Satellite TV: Why To Switch - By: Jonathan Baldwin

Cable Television is done. Finished. In terms of pricing, channel selection, and in the face of ever decaying and problematic wiring, Cable television is no longer a viable choice against satellite TV. The average cable television service has roughly 4% outages versus satellite's 1%. In these economic hardships, there is a chance many cable companies could fail to take care of many of their old cable lines while focusing on expanding to more areas, which would raise outages further. Satellite television, on the other hand, needs not to expand much further as the satellites reach a much broader area. This means that for many people in rural or suburban areas where cable cannot reach, satellite is the only option. Satellite service will be stable and consistent as opposed to cable. To top it all off, satellite has a wider selection of channels at a generally lower price than cable. The average cable television service's lowest possible plan with a bare 60 channels costs $40 per month. Whereas satellite television offers plans with much more for far less. For a similar 60 channel package, some Dish Network affiliates are running specials as low as $9.99 per month for the first year. It is easy to find packages with hundreds of channels below cable's often bare minimum expense of $40 per month for a paltry 60 channels. The more desirable 100 channel plans for example, cost a mere $30 dollars or less with satellite television, depending what the promotional plans are offering. With cable it often averages in the $60 range. As of 2009, some Dish Network affiliates are running specials with 200 channels for $22 a month, half the price a cable plan with a mere 60 channels would offer. If you want the widest selection of channels possible, satellite television is the only way to go. Both DirecTV and Dish Network have packages with over 250 channels. In the rarity that a cable company even has that wide a selection, the price is often almost double that of satellite TV. As a bonus, many premium channels, such as HBO and Starz, come free with certain packages of DirecTV or Dish Network, usually for a limited time. Overall, it is clear that cable television is no longer economical, nor does it have the great selection of channels that satellite television has. As such, during these trying economic times, it is inevitable that many cable TV subscribers will switch to satellite television services. The price savings, coupled with a wider selection of channels, and a more reliable service with only one fourth as many outages as cable, make satellite television a choice that is simply impossible to resist.