Should You Order DIRECTV’s MySports Bundle?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for more than 30 years.

TV Answer Man, I am thinking of getting DIRECTV’s MySports but I am not sure. What is your take? Do you think it’s a good deal? – Roger, Vail, Colorado.

Roger, DIRECTV yesterday launched a new ‘skinny’ sports bundle called MySports that includes 44 channels for $70 a month. (17 of the channels are free channels available now on DIRECTV’s MyFreeDIRECTV free service. You don’t need a MySports sub to watch them. So you’re actually paying to watch 27 channels.)

The MySports plan is intended to reach consumers who want to watch sports without having to pay for a more expensive pay TV bundle that also includes dozens of non-sports channels.

But that’s where I have a problem with MySports.

The plan does not include CBS, which has an array of sports including NFL playoff games and March Madness college basketball, or regional sports networks (RSNs), which offer the local broadcasts of your hometown teams. Those are two major holes in the MySports lineup. Unless you’re a casual sports fan who doesn’t live and die with your local team and/or you can live without watching some high-profile events, MySports is not for you.

To complete your lineup, you would need to subscribe to another pay TV offering such as the $12.99 a month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan which has a live feed of your local CBS affiliate. And you would have to get a plan that has your local regional sports network. By the time you’re done, your $70 a month MySports plan would be more than $100 a month. And if you’re paying that much, it makes more sense to just subscribe to a pay TV service that already has everything you need.

To make matters even more complicated, MySports does not have at least one of the Fox, NBC or ABC affiliates in some markets. So there could be even more holes in your lineup.

DIRECTV says it plans to fill those holes at some point with carriage deals with CBS, missing network affiliates and regional sports networks. But as of now, the holes are way too big for me to even consider subscribing.

One caveat: DIRECTV is offering $20 off each month for the first three months and there is a five-day free trial. At $50 a month, MySports might be worth a flier if you don’t currently have a pay TV subscription. But the lineup would have to dramatically improve when that promotional price ended.

Roger, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered television for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch  television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.