DirecTV Satellite - 95+ bonus channels over streaming?

[jcrandall]

So...DirecTV advertises the Choice package with 95+ bonus channels for Satellite customers. You don't want 90+ of the 95...

Excluding PPV, premium networks, infomercial, shopping, religion, and non-English programming, there are 7 channels on satellite that are not on streaming:
NFL Network, MavTV, FE TV, Free Speech, NASA, INSP, and Pursuit. I'm pretty sure a couple of those are public interest that they have to carry to meet an FCC quota on satellite.

I hope they get called out for this advertising because that is ridiculous. One big network, NFL, will probably get added to streaming when their next agreement comes up, and the rest are likely very low viewership.

What about streaming, what do you get extra with the Choice package that isn't on Satellite:
Two stations - one of which is an internet TV - Fox Weather, and Heros & Icons (a diginet). Nothing special here to look at either.

If they cleaned up a couple of their agreements, added a few public interest stations to streaming, they could probably have their lineups match. It's close now, if you take out all the garbage on satellite that they earn money on. If they can sell infomercials on satellite, why can't they on streaming, seems like a miss. A bigger miss, including those stations in the "bonus channels just for satellite customers." Pretty sad marketing right there.

Attached is a comparison sheet of satellite vs streaming for the three main packages if anyone is interested.

 

[Mr Tony]

A&E is included in stream entertainment (you have it blank)
Also we get 565 (hallmark movie and mysteries) in stream entertainment.
INSP is part of movies extra pack for $5

 

[KyL416]

Music Choice is satellite only, so they include those 84 channels as part of the total channel counts for each package. (Unfortunately the latest lineup pdf has a bunch of obvious errors in the Music Choice section, and the new "merged" package comparison page is missing MC and most of the other satellite only channels, so I'm not sure of the total audio channel count for Choice)

In addition to INSP, which requires Movies Extra on Stream, the spanish and international P/I channels in the 400s (HITN, Canal Once, Enlace, Daystar Espanol) and 2000s (Arirang) are also only available in their respective foreign language packages and are not part of Entertainment and higher on Stream.


Here's the full list of what's currently only available to satellite subscribers (excluding Mix Channels, Adult channels, and Cinema/Infomercial channels that are just filler when the spare bandwidth isn't needed for part time chanels like RSN alternates):
114-124 PPV Events (some live events are also available via apps like Fite or B/R, but many others are only available via traditional PPV outlets)
214 MavTV (Pay to play)
224 Shepherd's Chapel (Pay to play)
228 Gem Shopping Network (Pay to play)
245-1 TNT West
247-1 TBS West
249-1 Comedy Central West
279-1 OWN West
291 Disney Channel West
297 Cartoon Network West
300 Nickelodeon West
310 HSN2 (Pay to play)
316 ShopHQ (Pay to play)
322/2049 NHK World (P/I)
323 FETV (Pay to play)
325-1 JLTV (P/I)
329-1 BET West
331-1 MTV West
343 i24 News
344 SBN (Pay to Play)
348 FSTV (P/I)
352 NASA (P/I)
363 GEB America (P/I)
365 GodTV (P/I)
366 Victory (Pay to Play)
367 WHT (P/I)
368 Hope (P/I)
370 EWTN (P/I)
371 TBN Inspire (P/I)
372 TBN (Pay to Play)
373 Word (P/I)
374 BYU (P/I)
375 Blossom TV (P/I)
376 CTN (P/I)
377 TCT (P/I)
378 NRB (P/I)
379 Faith TV (P/I)
380 Impact (P/I)
388 JBS (P/I)
403 Univision West
407 Telemundo West
426 Starz Encore Espanol
456 ESNE (P/I)
504 HBO West
505 HBO2 West
508 HBO Family West
516 Cinemax West
526 Starz West
546 Showtime West
553 The Movie Channel
554 The Movie Channel West
555 The Movie Channel Xtra
556 Flix
562 DogTV
563 So Yummy (P/I)
603 Cowboy Channel
604 Pursuit (Pay to Play)
608 Stadium College Sports Atlantic (Ceasing on 12/31)
608-1 Stadium College Sports Central (Ceasing on 12/31)
608-2 Stadium College Sports Pacific (Ceasing on 12/31)
621 Fox Soccer Plus
800-886 Music Choice (includes the 6 "Ultra" channels with slideshows and their app that has 28 music video channels and about 2 dozen additional non-stop audio channels)
202x Italian Direct
2039 Little Saigon Radio Channel
2040 TV Japan (NHK's domestic newscasts and certain live events are available to all customers, with live English dubbing)
204x Japan Direct
205x Mandarin Direct
2053/2119 CGTN (Pay to play)
206x Filipino Direct
2085 KBS Korea
2093 RadioS
210x Cantonese Direct
2148 RTVI

 

[c-spand]

You can also download the Music Choice app on android too,

 

[KyL416]

You can also download the Music Choice app on android too,

Music Choice is only available on DirecTV Satellite, so Stream customers can't login to the Music Choice app.

