DIRECTV STREAM vs. DISH vs. Sling Television plan comparison
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Staff rating
4.3
Customer rating
3.9
(49)- Plans starting at $56.99
- 330+ channels
Staff rating
3.3
Customer rating
4.1
(12)- Plans starting at $40.00
- 47 channels
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See what providers service your area.
Staff rating
3.7
Traditional TV tries its hand at live streaming
The DIRECTV STREAM experience is very similar to traditional TV, but we love that it requires no contracts or equipment rentals. Our tests surfaced issues with audio, screen size, and casting on mobile and browsers, but we liked channel surfing and catching games on bigger screens.
What we like
- Easy channel surfing
- Excellent lineup of regional sports networks (RSNs)
- Available set-top box and 10-digit remote
What we dislike
- Highest prices of any streaming service
- Slow load times
- No casting or screen mirroring from DVR
Savings tip: DIRECTV STREAM often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Staff rating
4.3
DISH offers affordable satellite TV with a top-shelf DVR
DISH offers a sweet three-year price guarantee and one of the best DVRs available, but picture quality is unreliable, and you’ll miss out on regional sports networks.
What we like
- Industry-leading DVR
- Three-year price guarantee
- 24/7 technical support
What we dislike
- No regional sports networks (RSNs)
- Higher rates for add-ons
- Hefty early cancelation costs
Savings tip: DISH often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Staff rating
3.3
Sling TV offers a great value and lots of customizations
Sling TV is one of the lowest-cost live TV streaming services we tested at just $40–$55 per month. Sling TV's highly customizable plans and low-cost add-ons keep prices low and empower you to customize your TV plan to your interests and lifestyle.
What we like
- Low cost
- Customizable add-ons
- Intuitive interface
What we dislike
- Potentially confusing plans
- On-the-go glitches
- Difficulty sharing
Savings tip: Sling often has
sign-up promotions
for first-time customers. Call to ask a rep about current deals and discounts.Check deals
Content
4.5
More top channels and regional sports than any other streaming service
In our tests, the DIRECTV STREAM lineup was one of the best we found. You get more of the most popular options than with any other live TV streaming service we tested. (1) You also get more of these channels than the majority of traditional TV services, and only one or two less than our top picks for channel lineup: Xfinity, DISH, DIRECTV satellite, Optimum, and Verizon. When you add in a heaping ton of regional sports networks, it’s easy to see why cord-cutters are giving this service a try.
Local: 3.5/5
DIRECTV STREAM doesn’t disappoint when it comes to local channels. It has each of the big four networks (ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS) in most markets, and offers national coverage from each in case of a carrier dispute with a local broadcaster. You won’t find some of the smaller broadcasters like Antenna TV and Estrella TV—and there’s no local Univision affiliate in some markets—but you can still find national news, sports, and programming in both English and Spanish.
Sports: 4.5/5
In addition to having almost all the national sports channels out there, DIRECTV stands out in an increasingly crowded streaming marketplace for having agreements with almost all the regional sports networks in the US. With the second-tier package and higher, you can find almost any game across the country (as long as there aren’t local blackouts). If you pay for the highest tier, you get access to even more. You also get all your local channels, which isn’t the case with a lot of streaming competitors.
Unfortunately, NFL SUNDAY TICKET, NFL Network, and NFL Red Zone are no longer available from either DIRECTV STREAM or DIRECTV Satellite. The rights were sold to live TV streaming competitor YouTube TV.
However, you can catch MLB on DIRECTV STREAM—a benefit you won’t find with YouTube TV.
More Resources:
Family and education: 4.5/5
DIRECTV STREAM gets a nearly perfect score when it comes to shows for families and kids. You get Cartoon Network, a variety of Nickelodeon channels, PBS, Disney and Disney Junior, two National Geographic options, and more. You won't find Family Education TV (FETV), but you’ll still be able to catch all your kiddo’s favorites. The on-demand library for young audiences is quite good, too.
