Change Programming Package or Drop Dish?

[GuardMan]

So I'm looking for a bit of advise; perhaps from some folks who have done or considered the same thing. I'm in need of saving some money and was looking to either change my programming to the Flex pack or dropping Dish altogether for a streaming option like Sling. Currently, I'm on Dish 120 with just the Movie Pack which I got a promotional rate for; so I feel I'm pretty basic already. My options:
- Flex Pack w/Add-Ons: While we don't watch a whole lot of TV, there are a few key channels and of course I'm not going to get them all without any add-on packages. I figure with the Flex pack, I can pretty much save $20 a month and really only loose out on the ESPN channels and Movie Pack.
- Sling w/Add-ons: I'm currently on a contract, so dropping Dish for Sling would mean I owe them about $200. So I have to consider if it is worth it to save $$$ monthly over getting hit with a penalty. However, I could probably save about $60 per month (which is huge for me right now). I would really go Sling but the cancellation fee and lack of physical DVR make me hesitate. We time-shift a lot and skipping commercials will not be as easy with streaming. (I have Amazon Prime, so I assume I can use the cloud DVR function with Sling or I could always go with PS Vue.)

Any thoughts or opinions?

On a side note, I've been a Dish customer for close to 20 years and when I contacted Dish about my options, I was a bit disappointed that they seemed to not care if I left. I've been loyal to Dish (even keeping my account on hold when I had to relocate and temporarily lived in an apartment); Ive had Dish through 4 moves in that time. I know I'm on a contract and perhaps they figure that will keep me. I like dish and always have, but I just need to save some cash right now.

Anyways, any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

 

[primestar31]

If you are still with Dish right now, and have the grandfathered lower fee prices, (dvr fee, etc) I'd highly suggest you switch to the Flex Pack for now. At least until your contract is up. Then you can decide what else your options are.

 

[GuardMan]

If you are still with Dish right now, and have the grandfathered lower fee prices, (dvr fee, etc) I'd highly suggest you switch to the Flex Pack for now. At least until your contract is up. Then you can decide what else your options are.

I'm not sure if I have the grandfatherd fees; only because I got under a new contract (assuming when I upgraded to H3). My equipment fees are $15 for DVR service and $7 each for the Joeys. I'm probably going to drop one of the Joeys as it not used too often.

 

[cpalmer2k]

Another option might be to switch to the Welcome Pack as well? Depending on the upgrade terms you agreed to it may or may not meet the contract requirements. You could supplement that with streaming possibly and might still end up cheaper?

 

[GuardMan]

Another option might be to switch to the Welcome Pack as well? Depending on the upgrade terms you agreed to it may or may not meet the contract requirements. You could supplement that with streaming possibly and might still end up cheaper?

The Welcome Pack is close but it's missing a few too many of our watched channels. You may be right about the supplement with streaming but while I want to save money, I'm not quite ready to have 3-4 different ways for programming (OTA, Satellite, Sling, Amazon, etc..)

 

[KAB]

I'm not quite ready to have 3-4 different ways for programming (OTA, Satellite, Sling, Amazon, etc..)

I don't blame ya. I would not either. Go to Flex, and see how that works

 

[Tampa8]

I think you did a good assessment. I don't think the current customer discounts include the Top 120. To be sure you could check with a DIRT member here.

If not, the Flex Pack would seem to be the choice. Since you are in a contract I'm guessing you upgraded to a Hopper so you probably do not have grandfathered fees. Again however talk to a DIRT member to get the best advice based on your account. Flex will give you more channels for less money than the Top 120 but without most of the sports. (Unless you add on) Also remember you can add on packs only when you need them like when a series is running or for a sporting event.

 

[GuardMan]

I think you did a good assessment. I don't think the current customer discounts include the Top 120. To be sure you could check with a DIRT member here.

If not, the Flex Pack would seem to be the choice. Since you are in a contract I'm guessing you upgraded to a Hopper so you probably do not have grandfathered fees. Again however talk to a DIRT member to get the best advice based on your account.

Thanks. Working with DiRT member already but the only real feedback I'm getting is just the steps for going to Flex; so I turned to the forum for advise.