 

[c-spand]

Music Choice - Apps on Google Play

Listen to Ad-Free Music with your TV subscription!

play.google.com

DID YOU KNOW? Music Choice is the most popular TV Network for expertly curated Music Channels, HD music videos, and more. Take your favorite channels on the go now with the Music Choice app! LISTEN With 85 …

3.5/5 Developer: Music ChoiceAge Rating: TeenCategory:Music & Audio


Download

 

[KyL416]

Yes, that's the app, but again, you can't login and use it unless you have an account with a provider that carries Music Choice, so DirecTV Satellite customers can use the app, but DirecTV Stream customers can't. U-Verse customers can't use it too as they use Stingray for their music channels.

 

[DirecTVFanSince2016]

Music Choice is satellite only, so they include those 84 channels as part of the total channel counts for each package. (Unfortunately the latest lineup pdf has a bunch of obvious errors in the Music Choice section, and the new "merged" package comparison page is missing MC and most of the other satellite only channels, so I'm not sure of the total audio channel count for Choice)

In addition to INSP, which requires Movies Extra on Stream, the spanish and international P/I channels in the 400s (HITN, Canal Once, Enlace, Daystar Espanol) and 2000s (Arirang) are also only available in their respective foreign language packages and are not part of Entertainment and higher on Stream.

BTW, NFL Network's renewal could end up being a mess, DirecTV basically got it for free because of Sunday Ticket, which is why Stream never had it and they let their U-Verse deal lapse.

Here's the full list of what's currently only available to satellite subscribers (excluding Mix Channels, Adult channels, and Cinema/Infomercial channels that are just filler when the spare bandwidth isn't needed for part time chanels like RSN alternates):
104 DirecTV 4K
114-124 PPV Events (some live events are also available via apps like Fite or B/R, but many others are only available via traditional PPV outlets)
212 NFL Network
213-1 MLB Network Alternate (MLBN schedules many games regionally where half of the country gets one game and the other half gets the alternate game, so it's not just for people living in the cities of the teams playing on the main channel like the NFL or NHL Network alternates)
214 MavTV (Pay to play)
224 Shepherd's Chapel (Pay to play)
245-1 TNT West
247-1 TBS West
249-1 Comedy Central West
279-1 OWN West
291 Disney Channel West
297 Cartoon Network West
300 Nickelodeon West
310 HSN2 (Pay to play)
316 ShopHQ (Pay to play)
322/2049 NHK World (P/I)
323 FETV (Pay to play)
325-1 JLTV (P/I)
329-1 BET West
331-1 MTV West
343 i24 News
344 SBN (Pay to Play)
348 FSTV (P/I)
352 NASA (P/I)
363 GEB America (P/I)
365 GodTV (P/I)
366 Victory (Pay to Play)
367 WHT (P/I)
368 Hope (P/I)
370 EWTN (P/I)
371 TBN Inspire (P/I)
372 TBN (Pay to Play)
373 Word (P/I)
374 BYU (P/I)
376 CTN (P/I)
377 TCT (P/I)
378 NRB (P/I)
379 Living Faith (P/I)
380 Impact (P/I)
388 JBS (P/I)
403 Univision West
407 Telemundo West
426 Starz Encore Espanol
456 ESNE (P/I)
504 HBO West
505 HBO2 West
508 HBO Family West
516 Cinemax West
526 Starz West
546 Showtime West
553 The Movie Channel
554 The Movie Channel West
555 The Movie Channel Xtra
556 Flix
562 DogTV
563 So Yummy (P/I)
603 Cowboy Channel
604 Pursuit (Pay to Play)
606 Outdoor Channel
608 Stadium College Sports Atlantic
608-1 Stadium College Sports Central
608-2 Stadium College Sports Pacific
611-1 SEC Network Alternate (These events also stream via SEC Network+, but ESPN's streams don't have Dolby 5.1 audio)
621 Fox Soccer Plus
623 Next Level Sports
719 MLB Network Strike Zone
788-798 ESPN College Extra (These events also stream via ESPN3, but without Dolby 5.1 audio)
800-886 Music Choice (includes the 6 "Ultra" channels with slideshows and their app that has 28 music video channels and about 2 dozen additional non-stop audio channels)
202x Italian Direct
2040 TV Japan (NHK's domestic newscasts and certain live events are available to all customers, with live English dubbing)
204x Japan Direct
205x Mandarin Direct
2053/2119 CGTN (Pay to play)
206x Filipino Direct
210x Cantonese Direct
2148 RTVI

Out of market RSNs, including Longhorn, are also only available to satellite subscribers as Stream has no Sports Pack

Is there a full list of P/I and play-to-play channels available anywhere?