News and politics: 4.5/5
Except for a few smaller channels like Antenna TV, DIRECTV STREAM’s news options are comprehensive. You get all your local stations, both Newsmax and Fox News for right-leaning coverage, both Bloomberg and Cheddar for financial news, and both MSNBC and Vice for left-leaning insight and investigations. There’s also international news on the third and fourth tiers and multiple C-SPAN options at every tier. For the best news selection, we usually recommend the CHOICE package or above.
Entertainment and lifestyle: 4.5/5
DIRECTV STREAM shines when it comes to movies, reality TV, and stories of all kinds. You also get home improvement shows and both Lifetime and Hallmark channels, which is uncommon in the streaming space. For the first three months on lower-tier packages, you get access to premium channels like HBO. They are included with the PREMIER package and if you want to buy the individually, they cost about the same as they would with traditional TV providers.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
DIRECTV STREAM channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Content
4.5
Strong selection of popular channels for a variety of interests
DISH Network offers more than 250 channels on its top tier—it’s a ton of content, and includes almost all the most popular channels out there. (1) There’s a lot of filler in the form of shopping and music channels, but you also get an excellent selection of shows and games for the whole family.
Local: 4/5
You can catch most of your local and national network channels with DISH, and that means local news, local sports, national sports, and top syndicated shows. There is a local channels fee on top of your regular bill, but you can get out of it by buying an antenna instead.
Sports: 4/5
You can watch games and matches for almost any sport with DISH, plus sports analysis and game highlights on channels like NFL Network and MLB Network. There are no regional sports networks, though, and no way to watch every out-of-market NFL game like you can with Youtube TV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. We still recommend it for most fans, but there’s a chance you won’t be able to find all your team’s games.
Family and education: 4.5/5
If you have kiddos in the house, or even if you’re just very interested in educational content, DISH has you covered. Even on the lower-priced tiers, you get PBS, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network, Disney, and the History channel.
News and politics: 4.5/5
DISH doesn’t have every single news channel out there, but it has all the most popular networks plus plenty of local and international news. You get Fox News, MSNBC, Vice, BBC America, and even Newsmax and Freeform. News junkies rejoice!
Entertainment and lifestyle: 4/5
If you’re into Blockbuster movies, home improvement, reality TV, and true crime, you’ll love what DISH has to offer. You will have to pay extra for premium channels like SHOWTIME and HBO, which is a bummer, but paying for just the premium package still gets you more than you could ever watch.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
DISH channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Content
4.0
Solid channel lineup and customization options
Sling TV helps keep down your monthly TV costs by offering customizable TV packages. Sling TV provides a good mix of channels, including a few sports, kids, lifestyle, comedy, and local channels. Compared to other TV services, it has fewer channels in its base packages (hence the lower price tag), but it offers plenty of add-ons and customizations. You can add extra sports, entertainment, kids, news, and lifestyle channels for as little as $6 a month per add-on package. Depending on your location, certain Sling TV packages include local news channels, including MSNBC, FOX News, and ABC.
Local TV Channels: 2/5
Sling TV offers a solid local channel lineup, depending on your location. With the Sling Blue package, or Sling Orange + Sling Blue package, you can enjoy live streaming on FOX, NBC, and ABC if it's available in your city. At this time, Sling TV's local TV channels may be limited to Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.
Sports Channels: 4/5
Sling TV offers a variety of top sports TV channels, including about two-thirds of all the top sports channels. You can choose a package according to the channels you care about most, or you can sign up for them all. To get them all, you’ll want to get the Sling TV Orange and Blue plans and the sports add-on. The Sling Orange plan alone includes ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, and MotorTrend. The Sling Blue plan alone features FOX, FOX Sports 1, NFL Network, and MSNBC. If you add the Sports Extra add-on to any plan at about $11 a month, you'll get SEC ESPN and SEC ESPN+, ACCN ESPN, Longhorn Network, U ESPN, ESPNews, MLB Network, NBA TV, beIN Sports, Tennis Channel, NHL Network, and MLB Strike Zone.
