Tell me about the Sports pack

[aquaman67]

I have a friend who wants Dish and wants to know about the sports pack.

I don't have it and am not interested in it for myself.

So,

What channels do you get if you have the top 250 pack?

And is it worth it to someone who really likes sports?

 

[Ira Lacher]

You will get out-of-market RSNs, but pro games outside your teams' market area will be blacked out. Some college games may be blacked out too. I also believe that ESPN Classic is now on that tier.

Having said that, if you live in a "crossroads" area where several teams' market areas overlap, the sports pack will enable you to see those teams' games. E.g. In Des Moines, the White Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Twins and Royals all come in clear. If you aren't in that situation, the out-of-market RSNs won't be worth much, unless you like seeing local sports news shows and other non-live-game programming.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I have a friend who wants Dish and wants to know about the sports pack.

I don't have it and am not interested in it for myself.

So,

What channels do you get if you have the top 250 pack?

And is it worth it to someone who really likes sports?

These are the channel lists:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/Channel-Lineup/StandardHDChannelGuide.pdf (except Alaska, Hawaii, and Dish Latino)
[(For Alaska, http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/Channel-Lineup/AlaskaChannelGuide.pdf)
(For Hawaii, http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/Channel-Lineup/HawaiiChannelGuide.pdf)
(For DishLatino, http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/Channel-Lineup/OnlineChannel_Latino.pdf)]
and
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/Channel-Lineup/SiriusChannelGuide.pdf
(Sirius Channel Guide)
Note: Espn Classic is no longer in America's Top 200 or higher; it is now in the Multi-Sport package for $5.99 extra a month. The link to a little information about it: Sports Programming and Sports Channels Available at DISH Network

I hope this helps; I found it helpful when switching to E* from D*.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I have a friend who wants Dish and wants to know about the sports pack.

I don't have it and am not interested in it for myself.

So,

What channels do you get if you have the top 250 pack?

And is it worth it to someone who really likes sports?

You'll get NFL Red Zone too.
College Black outs are rare. And most times when they are balcked out, the games are on your local networks,or ESPN.
I had no issues watching college football last year,ESPN Game Plan is a rip off, its not needed.
But if you like College, ESPN Classic,and NFL Red Zone, the Multi sports pack is well worth the $5.99.
Pro Sports , For get it, they are useless. Only your local RSN's won't be blacked out.
You'll Find that 90% of the programming is repeated/Mirrored on just about every FSN channel when there are no games on.
Infomercial Heaven

 

[gopherscot]

For 5.95 it beats the heck out of the overpriced D* alternative at 12.95. I, like Ira, live in Iowa and it is a great deal for me. Also get the Big 10 network if you live out of the Big 10 markets .. I believe. Love the Red Zone for pro football as well.

 

[satjay]

You'll get NFL Red Zone too.
College Black outs are rare. And most times when they are balcked out, the games are on your local networks,or ESPN.
I had no issues watching college football last year,ESPN Game Plan is a rip off, its not needed.
But if you like College, ESPN Classic,and NFL Red Zone, the Multi sports pack is well worth the $5.99.
Pro Sports , For get it, they are useless. Only your local RSN's won't be blacked out.
You'll Find that 90% of the programming is repeated/Mirrored on just about every FSN channel when there are no games on.
Infomercial Heaven

Agree with Hemi, if you are a college football fan and want Redzone in HD for the "fall" season I think its worth it, many around here turn it on around football season (college) then shut it down after

Though if you surf around during baseball season, you can get some action if games go over there slotted time.

 

[Mr Tony]

For 5.95 it beats the heck out of the overpriced D* alternative at 12.95.

really?

