The very top tier from the DirecTV suite is called Premier. TV doesn’t get much better than this!
With over 150 channels on the streaming service and over 340 for satellites, you’ll have as much entertainment as you could need. Although, it is pretty expensive.
This means that DirecTV Premier is a great option for those who want maximum entertainment, but have the budget to accommodate for it.
I found this out by researching everything that’s possible to research. And now, I’m going to bring you the following information about this package:
- Its pros and cons
- An overview of DirecTV itself
- The plan and the pricing
- The channel lineup
- Additional channels you can choose to add
- Where DirecTV is available in the US
- TV packages from competitors
- Premier vs. the Competition
So without further ado, let’s get started.
AT&T DirecTV Premier Pros and Cons
Here are the highlights and drawbacks of this package:
Pros:
- Great choice of channels
- Discount price on first two months
- Streaming is substantially cheaper overall
- Covers the whole of the US
- Satellite is a great option for those with slow internet
- Can come as a bundle with AT&T Fiber plans
- Covers sports, movies and more
Cons:
- Very expensive
- Streaming has far fewer channels
- Long contract for satellites
- Some additional fees to consider
AT&T DirecTV Overview
AT&T’s TV service used to be called U-verse, but now it has permanently changed to the DirecTV branding. But it’s still the same great service!
It covers the whole of the US, offers plenty of channels throughout its four tiers, and you can choose to go with streaming or satellite.
Each of these has its own pros and cons as we will explain throughout this article. But as an overview, satellite is more expensive with more channels whereas streaming is more affordable (and with no contract) but doesn’t offer as much choice.
Here’s a quick look at each of the four packages as an overview.
| Plan | Max price per month(Stream/Satellite) | Number of Channels (Stream/Satellite) | What You Get |
| Entertainment | $69.99/$102 | 75+/165+ | All the best basic channels |
| Choice | $89.99/$124 | 105+/200+ | Entertainment plus loads of sports and more |
| Ultimate | $104.99/$154 | 140+/270+ | Choice plus movie channels |
| Premier | $149.99/$209 | 150+/340+ | Everything you could want, including HBO Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ etc. |
Another bonus for each of these packages is that you can take your service on the go with you. Whether you opt for DirecTV Stream or the satellite alternative, AT&T will allow you to stream on three devices outside of the home simultaneously.
AT&T DirecTV Premier Pricing
Today, we’re going to be looking at the top tier of the four, Premier. Of course, it’s the most expensive, but it does have a heck of a lot of channels.
Those channels include plenty of premium channels that you would have to pay quite a lot for per month if you were to add them as a bolt-on for one of the other plans.
So, if you think you’re going to get the use out of them, it could work out more affordable overall. But then again, it is a big jump in price compared to the other packages.
Make sure you stay tuned to find out the channels you get, which we’re going to take a look at now.
AT&T DirecTV Premier Channel Lineup
To give you a clear idea of the differences between the packages in terms of the channel lineups, we’ll look at them one by one. First of all, here’s the channel lineup for the DirecTV Entertainment package. This is the bare minimum you can get.
We’ll be looking at DirecTV Stream for this lineup as satellite packages have a lot of local channels that vary from state to state. If it’s a satellite you’re interested in, you can find out the channel lineup here.
Here’s the Entertainment lineup [1]:
| A&E | AccuWeather | AMC | Animal Planet | AXS TV |
| Baby First HD | BBC America | BET | Black News | Bloomberg TV |
| Boomerang | Bravo | C-SPAN | C-SPAN 2 | Cartoon Netw… |
| Cleo TV | CMT | CNBC | CNN | CNNi |
| Comedy Central | Discovery | Disney Channel | Disney Junior | Disney XD |
| E! | ESPN | ESPN2 | Food Network | Fox Business |
| Fox News | Fox Weather | Bally Sports 1 | Freeform | FX |
| FXX | GEM Shopping | Hallmark | Hallmark Movie | HGTV |
| History | HLN | HSN | Investigation… | Lifetime |
| Motor Trend | MSNBC | MTV | MTV 2 | National Geo… |
| NBC Sports | Nickelodeon | Ovation | Paramount TV | QVC |
| QVC 2 | Reelz | Revolt | RFD-TV | SundanceTV |
| Syfy | TBS | TCM | Teen Nick | TLC |
| TNT | TruTV | TV Land | TV One | USA Network |
| VH1 | Vice | WE TV |
Not a bad selection, of course. But it gets even better when you upgrade to Choice. Here’s what you get on tier 2:
| ACCNHD | Big Ten Netw… | Cheddar News | CNBC World | Comedy TV |
| Cooking Chnl | Cozi TV | ESPNEWS | ESPNU | GAC Family |
| Game Show Nw | Golf Channel | GRIT | Heroes & Icons | Justice Central |
| MLB Network | NBA TV | Nick Jr | Nick Toons | OWN |
| POP | Science | SEC Network | ShortsTV | Tastemade |
| Tennis Channel | The Weather Ch | Travel Channel | TVG | UniMas |
| UPtv |
Pretty neat! On top of all those channels, you’ll get the following if you opt for tier three, Ultimate:
| Amrcn Heroes | BBC Wrld News | BET Her | CBS Sports Ntw | Dstn America |
| Discovery Fmly | Discovery Life | FM | FOX Sports 2 | FX Movie Chnl |
| fyi, | LMN | Logo HD | Magnolia Ntw | MTV Classic |
| Nat Geo WILD | NHL Network | Olympic Chnl | Oxygen | Smithsonian |
| Sportsman | STARZ Action | STARZ Black | STARZ Classic | STARZ East |
| STARZ Family | STARZ Suspens | STARZ West | STARZ Western | Universal Kids |
| UNIVERSO |
And now for the final level, Premier. The channels that are unique to this top tier are as follows:
| AMC | Cinemax East | HBO East | HBO 2 East | HBO Family Est |
| HBO Latino | SHOWTIME Est | SHOWTIME 2… | SHOWTIME EX | STARZ |
| STARZ Kids |
You might have noticed that you don’t actually get as many additional channels here compared to the levels before. But a big part of that is that most of the Premier channels are premium. They’d cost a lot if you bought them individually, as we’re about to find out.