More Resources:
Family and Education Channels: 4/5
In all their plans, Sling TV offers some great family-friendly favorites including Cartoon Network, Nick Jr., HGTV, Investigation Discovery, History Channel, and Travel Channel. In the Sling Orange package, you'll find the Disney Channel and Freeform. In the Sling Blue package, you'll find National Geographic, TLC, and Discovery. If you add the Kids Extra package for about $6 a month, you'll also get Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nicktoons, TeenNick and BabyTV. Note that you may miss out on some staples like Nickelodeon and PBS.
News and Politics Channels: 3.5/5
All Sling TV packages include national and international news from CNN, BBC America, Bloomberg TV+, and Local Now from The Weather Group. The Orange Sling package includes FOX News, and CNN Headline News. Note that local channels are only available in limited markets, so you may miss out on some local news, depending on where you live and availability.
Entertainment and Lifestyle Channels: 4/5
Sling TV offers a good variety of entertainment and lifestyle channels, which is where it really shines. You can really find your niche and geek out with your interests. With other TV providers, it can be difficult to find all these channels bundled together, especially for such a low price. All Sling TV packages include TBS, TNT, AMC, A&E, Food Network, Comedy Central, Travel Channel, BET, Lifetime, IFC, Vice, MGM Drive In, Fuse TV, AXS TV, Comet, and Charge! TV. You can also choose from many add-ons. The Entertainment Extra add-on includes Paramount, MTV, MTV 2, CMT, TV Land, Game Show Network, Logo, Laff, TruTV, and FETV. The Lifestyle Extra includes the Hallmark Channel, VH1, Cooking Channel, FYI, WE TV, LMN, Hallmark Mystery, and Hallmark Family. Adding the Hollywood Extra add-on gets you a cess to Turner Classic Movies and Sundance TV, among others.
Local news, sports, and entertainment channels vary based on your location. Check out
Sling channel offerings
in your area.View plans
Value
3.5
A classic TV experience, delivered over the internet
The basic ENTERTAINMENT package for DIRECTV STREAM costs about the same as other premium live TV streaming options we tested, and about $5 more per month than DIRECTV’s satellite TV service (before a bunch of hidden fees). You get more than 75 channels for the base price with the streaming service, including all your local channels and a few major sports networks. It’s a decent price for what you get, and we like how similar it feels to traditional TV. We also like that DIRECTV STREAM is free of hidden fees and second-year price hikes, unlike its satellite counterpart.
That said, most people who opt for premium TV (at premium prices) will be better served by DIRECTV STREAM’s second-tier package, CHOICE. For about $20 more each month, you get 30 more channels and access to regional sports networks (RSNs). Just watch out for premium channels that expire after the first three months! If you forget to cancel, your bill could nearly double in month four.
DIRECTV STREAM’s third and fourth tiers are harder to recommend. You get more than 140 channels with ULTIMATE tier, at a price of more than $100 per month. At the PREMIER tier, you get more than 150 channels, including several premium entertainment options, but you’ll pay more than $150 every month. Those are the highest prices we found, and we don’t think they’re worth it for most people.
That said, we’re very pleased DIRECTV STREAM has done away with hidden fees, including broadcast fees, early cancelation fees, and regional sports fees. For that reason alone, we’d recommend it over the DIRECTV Satellite service to anyone who has high-speed internet access.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep at 1-844-343-6362 or check your address at
DIRECTV STREAM's website.
Check address
Value
4.0
Upfront pricing, but fewer channels and occasional picture problems
DISH stands out in the satellite TV space for its straightforward billing and three-year price guarantee for new customers. The basic package starts at about the same price as DIRECTV’s lowest-tier package, but premium packages cost a lot less. You’ll pay a little less for cable TV compared to DISH in many parts of the country, but things like competition between carriers and available technologies lead to big geographic differences.
DISH has a lot to offer casual viewers, but you won’t have access to NFL SUNDAY TICKET like you would with YouTube TV or any 24/7 channels in 4K resolution like you would with DIRECTV. There might be occasional problems with the picture quality for live sports, but those issues are rare for movies and most TV shows. Compared to cable TV, DISH usually offers better picture quality and many more channels.