 

[KAB]

Thanks. Working with DiRT member already but the only real feedback I'm getting is just the steps for going to Flex; so I turned to the forum for advise.

And as usual, Dirt is giving you the best advice. BTW, I am on Flex and is perfect for our needs.

 

[camo]

I would look at PSVUE vs Sling if you go streaming route. PQ is better than Dish IMO plus you get 28 day cloud DVR. FireTV box has decent guide and 60 FPS@720I for Vue. Sling is near bottom of barrel when it comes to streaming the only thing worse is Directv Now.

 

[my3son]

I had sling when we were between houses. It was a tough pill to swallow just to have sling, it's a great product but a huge difference from a dvr, locals etc. I'd cut my packages to the bone before I switched to sling if I were you.


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[MitchDeerfield]

The Movie Pack is only $5 a month, I would add that to the Flex Pack.

 

[Chris Leer]

If I was you I would suggest checking out sling tv because they have a lot of the channels on there that you're already paying for with your subscription and plus they have dvr capabilities that can be stored to the cloud now when I last checked and sling has this nice box called the Airtv that you can hook up to your tv antenna if you want OTA as well it's been advertised on tv a lot to try to get people to cut the cord.

 

[AlaJoe]

First thing you need to do is decide what you must have, what you can live without and how much of your life you want to devote to watching TV. I went from top 200 to flex plus action pack and locals. Saved $35.00 a month or $420.00 a year. We only gave up 2 channels we watched to any degree. My DVR still has more stuff in it than I can get around to watching.

 

[Yespage]

One thing that can help the pain with Welcome Pack is you can shuffle a little money back into Premiums. Dish appears to still offer deals on Premiums if you sub to Welcome Pack at least to some subs. Also, with the money saved with Welcome, that makes PS Vue a potential, while still saving money.

I think a critical thing to keep in mind is not to just go bonkers to try and save a few bucks immediately (dropping Dish altogether). You need to be certain that your long-term entertainment needs won't have you coming back at a higher price.

 

[pattykay]

- Sling w/Add-ons: I'm currently on a contract, so dropping Dish for Sling would mean I owe them about $200. So I have to consider if it is worth it to save $$$ monthly over getting hit with a penalty.

If you are under contract, your early cancellation fee is probably $20 per month remaining. So, you could switch to Welcome Pack at $19.99 per month just to ride out the contract, and actually get some programming for about the same amount of money you would have had to pay just in cancellation fees for no service.

The Welcome Pack is close but it's missing a few too many of our watched channels. You may be right about the supplement with streaming but while I want to save money, I'm not quite ready to have 3-4 different ways for programming (OTA, Satellite, Sling, Amazon, etc..)

If it helps, you could look at it as having Welcome Pack just to supplement whichever streaming service you choose, instead of the other way around.

 

[TalonDancer]

FWIW We have one Hopper 3, the Welcome Pack and HBO w/ TT&L = $45.50/mo. HBO is on a $10/mo promo, which we may or may not keep after Game of Thrones wraps up.

Dish has Free Previews of one or more of the premium channels almost every month. With the 16 tuners Hopper3 and a little planning, we can usually record every movie on HBO/Cinemax/Starz/Epic/Showtime that we want to watch that month in a single 4 day weekend

 

[Bobby]

Keep in mind that Game of Thrones will not wrap up until next year...

 

[GuardMan]

Thanks all for the replies. I decided to go with the Flex pack with locals. Sure, I could go OTA but I'm not at the point where I want to be switching devices to watch all of my programming. By moving to the Flex pack and dropping one of my 2 Joeys, I am saving about $32 a month. For that I'm sacrificing mostly the ESPN channels and Disney. I can live without 24/7 sports and the kid is starting to grow out of Disney anyways. Otherwise, I don't think I lost much (at least for whats important to me).

On a side note, some of the great responses in this thread made me think about how other people are saving $$$. Perhaps this thread could continue, or another one created, for people to share their money saving tips. Everyone has different things that work for them and shared experiences might help out the next person. I know it's a Dish Support forum but saving money does not mean you have to drop Dish (as I learned).

Thanks again all.