DirecTV Reviews

DIRECTV Select Package

Not bad for a basic TV package, but watch out for the price increase.

DIRECTV’s cheapest TV package has 145+ channels for $50 a month for the first year. Many channels are new to us (PIVOT, NewsMaxTV, MavTV), but this package does have some of our favorites, such as Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, FX, and more, including Syfy—home of the Sharknado series.

This package has some great channels (we mention more below), including many in HD, but be sure to check and compare first- and second-year prices.

DIRECTV Entertainment Package

It’s really just the SELECT package plus ESPN.

DIRECTV’s next package, Entertainment, has 150+ channels, and the first-year price is only $5 a month more than the Select package. The small price difference is telling—there isn’t much difference between the Select and Entertainment package, except for sports. Entertainment includes ESPN, ESPN2, and Fox Sports 1.

DIRECTV Choice Package

If Choice has your must-have channel, get it. Otherwise, go with another package

The CHOICE package has 175+ channels. There’s more channels for the sports fan: ESPNews, ESPNU, MLB Network, and the NFL Network. There’s also IFC, Al Jazeera News, OWN, and others (see more below). The first-year price is only $5 a month more than the Entertainment package, so it may be appealing if you want those 25+ channels.

DIRECTV XTRA Package

XTRA is for the sports completist.

The XTRA package ups the count to 220+ channels, and we think this may be the best package for the all-around sports fan. The previous package has the MLB and NFL Network, but the XTRA package adds the two missing professional sports channels: NBA and NHL TV (in HD too!). Aside from sports, the package adds BBC World News, Sundance, and others (see more below).

DIRECTV Ultimate Package

The non-premium movie channels are nice, but that’s about it.

The ULTIMATE package has 240+ channels, but of those additional channels, many are music or niche channels (El Rey, FXX, DIY Network). There are a few non-premium movie channels added, such as Encore and The Movie Channel, but that’s about it. We’re not sure why the Ultimate gets its own TV package, but it’s always nice to have options.

DIRECTV Premier Package

The Premiere package has the most channels and a high price to match. There are 315+ channels, including premium movie channels, such as HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz. And just when we thought we’d seen all the sports channels, this package adds more: ESPN Classic, Root Sports, Comcast Sportsnet, and others (see more below). There’s also the Outdoor Channel… now, we’ve mentioned everything.