While DISH is a lot more straightforward than DIRECTV, there are a few fees that can sneak up on you, including a local broadcast fee. You can get out of that fee by finding another way to watch local channels, but be sure to read your bill carefully each month.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep at 1-833-970-0845 or check your address at
DISH's website.
Check address
Value
4.0
One of the lowest-cost options out there, but one of the smallest channel counts, too
Sling TV is one of the cheapest live TV streaming services that still delivers a relatively comprehensive channel lineup, but its cost per channel of $1.15 is relatively high. Sling TV's largest base plan includes just 43 channels, with an additional 30 or so available as add-ons. That makes Sling TV great at letting you customize your service, but you could end up paying a higher price if you want a lot of channels.
Most add-ons cost about $6, or you can grab a bundle if you find one you like. The Sports Extra add-on is pricier at $11–15 per month. You can also add more than 40 premium packages, and many are priced lower than we’ve seen elsewhere.
Which channels you get depends on which plan you choose (and here’s where it gets a little confusing). Sling has three plans: Orange, Blue, and an Orange + Blue combo. The Orange and Blue plans each have a few channels in the same genre the other doesn’t, so be prepared to make some hard choices unless you spring for the combo plan. If you’re a sports fan, you’ll have to choose between ESPN (Orange) or FOX Sports, NFL Network, and NBC (Blue). If you have kids, you’ll have to choose between Disney Channel (Orange) or the Discovery Channel (Blue).
Unlike other streaming services, Sling TV has a truly free version. And this is no time-limited free trial that you forget to cancel until you see your credit card bill two months later. This is genuinely, indefinitely free—no credit card required. You can’t record shows with it, but it’s a great way to dip your toe into the cable-cutting waters at no cost.
Oddly, the free version of Sling gives you way more channels: 150+. But many of these extras are super specific—there’s a channel that plays The Carol Burnette Show 24/7, for example—or on-demand channels. But there are some gems, like Outside TV+, Bon Appetit, and CMT.
Get the best value by speaking directly with a sales rep or check your address at
Sling's website.
Check address
Features and usability
3.0
Everything you’d expect from live TV, with a few caveats
We tested the DIRECTV STREAM interface on browsers, mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming devices and ran into a few annoying glitches. Once we got used to it, though, it worked consistently.
Ability to watch: Good
DIRECTV STREAM feels like traditional TV, but with perks. You can watch in real time, pause and rewind live TV, make recordings, and access the extensive on-demand library from anywhere.
We tested the DIRECTV STREAM interface on browsers, mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming devices. We get that any new service takes a while to get used to, but the experience with DIRECTV STREAM had more hiccups than other live TV streaming competitors we tested.
On every new device, we had to select whether we wanted to see game scores before we could watch anything (even if we weren't watching games at all). Then, when we found and selected a show on non-TV devices, there was no audio. We had to search around for the volume button within the player to hear anything. We can see how this might be a perk if you’re streaming games while working in an office or something, but for our testers it just felt broken.
Slow load times were also an issue on every device we tested. The payoff is stellar picture quality, eventually, but we had to wait a few seconds for any picture at all when we changed channels, and then suffer through several seconds of blurry picture before we got a high-quality image.
The built-in mini player loaded much faster, as you might expect. The delay still showed up on mobile, but wasn’t as long as with larger screens.
Once we got in and got used to the volume quirk, we got right to channel surfing. In full screen view, it was easy to go to the next or previous channel—a feature we didn’t find with other services. We had a little trouble figuring out how to get back to the channel guide on most devices, but we liked that you can sort channels either alphabetically or numerically when you get there.
Finally, we liked that you can access content in 4K resolution with any of the DIRECTV STREAM plans. You’ll get the most out of this feature with the second-tier plan and above, since that’s when all the regional sports networks kick in.
