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The largest DIRECTV package of the lot, Premier brings you EVERY channel available, period. Compared to Ultimate, you get all the premium movie networks – HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax – as a permanent part of this plan (i.e., there’s no 3 month trial period, they’re all included in the base price). With regards to sports, you get 35 new channels, including the YES Network (Yankees games, etc), GOLTV, CBS College Sports and a bunch of other local broadcasts.
Premier Plan Features:
Over 340 all-digital channels (105+ in HD)
HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ and Cinemax included
35 more regional sports channels
Free Genie DVR system + 3 Genie minis for additional TVs
65 more channels than Choice Ultimate
Over 7,000 On Demand shows & movies included (3k more than the Entertainment plan)
Free Local Channels (available to >99% of US)
Standard Professional Installation included
Ideal for…
Anyone who’s gotta have it all (with no exceptions!). Priced $50 more than the Ultimate plan throughout your promotional period, you’ll get nearly 70 more top-tier sports, movie and entertainment channels. After the special runs out in a year, the regular price kicks in at $181/mo, giving you plenty of time to decide if you want to downgrade or stand pat. Here are the details:
Total Cost (no extra fees)
$154.99/mo (promo pricing during 1st year) Thereafter, you pay the prevailing price at the time
DISH plan it most closely compares to
America’s Everything Pak – Premier is about $20 more and includes every major channel found in Pak, and then some. Stacked side-by-side, they’re just about equal in value (other than DIRECTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket).
Final Thoughts
If you compare the top packages across the leading providers (in satellite TV, cable and VOIP), for my money, DIRECTV’s Premier plan trumps them all. They all deliver the most popular channels, but since DIRECTV is the industry leader, they hold a significant edge in exclusivity and leverage over the competition. For example, you won’t find the NFL Sunday Ticket, ESPN Classic, SportsMix, MSG, Audience Network and a bunch of other major and specialty channels on DISH Network. And as new technology and programming gets added, you can be sure it’ll be broadcast to Premier package subscribers first. So if you don’t ever want miss out and and it fits into your budget, this is probably the plan for you.
Every DIRECTV plan includes:
2-Year Price Guarantee
Smart DVR (Genie or Gemini)
ALL your local channels
Regional Sports Networks (local teams)
Free premium movie deal
Full professional installation (soon as tomorrow)
About the author
George Levint
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.
