what happend to xtra package?

jct21

SatelliteGuys Guru
Original poster
May 26, 2018
145
120
kentucky
my neighbors just signed up for directv. their install was today. the only options they have are entertainment, choice, ultimate & premier. what happened to the xtra package? when they called directv, they were informed it was a discontinued package. when did this happen? i went to directv to "sign up" for satellite install and xtra is not listed. however i was able to see it when pretending to sign up for att tv.
 
A while back they stopped advertising Xtra, trying to sell people from Choice up to Ultimate. Sounds like they may have gone to the next step and straight up removed it. What they didn't do is lower the price of Ultimate. I think they have too many packages - but Ultimate is highly overpriced versus what you got on top of Xtra. Looks like this was their solution to that problem.
 
My account is still on the old Directv system. Xtra is still listed as an option for me.
I currently have Entertainment, which in my case includes my 2 RSN channels without the 9.95 fee. If it wasn't for that, I would probably add it so I would be grandfathered for awhile.
 
That would be a non-starter if we didn't have it already. The main channels the household wants are in the XTRA and we're definetly not willing to pay for Ultimate.
 
I have Xtra for the sports channels it has vs the lower packages. Ultimate is an ultimate waste of money because, at the end of the day, you really only get Starz Encore, most of which is not HD. I signed up for this level when I got Directv with the free HD for life promo and that promo is nullified if I ever drop below Xtra. Hopefully they will allow grandfathering if they really are getting rid of Xtra.

Remember the very old days when premiere was everything in English? Why can't it be that anymore? At that price, and everything from 557 to 573 included, that would be worth it.
 
I still have the xtra package.

I was a directv customer for 20+ yrs. spent the last 4 months with dish and came back to directv last week. prior to my directv departure I had preferred xtra. now on my new att account my only options are entertainment, choice, ultimate & premier. xtra is not listed. when I signed back up I wanted pref xtra, but after being told "no" by a few agents, I was fortunate to speak to someone in customer loyalty who had no problem giving me my old package. the rep told me the xtra package is available but not advertised. she said pref xtra is only available by customer request. the ones wishing to sacrifice some sports for other entertainment channels.
 
I was a directv customer for 20+ yrs. spent the last 4 months with dish and came back to directv last week. prior to my directv departure I had preferred xtra. now on my new att account my only options are entertainment, choice, ultimate & premier. xtra is not listed. when I signed back up I wanted pref xtra, but after being told "no" by a few agents, I was fortunate to speak to someone in customer loyalty who had no problem giving me my old package. the rep told me the xtra package is available but not advertised. she said pref xtra is only available by customer request. the ones wishing to sacrifice some sports for other entertainment channels.
I've never heard of Preferred Xxtra ... it use to be Choice Xtra.

If I could get the Extra Sports and less Movie channels, I'd be all for that.
Paying the ridiculous RSN Fee, is just crap.

I have the Ultimate as thats what they offered with my previous employee package, when I retired, I wanted to go back to the Choice Xtra, but they said I could only choose between 3 packages and be on the Retirees plan.
Something Basic, not sure what the low level is, Ultimate and Premiere.

They told me that if I wanted any other package, I had to go Off the Retiree plan.

Fwiw, the Retiree plan allows for No Discounts, can't call in for cheaper package price, or a deal on the MLB package, nothing, its thier basic, heres what we offer you, take it or leave it.
 
Guys if you want to discuss politics and which news channel is best and such, we have a PIT for that.
 
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AT&T TV was still offering Xtra, but only if you signed up under the old 2-yr contract system. If you signed up under the new no-contract system with everyday (non-promo) pricing, Xtra wasn't available. But very recently, AT&T TV has completely scrapped the 2-yr contract system for new subs, so Xtra isn't sold there now at all. Only option now is to go no-contract and choose Entertainment, Choice, Ultimate or Premier. No additional RSN fee but if you want to upgrade your cloud DVR from 20 hours to unlimited, it's an extra $10/mo. And you don't get a free first box, they're $120 each (or $5/mo for 24 months). (IMO, they should still offer an optional and renewable 1-year contract that locks in the current price for the year and offers some kind of bonus, like free DVR upgrade and/or a free box.)

On DirecTV, new subs can still choose Xtra at sign-up. You have to click the "see more packages" button in order to reveal Xtra (along with the Plus and Max packages that originally debuted on DirecTV Now a couple years ago). But even though Xtra is still subject to the same 2-yr contract as the other packages, it doesn't qualify for the big first-year discount. So you're paying full price for it from day one. Don't know if someone signing up for DTV right now could just choose Ultimate and then a year later (when the monthly price increases to the normal rate) switch to Xtra.