Ability to record: Great
DVR recordings are unlimited with DIRECTV STREAM (as long as you order online), and recordings are saved for nine months. We ran into a few trouble spots, though. First, only the newest 30 episodes of a show are saved, meaning old episodes are automatically deleted.
That said, we like that you can hide scores of games you’ve missed, and download from your DVR library using the highly rated mobile app.
Ability to find: Excellent
DIRECTV STREAM makes it easy to find what you want to watch. It’s the only streaming provider we reviewed that offers a custom set-top box for purchase or monthly rental, including a full-size voice remote, and that means easy channel surfing. The box even takes you right to the last channel you were watching on startup, just like live TV. The cost is $5 per month or $120 up front.
We also like the different views, and appreciate that you get both channel numbers and icons on the TV guide. The recommendation engine is decent, too. Overall, DIRECTV hits this one out of the park.
Ability to share: Bad
You can technically watch up to three simultaneous streams on your DIRECTV STREAM membership away from home, and an unlimited number of streams at home. But it’s far from perfect. To watch on mobile, location sharing is required. We may be more concerned about privacy than the average bear, but why does DIRECTV need to know your precise location in order to provide services you’ve paid for, especially when they already have your home address? Not cool.
Next, you can’t use Google’s Chromecast devices or Apple’s screen mirroring to cast any of your DVR content, and you can’t pause live TV while casting. Since most of our watching these days is asynchronous, that’s a significant downside.
That aside, we really liked the parental controls on DIRECTV STREAM, which work by way of a four-digit pin. You have to set them up on every device you’re logged into, and they’re not yet available for Chromecast with Google TV. Many of the competitors we tested don’t have any parental controls at all, though, so DIRECTV wins the day here.
Unfortunately, you can’t set up different profiles for different users on DIRECTV STREAM like you can on Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. It’s one more way DIRECTV STREAM is more like traditional TV than a streaming service.
Equipment and features
4.0
Industry-leading DVR, voice remote, and streaming options away from home
DISH is a great way to enjoy all TV has to offer, from picture quality to recording capability and watching on-demand.
Ability to watch: Great
As one of the two big satellite TV providers out there, DISH offers fantastic picture quality and a fantastic viewing platform. It also has a highly rated mobile app, making it easy to watch your shows and channels on the go. You can connect on smartphones, tablets and computers, or your Apple TV.
You can pay extra for DISH Outdoors, a portable satellite antenna and receiver system you can mount on your truck or RV. If you already have DISH at home, the Outdoors setup doesn’t cost much more, making it a great option for camping or tailgate parties.
Ability to record: Excellent
DISH Hopper DVRs are fantastic, and they easily outshine the competition. The Hopper 2 is the standard model and comes with voice control, a Netflix app, and internal Wi-Fi. The Hopper Plus, released in 2022, is an add-on streaming box that lets you add thousands of streaming apps. With DIRECTV’s set top box, you miss out on the apps.
If you upgrade to the Hopper 3 or Hopper Plus with DISH, you’ll pay about $5 more each month. But you get a whole lot for the money. The super-powered DVRs can record up to 16 shows or games at once and save 500 hours of HD recordings. Plus, they're 4K-enabled and beam your DVR content straight to your smartphone or additional set-top boxes around the house so you can watch from anywhere. It also comes with more streaming apps than the basic version, plus built-in Bluetooth so you can watch with earbuds.
The Hopper 3 and Hopper Plus are extraordinarily powerful, but you won’t be able to use all the extra features if you don’t have high-speed internet. If you do, and you want to catch a metric ton of games and shows on your schedule, we think the extra monthly cost is worth it.
If you want to skip the Hoppers and Joeys altogether, you’ll need the Wally receiver and your own hard drive for recording shows. DIY DVR with DISH isn’t worth the hassle for most folks, but it is an option if you're tech-savvy and already own the equipment.
Ability to find: Excellent
There’s a ton of content to love on DISH, and the interface makes it easy to find just what you need. You can control the remote with your voice or easy-to-use channel buttons, and the previews and descriptions show right up top. DISH is TV for people who love live TV, and it shows in the interface.
