DIRECTV Genre Plans: The Best and Worst Deals Now Available
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow on X.
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TV Answer Man, I have been looking at the DIRECTV genre plans because they have lower prices. What do you think is the best deal with those plans? What would you recommend getting? – Gene, Pittsburgh.
Gene, DIRECTV earlier this year launched four ‘genre packs’ for sports, entertainment, news and Spanish-speaking customers. The packages include fewer channels than the traditional pay TV bundle so they cost less. For example, the ‘My Entertainment’ genre plan offers more than 40 lifestyle and entertainment channels for $34.99 a month. The ‘My Sports’ plan has more than 20 national sports and news channels for $69.99 a month. See this article for more details and channel lineups.
Which DIRECTV Genre Plan Offers the Best Value?
The Sports genre plan gets the most attention because sports always gets the most attention in our culture. But I wouldn’t say it has the most value. The base lineup does not include CBS, which broadcasts a lot of sports, nor regional sports channels. If you want an RSN, you have to pay an additional $19.99 a month. That is, if your RSN is available via the Genre Pack. Some markets also do not have the local affiliates for the other networks. At $69.99 a month, you are probably better off just getting a regular pay TV service for $20-30 a month more.
No, I would say the best value is the MyEntertainment plan for $34.99 a month. The lineup includes a significant number of basic cable channels such as Bravo, CNBC, CNN, FX, Cooking Channel, Syfy, The History Channel and many others; there are more than 40 channels in total. You also get the ads-included Max and the Disney Plus-Hulu basic, ads-included bundle at no additional cost. That’s a lot of programming for just $34.99 a month.
Which DIRECTV Genre Plan Has the Worst Value?
That is an easy one. The MyNews plan has just 14 channels for $39.99 a month. That’s a terrible deal. The lineup includes CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, but let’s face it, in this polarized culture, most people only watch one of the three. There’s also CNBC, CNBC World, Bloomberg Television, Newsmax, Fox Business and a few others, but certainly nothing to justify the relatively big price tag here.
Gene, I hope that answers your question. 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 TV. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
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Both the person at ATT and 2 different calls to direct say after a few months it costs 84.99 and turns into the regular entertainment package. What have you heard
But the Entertainment genre plan does not become the regular Entertainment package. You keep the price of the genre plan, whatever it is at this point.
The Entertainment genre plan is not the same as the Entertainment Signature plan which is more expensive. You keep the genre price after two months whatever it is at this point.