web site, HD service gives customers 55 more channels, which is a bit misleading since most of the channels are HD versions of existing stations.
Oddly, if you order Dish Networks cheapest package, Dish Family, it doesn’t have an introductory offer and costs only $24.99, not including HD and DVR services. The package contains local stations and a handful of family-friendly programming such as Nickelodeon, Discovery, Animal Planet and TV Land. Cable news giant Fox News is also provided.
DirecTV offers similar packages as Dish with bigger deals for new customers. The “Choice Package” offers over 150 channels including music channels. Normally this package runs $55.99 but for new customers DirecTV will only charge $29.99 for a full year. HD service at DirecTV is another $10 along with DVR service at $6, the same as Dish. DirecTV offers similar package discounts on all of the lineups. Their “Premier Package,” which is basically every program they have, includes premiums for $83.99 until 2011, not including HD and DVR. Even without the discount, DirecTV’s largest package arrives around $109 and compared to Comcast’s version of this plan, which currently costs $127, that’s still a pretty good deal.
Minus the basic cable package from Comcast which is just local programming, both DirecTV and Dish Network provide not only cheaper programming but much better value.
To summarize- Though the basic channel package from Comcast seems like a great savings on first glance, an apples to apples comparison paints a different picture. Thank you Kevin, for helping all the Cool Mommies (and Dads) understand this complex issue!
Introduction
Want to earn cash by doing random things? Commenting on blogs or recycling those old electronics lying around? Would someone actually pay for that? You bet they would! 