Features and equipment may vary based on package. Visit
DISH's website
or call 1-833-970-0845 for more information.Usability and features
2.5
Sharing a subscription and watching on-the-go can be difficult
Sling TV's app and browser experiences are just fine, but they don't have the premium look and feel of pricier streaming services like YouTubeTV and DIRECTV STREAM.
Ability to watch: Good
The browser and app interfaces were generally easy to use, and Sling TV is compatible with a ton of devices. Sling TV says you can run it on just a 5 Mbps internet connection but recommends at least 25 Mbps. When we tested it, Sling TV was laggy on a cell signal connection, but that’s not uncommon. And when it comes to watching shows on the go, there are a few areas where Sling can improve.
If you’re looking for 4K content, you won’t find it here. Live content streams in 720p and on-demand content is 1080p.
Ability to record: Good
All Sling TV plans include 50 hours of cloud DVR storage, which isn’t much, especially if you want to share your plan with family or roommates. Adding DVR Plus for $5 will get you 200 hours and—we’re willing to bet—fewer fights over deleted shows. And you’ll get the ability to lock your favorite episodes so they aren’t automatically deleted to make room for new recordings if you go over the limit.
The DVR is a decent experience. You can record live shows and skip the commercials when you watch them later. It’s easy to record shows as you find them in the Guide, but starting a recording mid-show won’t record what you’ve missed. And you can’t use your phone to record a show that’s already started. The record button just isn’t there. Shows that you’ve already recorded pop up behind the DVR tab, along with how much storage you’ve used and your scheduled recordings. If you delete something you didn’t mean to (or Sling deleted a show to make room for new recordings), it’ll stay in the Trash section for 48 hours in case you want to reinstate it. We found that handy, especially if you don’t want to spring for extra DVR storage.
Ability to find: Fine
Finding shows could be easier. We had to click into a show to see its description, which was annoying. And the channel guide for live TV is a bit confusing if you have both Blue and Orange plans because you’ll see some channels—those included in both plans—listed twice.
With on-demand content, we sometimes had trouble picking shows to back up if we’d started them and had to step away. Finding the “Continue watching” section on the home tab was hard because it kept moving. And when we switched back and forth between devices (like between the app on an Android phone and the Safari browser on a Mac laptop), Sling didn’t always remember where we were in a movie. Sometimes, this kind of switch stumped Sling completely, resulting in an error and Sling forgetting that we’d ever watched the show. That meant having to find our place again—and having to sit through commercial blocks we’d already watched.
Parental controls are PIN protected and easy to set up, and your kids won’t even be able to see descriptions of restricted content. But because Sling doesn’t have different user profiles, you’ll have to put in your PIN for every grown-up show you want to watch without the kiddos. You can’t even have separate settings for different devices.
Ability to share: Bad
Unlike most of the other live TV streaming services we’ve tried, you can’t make separate profiles for different users to watch, record, and save their favorite shows. That’s a bummer because figuring out how to stream multiple live shows at once is confusing. Sling TV decides how many streams you can have based on the channel you’re watching: Orange channels have just one stream and Blue channels have up to three.
If you have the Orange + Blue combo plan, you’ll see both Orange and Blue versions of some channels in your Guide, since these lineups have some overlap. One person can watch the Orange version of TNT, for example, but three people can watch the Blue version. If too many people start watching the same channel, someone will be kicked off about a minute later—but the offending viewer will never know they just ruined someone’s day because Sling doesn’t tell them.
Add it all up, and sharing a single Sling TV subscription with members of your household may be difficult.
Customer experience
4.0
It’s easy to sign up, but hard to cancel
Being a DIRECTV STREAM customer is pretty similar to being a DIRECTV satellite customer, just without the hole in your roof. It’s easy to sign up online (and we recommend it), but packages are very expensive and it’s difficult to cancel. If you do need help, we like that there are both phone and live chat options, but we can’t give the service 100% credit for that because hold times can be several hours long. If you’re used to traditional TV, DIRECTV STREAM has some nice perks. But if you’re used to streaming services, DIRECTV STREAM will feel like a blast from the past.