Lets play devils advocate here. Here is a list of channels in the D* sports pack that are not in the E* sports pack and where they might be located

Fox Soccer Channel (AT250)
Fox Sports Espanol (N/A for English subs...only for Spanish subs)
GolTV (N/A)
The Mountain (N/A)
Outdoor Channel (AT250)
YES (N/A)
Fox College Sports (N/A)

dang....4 channels (and I'm only including FCS as one channel...they usually have 2 or even 3 up at once) that Dish subs cant get at all...well 5 if you include Fox Sports Espanol and the other two are part of AT250

I guess soccer fans, fans of the Mountain Conference, fans whose team is on FCS (like North Dakota Fighting Sioux) must think its a bad deal too

 

[satjay]

really?

Lets play devils advocate here. Here is a list of channels in the D* sports pack that are not in the E* sports pack and where they might be located

Fox Soccer Channel (AT250)
Fox Sports Espanol (N/A for English subs...only for Spanish subs)
GolTV (N/A)
The Mountain (N/A)
Outdoor Channel (AT250)
YES (N/A)
Fox College Sports (N/A)

dang....4 channels (and I'm only including FCS as one channel...they usually have 2 or even 3 up at once) that Dish subs cant get at all...well 5 if you include Fox Sports Espanol and the other two are part of AT250

I guess soccer fans, fans of the Mountain Conference, fans whose team is on FCS (like North Dakota Fighting Sioux) must think its a bad deal too

I know there is nothing as exactly the same comparable packages, so its hard to dibate and I dont want to turn this in to a war posts but....if you get the Direct package that is closest to 250 for dish, you then have to pay 12 for the Fox Soccer Channel. Unless I am missing something???

I am a bit bias as I enjoy the Fox Soccer Channel and it would be a bit of a bummer to pay the 12 bucks extra for it.

 

[Bogy]

I'm with gopherscot. I'm in Iowa, and for the sports I want to watch, Dish has a much better deal. As with many things in life, YMMV. Depends on what kind of sports you want to watch, and what your location is. Since we don't actually know where the friend lives, and what sports he is interested in, its hard to be specific.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I know there is nothing as exactly the same comparable packages, so its hard to dibate and I dont want to turn this in to a war posts but....if you get the Direct package that is closest to 250 for dish, you then have to pay 12 for the Fox Soccer Channel. Unless I am missing something???

.

Exactly.
Add $12.99 to
Family = $42.98
Select = $52.98
Choice =$71.98
Choice Extra = $76.98
Choice Ultimate = $81.98, (Includes CBS-C)
To get Fox Soccer and CBS-C.

These are included in Top 250 Pack. For $62.99
The $5.99 for Red Zone is worth it alone IMO.
But again this isn't really about D* since we are in the Dish Network forum.

 

[kschwi]

You will get out-of-market RSNs, but pro games outside your teams' market area will be blacked out. Some college games may be blacked out too. I also believe that ESPN Classic is now on that tier.

Having said that, if you live in a "crossroads" area where several teams' market areas overlap, the sports pack will enable you to see those teams' games. E.g. In Des Moines, the White Sox, Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Twins and Royals all come in clear. If you aren't in that situation, the out-of-market RSNs won't be worth much, unless you like seeing local sports news shows and other non-live-game programming.

Many of these channels (NBATV, BIG10NW, NHLTV and NFLNW) are already included in the TOP 200. They should have a reduced price for those in a higher tier.

I already get Foxsports North as well although I should be getting Fox Sports Wisconsin. I do get the Brewers games, but the Twins games are blacked out. I doubt I will be able to get any more baseball with this new package.

Basically I only get ESPN Classic and a few RSNs which much of the programming will be blacked out for an extra $5.99

I doubt ESPN charges $6 a month for Classic.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Many of these channels (NBATV, BIG10NW, NHLTV and NFLNW) are already included in the TOP 200. They should have a reduced price for those in a higher tier.

I already get Foxsports North as well although I should be getting Fox Sports Wisconsin. I do get the Brewers games, but the Twins games are blacked out. I doubt I will be able to get any more baseball with this new package.

