Direct TV Review: What Does It Offer For Sports Fans?

You hear it in their commercials all the time: Direct TV offers the most comprehensive sports packaging than any other satellite TV provider. But, is it true? Let’s have a look.
If you love Football, then you won’t want to miss the chance to subscribe to the NFL Ticket, which offers you the most sought-after NFL games on TV. You might even be tempted to say that Direct TV built its business on the back on the NFL, and you wouldn’t be off base (so to speak). Because it’s exclusive to Direct TV, NFL Sunday Ticket regularly accounts for a large chunk of people who sign up for the service. I’ve had it for a couple years and have to admit it’s great. But if football isn’t your thing, what else is there?
Plenty. Is basketball your game? Then sign up for the NBA League Pass, which shows all of your favorite NBA teams in action. This is a great package for displaced fans, as is MLB Extra Innings, the equivalent of NFL Sunday Ticket but for baseball fanatics. Still not satisfied? Then check this out -- NASCAR lovers too can enjoy non stop action with the NASCAR Hotpass. There’s also ESPN Game Plan, which is great if you’re a fan of many sports, but not diehard enough about any one in particular to pay for the dedicated packages.
Speaking of a budget, if yours won’t allow ordering any of these extra special program offerings, don’t fret, the Direct TV regular sports channels still provide hundreds of hours of sporting coverage each and every week. Plus, those who enjoy more obscure and international sports can tune into a variety of sports specialties on Direct TV such as Cricket, European Soccer (obscure only to those of us here in America), horse racing, bowling, tennis and much, much more.
With programming prices starting at around $20 a month (with the most popular premium programming about $50-$65 per month), and running as much as $100 or so a month for a full load sports programming and specialty channels, there’s pretty much a level that just about anyone can afford. But hey, if you want to spend a couple hundred bucks, Direct TV isn’t going to turn you away. I’m sure you could find a bunch of pay-per-view movies and events to get you up to that level if you’re so inclined.
Finally, I wanted to fill you in on an extra special feature found only on Direct TV: the Interactive Mix, which allows you to watch eight (yes, I said eight) separate sporting events at a time on a split screen! Now, what could be better than that? And that’s a feature offered with the most basic $20 a month programming plan! Pretty cool, huh?
Now, I should point out that Dish Network also has a ton of sports programming as well, as do most digital cable packages. But both of those options lack some of the true out-of-market programming such as Sunday Ticket and Extra Innings. So, from one sports to another, I hope that helps you make a decision.