s it stands right now there are only three satellite TV service providers in the U.S. To take your pick from. There used to be a couple of others but they got gobbled up in the dog eat dog or "satellite eat satellite" competitive business environment that satellite TV service providers operate in. It turns out that satellite TV programming is all in all a pretty good deal when compare to other programming services that are out there. Some people might argue that standard "rabbit ear" TV programming is the best deal because it is free of charge. However; when you weigh in the fact that it can turn your brain to cottage cheese and rob you of several IQ digits it really does have the highest cost of them all. Before you sign up for any of the satellite TV service provider it is recommended that you research their statistics because they are constantly changing as they each add channels and feature options.

Current List Of Satellite TV Providers:

Dish Network
DirecTVand
Sky Angel

Provider Stats:

DirecTV: was launched in 1994 and currently has the largest customer base with 15 million subscribers. They were the first direct broadcast satellite TV service in the world. DirecTV is currently ranked number two in overall customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and associates. Dish Network: made its business debut in 1996 just two years after DirecTV and they are now the fastest growing satellite TV service on the planet. At this time they have 12 million customers and are ranked number one in overall customer satisfaction. Sky Angel: is a unique satellite service in that it only broadcasts Christian related programming. It was launched in 1981 and is owned and operated by Dominion Video Satellite Inc.

Programming Reviews:

DirecTV currently has a total of 250 channels. They have three basic packages and several foreign language programming packages as well. Their package series is called "Total Choice" and comes in channel increments of 155, 185, and 250. They also feature XM radio which they provide free with their programming packages. DirecTV also features a pay per view feature as well as 72 high definition channels.

Dish Network: Currently features a total of 375 programming channels. They also feature a wide selection of foreign language programming options. Dish Network features five basic programming packages in their "Americas Top" series beginning with their 40 channel entry level Dish Family Pak. They feature Sirius satellite radio which they provide free with their programming packages. They also have a pay per view feature as well as 38 high definition programming channels.

Sky Angel: offers a wide choice in Christian related programming channels because they are limited by the genre that they are in they currently have a total of 20 regular channels and 16 Christian radio channels. They only have one programming package and it contains everything that they have. They have no pay per view or high definition channels.