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February wasn't an additional increase like CordCutters claims in their clickbait, it was just legacy packages like "Go Big" that weren't affected by the October increase. Those ATT TV Now era packages haven't been available for new signups in years and also weren't affected by some other previous increases.

The genre packs weren't part of any previous increases, in the time since they launched in February 2025, the AMC Networks, Hallmark, Paramount/CBS, Weigel and others joined, along with the ad supported tiers of AMC+, HBO Max and Vix

For Premiere you can place some of the blame on HBO Max, Starz and Paramount+. Everytime their D2C prices go up, nearly every provider that has them bundled eventually raises their price to match it.

In addition to all of those quiet renewals, there were multiple retrans disputes that were resolved.

KyL416 said:

February wasn't an additional increase like CordCutters claims in their clickbait, it was just legacy packages like "Go Big" that weren't affected by the October increase.

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So two increases in just 9 months?

Entertainment $97
Choice $131.99
Ultimate $153.99
Premiere $195.99
Optimo Mas $103.99

Bruce said:

So two increases in just 9 months?

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DIRECTV is far from the only provider having increases after 9 months instead of every 12 months. If you ever dive into the filings in a state where the public utilities commission regulates cable like Connecticut or NY, you'll see multiple rate increase filings. i.e. Spectrum has been doing it every 6 months with increases in July 2024, January 2025, July 2025 and January 2026. Some other providers don't even wait until the next increase before matching the D2C price changes for HBO Max, Starz, Paramount+, MGM+, AMC+, etc and do it as soon as they reach the 30 day notice requirement.

Meanwhile streaming only services launch with backers that let them set prices well below what their actual programming and operating costs are to build up their subscriber base, until their backers want a return on their investment and they start increasing prices, dropping channels like YTTV did with most of the RSNs, and Fubo did with WBD and NBCU, deciding to keep costs down by catering to non-sports viewers like Philo and Frndly, or folding entirely like PS Vue and Vidgo. They also don't need to deal with station groups like Nexstar, Sinclair and Gray to get access to the Big 4 as the retrans laws covering cable, telco and satellite do not apply to streaming only providers, and with CW's live sports including NXT joining ESPN Unlimited, they will be able to bypass Nexstar entirely.

jamieh1 said:

Entertainment $97
Choice $131.99
Ultimate $153.99
Premiere $195.99
Optimo Mas $103.99

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I wish. The current cost of Ultimate on my account is $173.99/month and that is going up to $186.99 on June 25, 2026.

b4pjoe said:

The current cost of Ultimate on my account is $173.99/month

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A $20 differential sounds like the difference in RSN pricing.

KyL416 said:

DIRECTV is far from the only provider having increases after 9 months instead of every 12 months. If you ever dive into the filings in a state where the public utilities commission regulates cable like Connecticut or NY, you'll see multiple rate increase filings. i.e. Spectrum has been doing it every 6 months with increases in July 2024, January 2025, July 2025 and January 2026.

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And I have given the term 'yech' to Spectrum many times in the past based on their prices.

KyL416 said:

Some other providers don't even wait until the next increase before matching the D2C price changes for HBO Max, Starz, Paramount+, MGM+, AMC+, etc and do it as soon as they reach the 30 day notice requirement.

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Has nothing to do with DirecTV raising the monthly prices twice a year, specially since those services only has increases once a year.

Those services are a extra no matter if you subscribe to a Live TV service or a cord cutter.

KyL416 said:

Meanwhile streaming only services launch with backers that let them set prices well below what their actual programming and operating costs are to build up their subscriber base, until their backers want a return on their investment and they start increasing prices, dropping channels like YTTV did with most of the RSNs

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That was the smartest decision YTTV made, since afterwards, YTTV had a incredible growth in subscribers, now at about 13 Million, grown to become the #2 Provider behind Charter/Spectrum, vs DirecTV, who has shrunk to become the #4 Provider, about 8 Million subs ( was about 24 Million, roughly 10 years ago).

The RSNs receive very low ratings, the vast majority of people do not care for them, hence why the times are catching up to those channels.

Bruce said:

Has nothing to do with DirecTV raising the monthly prices twice a year, specially since those services only has increases once a year.

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Premiums are not the only programming cost that has gone up in the months since the previous increase was announced in early September. They struck new deals with AMC Networks, Hallmark, RFD/Cowboy, Urban One, Sony and others and had multiple retrans disputes that have since been resolved. They expanded the diginets (which are not free to providers) to Entertainment, and added Lionsgate's MovieSphere Gold and Scripps's Ion Mystery. Networks still charge extra for HD distribution, and over the past few networks multiple networks were upgraded to HD on the streaming side, and were also upgraded on satellite. They also signed deals for all of the team specific MLB channels and multiple NBA and NHL team channels, most of which have deals that require Choice or higher. And considering how last minute those deals were, it wasn't as simple as paying the MLB teams the same rate they would have been paying FanDuel and others. Scripps also started charging more for their former Ion stations that converted to "The Spot" and picked up local NHL rights.

KyL416 said:

Premiums are not the only programming cost that has gone up in the months since the previous increase was announced in early September. They struck new deals with AMC Networks, Hallmark, RFD/Cowboy, Urban One, Sony and others and had multiple retrans disputes that have since been resolved. They expanded the diginets (which are not free to providers) to Entertainment, and added Lionsgate's MovieSphere Gold and Scripps's Ion Mystery. Networks still charge extra for HD distribution, and over the past few networks multiple networks were upgraded to HD on the streaming side, and were also upgraded on satellite. They also signed deals for all of the team specific MLB channels and multiple NBA and NHL team channels, most of which have deals that require Choice or higher. And considering how last minute those deals were, it wasn't as simple as paying the MLB teams the same rate they would have been paying FanDuel and others. Scripps also started charging more for their former Ion stations that converted to "The Spot" and picked up local NHL rights.

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All Live TV Services, including YTTV ( just had a Disney dispute last October), have increased programming costs, all, yet they are not having two price increases a year.

YTTV, which is now profitable at even their low price, only averages a increase every two years.

What is even worse, you are receiving less and less new programming ( especially scripted) for those price increases.

harshness said:

A $20 differential sounds like the difference in RSN pricing.

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The price of Ultimate for me $173.99 plus a $13.99 RSN fee.

b4pjoe said:

The price of Ultimate for me $173.99 plus a $13.99 RSN fee.

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I'm glad I got out when I did, I had the same package as you ... I even waited a few years to long really.

Its been several years since I had dish or Directv, but it is mind boggling to me what the prices have gone to in that time.