DISH television alternatives

Who are DISH’s competitors?

The main competitor for DISH satellite TV is DIRECTV. The lowest-tier packages start out at about the same price, but you’ll pay a lot more for a premium package from DIRECTV and may have to deal with big price hikes in the third year of your contract. DISH has fewer hidden fees and more pricing options, but some viewers report inconsistent picture quality.

DISH also competes with streaming services, including YouTube TV. The latter is the only way to watch NFL Sunday Ticket, but you can get a lot of popular sports coverage with add-ons from DISH. The movies and entertainment lineup is similar between the two services, but DIRECTV offers more programming in 4K resolution.

If you want the best of the best of satellite TV and are willing to pay the price, go with DIRECTV. But if you don’t want price hikes and are OK with missing out on a little sports coverage, DISH may be the better choice.

Canceling DISH service?

If you’re on a two-year contract with DISH but decide to cancel early, you’ll be charged $10 for each month remaining on your contract.

You can cancel some DISH services online (and you probably should cancel the DISH Protect promotion as soon as you’re up and running), but you’ll have to call the company to cancel services completely. Reps will try to talk you out of quitting, but it won’t take too long if you’re insistent.

When your cancelation is confirmed, DISH will send you a $15 box and a list of instructions for uninstalling and packing up your equipment. You will need to send back all your leased DVRs, receivers, and power cords, but not your remotes or connection cables. You can also keep your satellite receiver dish, but you may have to crawl on the roof to remove the low-noise block downconverter (LNB module) from the antenna. If that seems unsafe, let your service rep know. You may also have to remove the switch from the outside of your house, but check your list to be sure.