If you are considering switching over to satellite TV service then there are a few things that you need to take into account. The most important thing is that they are not all the same and they do differ in the the way that they compile and market their packages and feature options. At this time there are only three satellite TV service providers that are doing business in the U.S. And if you are not a Christian there may as well be only two as far as you are concerned, because one of them is entirely limited to Christian programming and that is Sky Angel. The other two are DirecTV and Dish Network. Satellite TV has come a long way in the past few years and while there may be only two standard service providers in operation, they are in hot competition with each other for your business.

Current Satellite providers

Dish Network
Sky Angel
DirecTV

Provider Statistics

DirecTV was introduced to the public in the late summer of 1994 with the launch of its first satellite. With a grand total of 15 million customers they are the largest satellite TV service provider to date. DirecTV holds the distinction of being the first satellite TV service provider to broadcast in an entirely digital format. They hold the number two spot in overall customer satisfaction according to J.D. Power and associates.

Dish Network arrived on the scene two years after DirecTV in 1996 and are right now the fastest growing satellite TV service provider in the U.S. Like DirecTV they also broadcast in an entirely digital format and right now have over 12 million customers tuning in every day. Dish Network holds the distinction of being ranked number one in overall customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and associates.

Sky Angel was launched in 1981 by Dominion Video satellite Inc. to answer the call for the need for an entirely Christian broadcasting service. While they aren't as large as the other satellite TV services with less than thirty channels they do offer the most Christian channels. Their programming selections cover a wide spectrum from the deeply philosophical to family variety to teen and children's channels.

A Service Provider Summary and Review

DirecTVs total standard channel numbers now stands at two-hundred and fifty channels but they do have a wide selection of multicultural channels that comes in a wide variety of languages. They have three standard programming packages in their "Total Choice" package series that come with channel numbers of 155, 185, and 250 which is the size of their largest programming package. DirecTV also provides 67 channels of XM radio with most of its programming packages that features a wide variety of music. They also have a pay per view feature option as well as 72 high definition channels.

Dish Network has a grand total of 375 programming channels in its repertoire that is arranged in a total of five standard programming packages. Their programming package services is called "Americas Top" and it starts off with their 40 channel budget priced introductory package and finishes off with their Americas Top 375 programming package. They also feature the most multicultural programming channels of any other TV programming service provider in the U.S. Dish Network also has a pay per view service option and 38 high definition programming channels in its HD pak.

Sky Angel currently has twenty standard channels of programming which is by far the lowest channel number you are going to find. However, they do hold the distinction of having the highest number of Christian programming channels out of any of the current TV programming service providers. All of their channels come in one package that also has 16 Christian radio channels as well.