DIRECTV via Satellite or Internet

As you may know, you can get DIRECTV via Satellite or via Internet. The satellite route is the traditional way with a technician installing a dish at your residence. No high-speed internet required. Getting it via internet lets you stream all your DIRECTV programming and combine it with other streaming apps (Netflix, etc). You'll need an internet plan of at least 15 Mbps to avoid buffering or lag. There are a few other key differences as well, including no contract plans with internet, Genie vs Gemini equipment and quite a few more channels only available to satellite customers. Read on for the best features of satellite vs internet and check out their exclusive channels further below.

Exclusive channels via satellite vs internet

Below are the channels only found via the satellite or internet option. As you can see, there are quite a few more channels just on the satellite side (with a longer track record, DIRECTV satellite has many more licensing deals in place). Each channel is tagged with the plan it's found in first. For example, the Cowboy Channel ("Ultimate & up") is only found via Satellite in the Ultimate plan and higher. Sort by the plan you're most interested in to filter the list.

Sort by plan... Entertainment Choice Ultimate Premier

Satellite only	Internet only
Arirang TV	Fox Weather
BYU TV	Heroes & Icons
CBO	Fox Soul
Cinemax West	Fuel TV
Cowboy Channel	SportsGrid
Christian Television (CTN)	Tastemade Home
DIRECTV SportsMix	Tastemade Travel
ESNE
EWTN
Family Entertainment TV
FLiX
Free Speech TV
GEB Network
GOD TV
HBO Family West
HBO West
HBO2 West
HITN
Hope Channel
HSN2
i24 News
IMPACT
JBS
Jewish Life TV
Living Faith Network
Longhorn Network
MAVTV
MLB Strike Zone
MSNBC
Music Choice (84 chnls)
NASA
Next Level Sports
NFL Redzone
NHK
NRB
ONCE Mexico
Outdoor Channel
Pursuit Channel
ShopHQ
Showtime West
So Yummy
SonLife Broadcasting
STARZ West
TBN
TBN Inspire
TCT Network
The Movie Channel (East)
The Movie Channel (Xtra)
Victory
Willow
Word Network
World Harvest TV

Ordering options

If you've chosen a side, below we've compiled DIRECTV's best deal available right now. Our visitors tend to save the most by calling, so we typically recommend that first...

Wait, what about sports?

DIRECTV is still the best TV provider out there for sports fans, even after losing the NFL Sunday Ticket. They offer the most regional sports networks of any provider, streaming, cable or satellite. And, of course, you'll also get all the college sports networks (Big Ten, ACC, etc), MLB Network, NFL Network, and much much more. The good news is both DIRECTV satellite and internet subscribers qualify for all those channels...except for a few: Cowboy Channel, DIRECTV SportsMix, MLB Strike Zone, Next Level Sports, NFL Redzone, Outdoor Channel and Pursuit Channel.

NFL Redzone not available via internet

As of this writing, the NFL Redzone is only available to satellite subscribers. That may change in the future but keep that in mind if it's a must have. The situation is not that big of a surprise as DIRECTV Stream subscribers (which is different than DIRECTV via internet) have never had the NFL Redzone in a core plan.

Is DIRECTV via internet the same as DIRECTV Stream?

Good question. It is a bit confusing. DIRECTV Stream is also only available through your internet connection but it is a different service. The biggest difference is you don't use ANY of DIRECTV's equipment. So, while DIRECTV via internet requires you get the DIRECTV Gemini device, DIRECTV Stream requires NO DIRECTV equipment at all. You pick a DIRECTV plan and stream it on your own device (Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, etc). As a result, DIRECTV Stream is even easier to setup.

While it costs the same as DIRECTV via satellite and internet, it often has more aggressive sign-up bonuses. The big downside with DIRECTV Stream is it has a LOT less channels than satellite and even via internet. That's the general trade-off with pure streaming TV -- you'll find the same situation with other providers as well.