XFINITY satellite TV

DISH has been providing satellite TV service since 1996 after the company put its first satellite, EchoStar 1, into orbit and now includes a large DISH channel guide. As of February, 2015, DISH had about 14-million subscribers across the US. The company also offers satellite Internet service via their dishNET product launched in October, 2012. The dishNET service starts at $39.99 per month, with data plans ranging from 5GB to 15GB per month. You can also get DISH TV bundled with phone service through partnering companies.

Both companies also offer streaming products. XFINITY offers XFINITY Streampix® ($4.99 per month) providing unlimited access to the content you’re subscribed to or whatever they are offering for free. DISH Movie Pack® offers access to movies and TV shows a la carte on PCs, Macs, Android and iOS devices, the Roku 3, and supporting HDTVs and Blu-ray players. While it’s clear both companies offer more than just TV packages, with DISH offering DISH Anywhere, for the sake of this article we’ll only compare each provider’s television service.

2. HD Channels

To see what channels Comcast’s XFINITY offers, we used the zip code 98629 in La Center, WA. XFINITY listed 100 HD channels numbering in the 700 to 800 guide range. The list also included local HD channels, so the number of national channels in the area is closer to around 90. The lineup is made up of popular networks such as Discovery HD, Disney HD, and CNN HD, but also includes niche channels such as G4techTV HD, ROOT SPORTS NW HD, PAC-12 Oregon HD, and 3D Events HD — networks not found with every provider.

DISH currently lists 116 HD channels on their website, as well as local HD channels (which vary according to market but at the bare minimum include ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS and PBS). The company says they have the most HD channels in the industry, and we found 116 listed under All Packages on their website.