AT&T DirecTV Premier Channel Add-Ons
Because DirecTV Premier features most of the channels you could possibly need, there isn’t as much choice for add-ons compared to the other three tiers. That being said, there are a few extra channels you can pick up if you desire. They are:
| Channel | Price per month |
| HBO Max | $14.99 |
| EPIX | $5.99 |
| AMC+ | $6.99 |
| Hallmark Movies Now | $5.99 |
| Lifetime Movie Club | $3.99 |
| A&E Crime Central | $4.99 |
| ALLBLK | $4.99 |
| Fox Nation | $5.99 |
| HISTORY Vault | $4.99 |
| Pantaya | $5.99 |
| UP Faith & Family | $5.99 |
| Revry | $6.99 |
| DOGTV | $4.99 |
AT&T DirecTV Premier Availability
Fortunately, DirecTV is one of the only TV companies that’s available in every single state in the US [2]. Most other providers only provide their services to a small number of states.
This means you can get both the satellite and the streaming services in the vast majority of the US. However, in some small areas (mainly rural), you might only be able to get your hands on one or the other.
To find out once and for all if your home address is able to get one or both of the services, you can enter it into this website.
By the way, one other factor you will have to consider if you’re thinking about taking up DirecTV Stream is the speed of your internet. It requires at least 8 Mbps for one single stream [3].
It’s possible to stream to unlimited devices in the same home with this service in theory. So if you’re thinking about sharing with multiple users, you’ll need to work out how many multiples of 8 Mbps will be required from your network.
If you’re not sure how much speed you’re getting at home right now, you can always conduct a quick and free speed test online.
AT&T DirecTV Premier vs the Other DirecTV Packages
If Premier feels like it might be out of your price range, don’t worry. You do have other options. Here’s a breakdown of each of the other DirecTV packages including how much they cost and how many channels they have.
| Package Name | Number of Channels | Streaming Price | Satellite Price (first year/second year) |
| Entertainment | 75+/165+ | $69.99 | $74.99/$102 |
| Choice | 105+/200+ | $89.99 | $79.99/$124 |
| Ultimate | 140+/270+ | $104.99 | $99.99/$154 |
| Premier | 150+/340+ | $149.99 | $149.99/$209 |
Remember, there will be extra fees on top of each of these. They include a $19.95 activation fee for satellite services and equipment for streaming.
AT&T will try to charge you for a streaming device but you can get around this by opting for a Chromecast, Fire Stick or something similar. You can find out more about the AT&T fees here.
AT&T DirecTV Premier vs the Competition
If you’re lucky enough to be living in an area where multiple TV services operate, you’ll be able to choose from a bunch of competition. Of course, this is not going to be possible for a lot of people across the US.
Here’s a look at some of the key competitor plans, and their most closely-priced packages to Premier. Just make sure you check out the availability of them before you get too excited. For example, Verizon Fios TV is only available to a few states in the East.
By the way, we’re looking at the streaming options for the following. That’s because Verizon, Xfinity and Hulu do not offer a satellite service.
| Plan | Price per month | Number of Channels | Price per Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| DirecTV Premier | $149.99 | 150+ | $1 |
| The Most Fios TV | $110 | 425+ | $0.26 |
| Xfinity Premier | $89.99 | 185+ | $0.48 |
| Hulu & Live TV | $69.99 | 75+ | $0.93 |
As you can see, DirecTV Premier actually works out quite a bit more expensive than its rivals. But that’s mainly because you get a lot more premium channels here. We recommend you take a look at each of the channel lineups to work out which are best for you.
Overall, however, the Verizon and Xfinity offerings are better value for money. They’re just not as available as DirecTV.
AT&T DirecTV Premier FAQ
Here are the most common questions surrounding DirecTV Premier.
Is DirecTV Premier easy to set up?
How you set up DirecTV Premier depends on if you’re opting for streaming or satellite. For streaming, all you need to do is subscribe then plug in your streaming device. Satellite is a bit more complicated as you will need to have an engineer install a dish to your home.
You can find out more info about AT&T setup in general here. There, you’ll find a comprehensive guide to setting up both streaming and satellite.
Is AT&T DirecTV better than regular cable?
Of course, DirecTV is better than regular cable in that it offers more channels, but it is a lot more expensive. Interestingly, AT&T DirecTV is the largest provider of satellite and streaming programming with over 18 million subscribers. That has to count for something.
How does the satellite dish get installed?
An AT&T engineer will set up your satellite dish for you if you have a home with a clear view of the southern sky that isn’t blocked by trees or other buildings. There are six different sizes of dish that range from a round 18” circle to an oval that’s 32” by 22”.
Is it easy to sort through the channels?
One of the best things about DirecTV is that it has a strong interface, which means it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. There are sensible sorting options, and that makes channel surfing a lot more easy and enjoyable.
Wrapping Up on AT&T DirecTV Premier
Despite the high price of Premier, it’s definitely a great service. You get a lot of fantastic channels for your money, and you’ll be very unlucky to live in an area where it’s not available.
We do recommend considering the other packages from DirecTV before you make a decision so that you’re not spending any more money than is necessary. We also recommend checking out the competition, as you might get a better deal there.
But overall, DirecTV Premier is pretty neat. And remember, you can bundle it with Fiber. To find out more about those AT&T bundles, take a look at this guide.