 

[DirecTVFanSince2016]

(Unfortunately the latest lineup pdf has a bunch of obvious errors in the Music Choice section, and the new "merged" package comparison page is missing MC and most of the other satellite only channels, so I'm not sure of the total audio channel count for Choice)

I have Choice, and I went through every MC channel shown on my Channels I Get list. These are the ones that didn't give me a 721 error.
801 MCBB
802 MCMF
803 MC60
804 MC70
804-1 MC70U
805 MC80
805-1 MC80U
806 MC90
807 MCSW
808 MCCO
808-1 MCCCU
809 MCCH
810 MCAM
811 MCHT
812 MCBG
814 MCTC
814-1 MCTCU
816 MCHL
817 MCY2
818 MCMA
819 MCLS
820 MCCI
821 MCPH
822 MCMS
823 MCBW
825 MCHH
826 MCCC
827 MCGO
828 MCGH
830 MCME
832 MCAA
833 MCCR
833-1 MCCRU
834 MCAL
835 MCHR
836 MCCS
838 MCCA
840 MCPC
842 MCRC
843 MCRS
845 MCCD
846 MCRP
847 MCMR
849 MCSR
850 MCJH
851 MCSJ
853 MCEL
854 MCBL
855 MCJV
856 MCNA
857 MCSO
857-1 MCSOU
858 MCXM
859 MCDE
863 MCRG
864 MCSY
866 MCLC
870 MCRM
871 MCPL
874 MCTR
875 MCMU
876 MCMX
878 MCRL
879 MCLJ
885 MCFI
886 MCVI
I count 66 channels.

 

[KyL416]

There's been several changes since then (most recently 4K being available to stream customers)

Can anyone with a Stream/Internet account confirm the status of the west coast feeds like Comedy, TNT, TBS, BET, MTV and the west coast HBO/MAX/Starz/Showtime feeds? Are they now available to you or are they still satellite customers only?

 

[raoul5788]

There's been several changes since then (most recently 4K being available to stream customers)

Can anyone with a Stream/Internet account confirm the status of the west coast feeds like Comedy, TNT, TBS, BET, MTV and the west coast HBO/MAX/Starz/Showtime feeds? Are they now available to you or are they still satellite customers only?

Stream customers with a Gemini box.

 

[KyL416]

It's also available for Roku Ultra devices, and they plan to expand it to Google/Android TV, FireTV and Apple TV over the next few weeks.

 

[raoul5788]

It's also available for Roku Ultra devices, and they plan to expand it to Google/Android TV, FireTV and Apple TV over the next few weeks.

Good! Maybe it will be available to us who are using just the app.

 

[John2021]

Music Choice is satellite only, so they include those 84 channels as part of the total channel counts for each package. (Unfortunately the latest lineup pdf has a bunch of obvious errors in the Music Choice section, and the new "merged" package comparison page is missing MC and most of the other satellite only channels, so I'm not sure of the total audio channel count for Choice)

In addition to INSP, which requires Movies Extra on Stream, the spanish and international P/I channels in the 400s (HITN, Canal Once, Enlace, Daystar Espanol) and 2000s (Arirang) are also only available in their respective foreign language packages and are not part of Entertainment and higher on Stream.

BTW, NFL Network's renewal could end up being a mess, DirecTV basically got it for free because of Sunday Ticket, which is why Stream never had it and they let their U-Verse deal lapse.