Basically I only get ESPN Classic and a few RSNs which much of the programming will be blacked out for an extra $5.99

I doubt ESPN charges $6 a month for Classic.

We have AT250, but we do not get the Big Ten Network. Big Ten Network is available in at least AT200 (and in HD if subscribing to HD) in: Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and sections of Pennsylvania and Indiana. However, I will not complain about it since we would not watch it anyway. However, for those who would watch it, that is a different story. We do get an RSN that we would not get with D* (along with another local channel).

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Exactly.
Add $12.99 to
Family = $42.98
Select = $52.98
Choice =$71.98
Choice Extra = $76.98
Choice Ultimate = $81.98, (Includes CBS-C)
To get Fox Soccer and CBS-C.

These are included in Top 250 Pack. For $62.99
The $5.99 for Red Zone is worth it alone IMO.
But again this isn't really about D* since we are in the Dish Network forum.

What amazes me with E* is that CBS C is included in the Family package. I was surprised to see Fox Soccer in the AT250 when we first subscribed to E*. The HD on it looks great even if we are not big sports fans. Outdoor Channel as well is in the Family package. My Dad loves the Outdoor Channel along with the Sportsman Channel and WFN HD. I remember how upsetting it was when D* took Outdoor Channel out of Choice Xtra after a "free preview." I know a lot of people are upset and say that E* does not have a lot of sports. However, I think there are some pretty good sports channels in the packages when comparing to D*. Sure, D* may have some additional sports channels, but you have to pay extra for some of them. Let us not forget that ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, and ESPN U are all in AT120 which is cheaper than D*'s Choice package.

 

[Mr Tony]

Exactly.
Add $12.99 to
Family = $42.98
Select = $52.98
Choice =$71.98
Choice Extra = $76.98
Choice Ultimate = $81.98, (Includes CBS-C)
To get Fox Soccer and CBS-C.

These are included in Top 250 Pack. For $62.99
The $5.99 for Red Zone is worth it alone IMO.
But again this isn't really about D* since we are in the Dish Network forum.

unless CBS C is in freeview, I get it in Choice Extra

 

[Mr Tony]

I am a bit bias as I enjoy the Fox Soccer Channel and it would be a bit of a bummer to pay the 12 bucks extra for it.

understandable

 

[Mr Tony]

I already get Foxsports North as well although I should be getting Fox Sports Wisconsin. I do get the Brewers games, but the Twins games are blacked out. I doubt I will be able to get any more baseball with this new package.

FSN Wisco is not a full time channel on either system
D* has it at 669 (right next to FSN North) and has pre & post games. E* has it on the Alt channels and usually doesnt have pre/post game

Folks in Wisconsin get FSN North but the Twins are blacked out in most areas (I think areas near the MN border get Twins games still). Wild games are not balcked out and the Wolfies are (god knows why you'd want them anyways)

ON the other side, here in Minneapolis I can see the pre/post games on FSN Wisco and sports programming that is on FSN but not FSN North. I am blacked out of Brewers & Bucks games (although the Brewers ST games have been in the clear)

 

[Mojo Jojo]

unless CBS C is in freeview, I get it in Choice Extra

It is rather confusing because last time I checked the D* website it said CBS C is in the Ultimate package. I know that before my relative switched from Choice Xtra to Ultimate that she had CBS C even before switching packages.

 

[Mr Tony]

Exactly.
Add $12.99 to

If you want to get technical right now the sports pack is either 7.99 or 6.99 on promo for 6 months

 

[Hemi 6.1]

If you want to get technical right now the sports pack is either 7.99 or 6.99 on promo for 6 months

Not on my account.
Showtime and Starz 2 for 1 is the only Promo under my account.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

unless CBS C is in freeview, I get it in Choice Extra

Maybe its in Choice Extra now.
According to the D* website, It claims CBSC is only in Choice Ultimate,and Premier Base packs.
And Multi Sports pack .