What is the Average DIRECTV Bill? DIRECTV is one of the leading direct broadcast satellite service providers in the United States that serves more than 16 million customers in the country. But what amount is paid per month by the average DIRECTV customer to access the satellite TV service? The following subsections explain various factors that determine the final monthly bill of the DIRECTV services. We can take a closer look at the examples below.
Base Packages and Pricing First and foremost, the programming package you choose is the basis of any DIRECTV package. DIRECTV offers four core packages:DIRECTV offers four core packages:
ENTERTAINMENT – $69. 99/month with access to over 160+ channels. CHOICE – $84. 99 per month (over 185+ channels) ULTIMATE – $94. 99 per month (over 250+ channels) PREMIER – $139. 99 per month (over 340+ channels).
Entertainment package is the cheapest package and offers many channels including ESPN, TNT, Disney and others. With every tier, more channels are added and there are those offering entertainment, news, sports, movies among others. These are the premier tier which encompasses all the channels DIRECTV offers almost in their entirety.
Therefore, the base package prices can be as low as $70 per month up to $140 per month at the highest package level before the additional features. It is one of the most significant base price factors that have a large influence on your overall monthly DIRECTV expenses.
This policy shall apply to all Receivers and Additional TVs. The above base pricing is for programming one TV only. What if you want DIRECTV service on another TV in your house?
DIRECTV also provides the facility to add up to three more receivers for the second and third television sets in your house. The cost per additional receiver/TV is:The cost per additional receiver/TV is:
Receiver #2 – $7/mo Receiver #3 – $7/mo Receiver #4 – $7/mo
Hence, if you intended to have four TVs, you will pay an extra $21 over your base package price solely for equipment costs.
That is for equipment related to standard definition viewing. If you desire high definition capacities and the Genie DVR of DIRECTV on other TVs, then you will be charged a higher monthly fee of about $10 to $15 for each TV.
DVR Service & HD Programming The majority of DIRECTV customers opt for the DVR feature in their packages. DIRECTV offers DVR features for an additional $10 per month to record your favorite shows and movies. The option of getting access to HD programming also cost an additional $10 monthly.
But if DVR and HD access alone before the addition, you have usually bumped the monthly bill up by another $20. Combine those to one of the initial base packages, like Choice for $85 and you are up to $105/month.
Premium Movie Channels For movie lovers, DIRECTV offers premium movie channel add-ons like:For movie lovers, DIRECTV offers premium movie channel add-ons like:
HBO and Cinemax – $25/month SHO and STARZ – $15 per month EPIX - $6/mo
Thus, if you wanted to subscribe to all the premium movie channels, it could add another $46 to the total monthly charges.
Sports Packages They may also subscribe to additional DIRECTV sports packages such as NFL Sunday Ticket that give customers access to every out of market NFL game. Sunday Ticket is available at $293 for the entire year or $73. 49 monthly. There are other sports packages as well that offer some rights to MLB, NBA, NHL and more games.
Internet and Phone Bundle Another possible way of reducing your total bill is to take advantage of DIRECTV special offers, if you also subscribe to Internet and home phone services with them. When you use more than one service, there is additional discount that can be made available to you.
For example, DIRECTV currently advertises Choice package bundles:For example, DIRECTV currently advertises Choice package bundles:
DIRECTV plus Internet connection services – 89. 99 US Dollars per month. DIRECTV + Internet + Phone Package – $94. 99/month
Thus, you can save $10-15 on your base costs when you bundle. Yet, there are still DVR, receiver fees and other upgrades which you have to pay on top of the listed price.
Taxes and Surcharges Lastly, there are additional fees and taxes that come with most TV bills which include Regional Sports Surcharge, Broadcast Station Fee among others. These often add $10-15 in miscellaneous charges.
The Average DIRECTV Bill Adding up all the averages across base packages, common add-ons and extra fees shows an estimated bill for a typical DIRECTV customer in the range of:Adding up all the averages across base packages, common add-ons and extra fees shows an estimated bill for a typical DIRECTV customer in the range of:
125-150 per month
That is for equipment for two to three TVs, an upgrade to the CHOICE or ULTIMATE package, HD programming, DVR service, taxes, and fees. Sports enthusiasts or movie lovers subscribing to additional higher tiers may expect overall monthly charges lying in the range of $170-200.
Therefore even though these may not be cheap, the availability of the many channels offered by satellite tv continues to attract millions of directv customers across the country. It is easier to comprehend all that forms your overall bill if one understands all the components that make up your total bill and this goes a long way to explaining the average monthly charges that most households incur for their DIRECTV service.