Visit DIRECTV STREAM's website
or call 1-844-343-6362 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Customer experience
5.0
Installation included, and a stellar 3-year price guarantee
DISH has been ranked as the #1 traditional TV provider for customer service in the US, and we think the honor is well-earned. (2) New customers get a three-year price guarantee, and installation is included (as long as you can pass a required credit check). Some competing cable companies charge closer to $100 for installation, so it’s nice to see both top satellite providers—DISH and DIRECTV—cover the initial setup.
There’s also an option for people who don’t want the contract: Flex TV. You have to buy your DVR outright and pay for the installation out-of-pocket, but you can skip the credit check and pay for TV month to month.
Either way, you’ll benefit from fewer junk fees than the competition and multiple ways to get in touch. It’s worth noting that DISH got hacked in early 2023 and it left customers without service for several days, but we think it was a one-time problem and don’t expect similar outages in the future.
Visit DISH's website
or call 1-833-970-0845 for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Customer Experience
3.0
Long wait times and channel volatility, but overall a good experience
Sling’s website is easy to navigate and shows plans and pricing upfront before you have to create an account or add a credit card. It also has a solid self-help section that you can find by scrolling to the bottom of the home page and clicking on the link in the footer.
Contacting customer service can be a little challenging. Agents are available via chat, social media, and phone for around 15 hours a day (depending on which contact method you choose). However, the website notes that you should expect long wait times for all avenues.
To help counter long wait times, Sling asks you to fill out a questionnaire before calling in, which is an okay idea in principle, but it asks for your email address. If you just want to know a few specifics before deciding whether to sign up, that feels invasive. But if you’re already a customer troubleshooting your technology or asking about billing issues, it’s not a big deal.
Finally, Sling TV’s channel lineup can be a little volatile. In October 2022, Sling lost ABC, ESPN, FX, Nat Geo, and Disney due to a dispute with Disney, but then got them back soon after. While other TV services were also affected, Sling seems more willing than competitors are to lose channels—at least temporarily—while renegotiating carriage deals.
Visit Sling's website
or call for more information on contracts and money-back guarantees.Go to provider
Made up your mind?
Find out what providers are available near you.
DIRECTV STREAM
0.0
(0)5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
DISH
3.8
(49)5 Star
39%
4 Star
29%
3 Star
20%
2 Star
6%
1 Star
6%
R
Richardfrom Putnam County, TN
DISH Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 8/6/2022
We have had no issues with Dish. I personally don't watch TV, It's for my wife who does watch it once in a while.
R
Raymondfrom Fremont, OH
DISH Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/14/2022
Dish has a good variety of channels and shows with some good on demand choices. The price is kind of high and ro bad they can't control the system due to weather and is never out long enough for a reduction for disruption of service
R
Ralphfrom Decatur, IL
DISH Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 7/10/2022
Include more sports channels in each package and better service during storms.
P
Paul from Gaines, MI
DISH Customer for 8+ years
Reviewed on: 7/5/2022
its a great service to use and I enjoy it
Sling
4.0
(12)5 Star
33%
4 Star
42%
3 Star
25%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
J
Jerline from Raleigh , NC
Sling Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 9/4/2022
At this time needs no improvement
J
Johnfrom Ellijay, GA
Sling Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 8/28/2022
Nice programming, plenty channel options, easy to use, $$ for service
S
Stevenfrom Columbus, OH
Sling Customer for 4+ years
Reviewed on: 8/26/2022
Has the channels I want to watch and charges a decent price for this service
M
Merrifrom Indianapolis, IN
Sling Customer for 1+ years
Reviewed on: 8/21/2022
I wish they offered cheaper access to local TV
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Endnotes and sources
(1) “Network Ratings 2022 Top Channels,” Variety. Accessed 2 February 2023.As an Amazon Associate, Switchful.com may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Endnotes and sources
Endnotes and sources
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