Here's the full list of what's currently only available to satellite subscribers (excluding Mix Channels, Adult channels, and Cinema/Infomercial channels that are just filler when the spare bandwidth isn't needed for part time chanels like RSN alternates):
104 DirecTV 4K
114-124 PPV Events (some live events are also available via apps like Fite or B/R, but many others are only available via traditional PPV outlets)
212 NFL Network
213-1 MLB Network Alternate (MLBN schedules many games regionally where half of the country gets one game and the other half gets the alternate game, so it's not just for people living in the cities of the teams playing on the main channel like the NFL or NHL Network alternates)
214 MavTV (Pay to play)
224 Shepherd's Chapel (Pay to play)
228 Gem Shopping Network (Pay to play)
245-1 TNT West
247-1 TBS West
249-1 Comedy Central West
279-1 OWN West
291 Disney Channel West
297 Cartoon Network West
300 Nickelodeon West
310 HSN2 (Pay to play)
316 ShopHQ (Pay to play)
322/2049 NHK World (P/I)
323 FETV (Pay to play)
325-1 JLTV (P/I)
329-1 BET West
331-1 MTV West
343 i24 News
344 SBN (Pay to Play)
348 FSTV (P/I)
352 NASA (P/I)
363 GEB America (P/I)
365 GodTV (P/I)
366 Victory (Pay to Play)
367 WHT (P/I)
368 Hope (P/I)
370 EWTN (P/I)
371 TBN Inspire (P/I)
372 TBN (Pay to Play)
373 Word (P/I)
374 BYU (P/I)
376 CTN (P/I)
377 TCT (P/I)
378 NRB (P/I)
379 Living Faith (P/I)
380 Impact (P/I)
388 JBS (P/I)
403 Univision West
407 Telemundo West
426 Starz Encore Espanol
456 ESNE (P/I)
504 HBO West
505 HBO2 West
508 HBO Family West
516 Cinemax West
526 Starz West
546 Showtime West
553 The Movie Channel
554 The Movie Channel West
555 The Movie Channel Xtra
556 Flix
562 DogTV
563 So Yummy (P/I)
603 Cowboy Channel
604 Pursuit (Pay to Play)
606 Outdoor Channel
608 Stadium College Sports Atlantic
608-1 Stadium College Sports Central
608-2 Stadium College Sports Pacific
621 Fox Soccer Plus
623 Next Level Sports
719 MLB Network Strike Zone
788-798 ESPN College Extra (These events also stream via ESPN3, but without Dolby 5.1 audio)
800-886 Music Choice (includes the 6 "Ultra" channels with slideshows and their app that has 28 music video channels and about 2 dozen additional non-stop audio channels)
202x Italian Direct
2040 TV Japan (NHK's domestic newscasts and certain live events are available to all customers, with live English dubbing)
204x Japan Direct
205x Mandarin Direct
2053/2119 CGTN (Pay to play)
206x Filipino Direct
210x Cantonese Direct
2148 RTVI

Out of market RSNs, including Longhorn, are also only available to satellite subscribers as Stream has no Sports Pack

They could dump the music choice channels they suck. The Playlists are the same and haven't been rotated in like forever

 

[DirecTVFanSince2016]

What would they replace them with? Stingray Music?

 

[John2021]

Yes, that's the app, but again, you can't login and use it unless you have an account with a provider that carries Music Choice, so DirecTV Satellite customers can use the app, but DirecTV Stream customers can't. U-Verse customers can't use it too as they use Stingray for their music channels.

You should be able to download panorama Spotify sxm and Stream them. They have better Playlist than Mc. I wish they would drop Mc channels as they never change there playlists

 

[John2021]

What would they replace them with? Stingray Music?

We Stream sxm. But do people really need music channels via cable or sat in today's world

 

[KyL416]

SiriusXM has DJ/promo interruptions, and unless you pay extra, you get ad interruptions on Pandora and Spotify, while Music Choice has a TVE app that gives you several dozen additional non-stop music channels at no additional cost. Music Choice is also owned by a consortium of Comcast, Cox and Charter (via their Time Warner Cable purchase), so at least on 3 of the biggest providers in the country, it's not in danger of being replaced. But if you do want to use Pandora for a custom selection, that's also an option for both Hx2x receivers and Genies.


The big money maker for the audio channels is serving commercial customers since Music Choice covers the music licenses public establishments would otherwise have to pay on their own. Like when DIRECTV had XM, they commissioned custom Sonic Tap channels from DMX to replace the Spanish channels after everything but Caliente was purged during the SiriusXM merger, along with the commercial targetted channels like Italian for restaurants, Irish for pubs, Workout for gyms, Nature for waiting rooms, etc. Eventually they used Sonic Tap/DMX for all of their audio channels, and when they switched back to Music Choice, they commissioned custom channels to replace the ones that weren't replicated by Music Choice's existing lineup.

Also, Music Choice is spread out with no more than 4 audio only channels per transponder and the "Ultra" channels are very low bitrate as they're basically slideshows with still images, so even if they got rid of all the music choice channels, it wouldn't even free up enough space for a single SD channel on the 101 or 103ca slots.

 

[raoul5788]

It's also available for Roku Ultra devices, and they plan to expand it to Google/Android TV, FireTV and Apple TV over the next few weeks.

Is it confirmed that 4k is now available for streaming customers without a box on the Roku Ultra?

 

[CSM]

Do they plan on adding anymore channels to the DTV APP? Maybe METV, H&I and FETV? Thanks.