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Find your groove with the music channels on Satellite TV
Last updated on January 17th, 2017 by George Levint
These days, the average music fan doesn’t really turn to their TV to enjoy their favorite tunes. It’s typically either iTunes on a handy device or a trusty home stereo system. Well, fact is, there’s a pretty nice (and growing) selection of music channels as part of your default DIRECTV and DISH programming. In most cases, they’re commercial-free and they’re ALL conveniently categorized by theme. So, for example, if it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, you’ll always be able to quickly find a 24-hr channel to keep you in the holiday mood (even with the in-laws in town :)). As no surprise, the scope of music channels offered by DIRECTV and DISH are just a bit different. In this article, we’ll quickly compare the two. So, if music is a big part of your entertainment and may help break the tie between the two, read on…
Note: we won’t be listing seasonal/holiday channels (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc.) as both providers offer a similar assortment of options. For each category below, a winner is named, primarily based on number of total music channels; if there’s no obvious difference, it’ll be declared a draw (subject to change as music programming evolves).
Category
DIRECTV
DISH
Music Provider (the folks that deliver and update the music)
13 total channels Channel #s: 6002-6018
Top 40 Hits, Pop Music Discovery, ’40s Pop, ’50s Pop, ’60s Pop, ’70s Pop, ’80s Pop, ’90s Pop, 2000s Pop, Studio 54, Lite Pop Hits, Love Songs, Limited Engagement
✓ Advantage
Rock Music
6 total channels Channel #s: 829-835, 837-841, 849
Hair Guitar, Full Metal Jacket, College Rock, Adult Alternative, Classic Rock, Alternative, Ink’d, Classic Hits, Reality Bites, New Wave, 8-Tracks, Spike, Soft Hits
24 total channels Channel #s: 6019-6042
Elvis 24/7, Bruce Springsteen, Little Stevens Underground, Pearl Jam, Grateful Dead, Margaritaville, ’70/’80s Rock, ’60s/’70s Rock, Deep Classic, Adult Album, Jam Bands, Contemporary, Acoustic, Mellow, Classic Alternative, ’90s Grunge, Indie, New Alternative, Hard Rock, Classic Hard Rock, ’80s Hair Bands, Heavy Metal, Action Sports, Reggae
✓ Advantage
Hip-Hop/R&B Music
5 total channels Channel #s: 824, 825, 842, 869, 874
Groove Lounge, Hot Jamz, Classic R&B, Bailamos, Salsa
24 total channels Channel #s: 6044-6049
Hip-Hop Hits, Eminem, Old Skool Rap, R&B Hits, Adult R&B Hits, Classic Soul
✓ Advantage
Dance Music
6 total channels Channel #s: 856, 858, 859, 860, 861, 862
New Age, Subterranean, Dance (general), Modern Workout, Pump!, Class Rock Workout
7 total channels Channel #s: 808-814
Traditional Country, Hit Country, Red, Rock and Blues, Honky Tonk, Bluegrass, Folk, Modern Country
✓ Advantage
5 total channels Channel #s: 6056-6061
Classic Country, ’90s Country, New Country, Rockin’ Country, Bluegrass
Christian Music
0 total channels Channel #s: –
2 total channels Channel #s: 6063-6064
Christian Pop and Rock, Gospel
✓ Advantage
Jazz/Standards Music
10 total channels Channel #s: 801, 822, 823, 850-855
Big Band, Silver Screen, Showtunes, Classic Jazz, Smooth Jazz, General, Blend, Metro Blend, Blues, Great Standards
✓ Advantage
7 total channels Channel #s: 6066-6072
Smooth Jazz, Classic Jazz, New Age, Beautiful Music, B.B. King’s Blues, Sinatra, Show Tunes
Classical Music
5 total channels Channel #s: 864-868
Symphonic, Piano, Light Classical, Be-Tween, The Playground
✓ Advantage
3 total channels Channel #s: 6074-6076
Opera, Classical Pops, Traditional Classical
Latin Music
10 total channels Channel #s: 869-878
Bailamos!, Fiesta Tropical, Latin Hits, Music of the Americas, Regional Mexican, Salsa, Hurbano, Mariachi, Carnaval Brasileiro, Rock en Espanol
– draw –
10 total channels Channel #s: 6090-6099
Tropical Latin, Contemporary, Spanish and English, Latin Urban, Regional Mexican, Latin Love Songs, Classic Ballads, Latin Jazz, Classic Salsa, Latin Rock
– draw –
Other
DIRECTV also offers a nice little mix of Italian, Brazilian and Contemporary music channels. They account for less than 5 total channels, but if you’re looking for those specific themes, they’re a worthwhile bonus.
✓ Advantage
Other than holiday and seasonal, DISH (SIRUIS) doesn’t really carry any other bonus channels…though with their comprehensive coverage, most won’t need much more.
Total ValueScore (relative, aggregate score for all categories)
George is the senior editor at DigitalFind and an expert in how technology at home impacts our lives. From funky analog radios to AI devices that try to out-think you, he's usually unfairly critical until proven otherwise. He also enjoys spending the occasional weekend off-grid to keep Skynet guessing.
