Television Pleasure From DISH Satellite TV
Most residences in the United States are either subscribed to a cable television service or a satellite television service. For those enjoying the latter, they are either subscribed to DISH satellite TV or DirecTV satellite TV services. Both companies primarily dominate the satellite TV industry in the United States. DISH satellite TV systems are marketed by the DISH Network, which is managed by EchoStar Communications Corporation - the parent company. Publicly launched in March of 1996, its headquarters is based at Englewood, Colorado. DISH satellite TV network was organized a few months after EchoStar started its first satellite, EchoStar 1 from China. DISH or Digital Sky Highway was established to market the home satellite TV system of the company. By February of '07, DISH Network has allegedly gained 13 million paying subscribers. Moreover, the company has launched nine satellites to be able to continually provide audio, video and data satellite services to its clients. Recently, the network had added new services for their customers to enjoy. DISH satellite TV subscribers can now have access to high speed Internet, Interactive TV and High Definition TV. Just like that of DirecTV, the necessary equipment for a DISH satellite TV includes a satellite dish, receiver and access card. In order to determine which among the different satellite dishes to be used, a customer would have to choose what type of service he would like to subscribe to.
The main competitor of DISH satellite TV is DirecTV. DirecTV is the largest satellite television provider in the United States and is widely distributed to its fifty states. The DirecTV Group, which markets this home satellite television system, consists of 4 main units, which are the following: Hughes Network Systems (HNS), DirecTV US, PanAmSat and DirecTV Latin America. In addition to its US subscribers, the company also serves a number of Latin American countries. DirecTV offers its subscribers a number of dish options. They can choose from 2 basic dish designs and opt from several dish manufacturers. Its main advantage over their nearest competition is the fact that it offers the lowest rate in terms of price per channel at $0.31 for their Total Choice Program. As a result of heavy competition, both DISH satellite TV and DirecTV satellite services offer additional free services to attract new subscribers. The following services have been offered with no added charge to new customers through special promotion and other special offerings: 1. Free satellite TV dish and mounting stand 2. Maximum of four free satellite receivers with remote controls 3. Free system installation to up to four rooms in one household 4. Free digital video recording (DVR) for program recording 5. Optional choice to avail of high definition television (HDTV) receivers Regardless of which satellite television provider to subscribe to, both offer television services that many consider as more affordable than cable television services especially in the long run. Cable subscription tends to be more expensive because of the additional costs, such as fees, taxes, pay per view and equipment that is added to the monthly premium. |