DirecTV STREAM lets you choose from four different plans and over 120 channels – but with so many options, it’s not easy to make sense of the menu. This guide is designed to help you understand DirecTV STREAM’s channel list and pick out the optimal plan that suits your needs. Continue on to:
- Learn what DirecTV STREAM is and how it works.
- Discover how DirecTV STREAM’s subscription plans compare.
- Find out which channels come with each plan.
- Get familiar with a handful of new and rebranded cable networks.
What is DirecTV STREAM?
If you’re new to cable cutting, some of the jargon that DirecTV uses in its advertising might seem unclear.
DirecTV STREAM bills itself as “a streaming, or over-the-top service that offers 120+ live TV channels, premium programming options and access to more than 25,000 on-demand shows and movies.”
Here’s a quick terminology breakdown.
Over-the-top
DirecTV STREAM provides TV programming by streaming it on top of your home internet connection rather than through a separate cable or satellite connection. Inside the industry, this format is called over-the-top (OTT). In other words: there are no policies or rules preventing you from buying a subscription to DirecTV STREAM. Some internet TV services require you to subscribe to a traditional cable plan before you can join, but DirecTV STREAM does not.
Premium programming
“Premium programming” is just a fancy way of saying “cable TV.” DirecTV STREAM lets you access ESPN, STARZ and other cable channels via the web instead of through satellite or cable TV providers.
On-demand
With DirecTV STREAM, you can get both on-demand and live TV channels. On-demand videos can be played at any time, but live video streams are like live TV programs – you have to be in front of the TV at the right time to catch the action.
Plans and Pricing
There are four different DirecTV STREAM plans. All the plans are easy to understand and when you upgrade, you get more of just about everything each step of the way.
- Entertainment ($69.99/month)
- Choice ($89.99/month)
- Ultimate ($104.99/month)
- Premier ($149.99/month)
All plans include local channels for the 4 major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX). Check out our DirecTV STREAM Review for more information.
DirecTV STREAM Channel List: Entertainment
If all you want is access to ESPN and other basic cable channels, Entertainment is a pretty good deal.
With Entertainment, you get all the major sports and news networks that you get with traditional cable and plenty of family-friendly channels, too.
Entertainment has:
- 9 major networks (ABC, AMC, CBS, Fox, FX, CW, NBC, TBS, TNT, USA Network)
- 4 sports channels (ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports 1, NBC Sports)
- 12 news channels (CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, CNBC, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, One American News, Viceland, WeatherNation, HLN)
- 16 educational/family channels (Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, Animal Planet, Disney Channel, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Lifetime, Baby First, Cartoon Network, TeenNick, Disney Junior, Disney XD, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, History, Nick Jr, Investigation Discovery)
- 4 music channels (MTV, MTV2, CMT, VH1)
- 3 Spanish language channels (Galavision, Telemundo, Univision)
- 23 variety channels (Spike, A&E, Audience, AXS TV, BET, Bravo, E!, Food Network, Freeform, FXX, HGTV, REELZ, RFD-TV, TCM, TLC, TruTV, TV Land, Velocity, WE tv, SYFY, Comedy Central)
DirecTV STREAM Channel List Overview: Choice
If you like sports, you may stand to benefit by upgrading to the Choice plan for $90/month. Unlike Entertainment, Choice offers access to regional sports channels plus the MLB Network, a few more ESPN channels and some extra college sports channels as well. You also get Comedy.TV, The Cooking Channel and a few other assorted variety channels.
Choice has all the channels you’ll get with Entertainment (with the exception of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), plus:
- 7 more sports channels (A Wealth of Entertainment, Big Ten Network, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, MLB Network, SEC Network, Tennis Channel)
- 2 additional news channels (CNBC World, Weather Channel)
- 3 more family / educational channels (Justice Central, Nicktoons, Science)
- 1 extra Spanish language channel (UniMas)
- 12 more variety channels (Comedy TV, Cooking Channel, Fuse, Fusion, Game Show Network, IFC, OWN, Pop, Sundance TV, Travel Channel, TV One)
DirecTV STREAM Channel List Overview: Ultimate
Highlights of the $105/month Ultimate package include Sundance TV, FXM, CBS Sports Network, FOX Sports 2, the Olympic Channel, Golf Channel, NBA TV and the NHL Network.
With Ultimate you get all the channels in Choice, plus:
- 6 more sports channels (CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports 2, Golf Channel, NBA TV, NHL Network, Olympic Channel)
- 1 extra news channel (BBC World News)
- 4 more family / educational channels (Discovery Family Channel, Discovery Life, Nat Geo WILD, Universal Kids)
- 2 more music channels (MTV Classic, Revolt)
- 1 more Spanish language channel (Universo)
- 12 more variety channels (American Heroes Channel, Centric*, Destination America, DIY Network, FM, FX Movie Channel, fyi, *LMN, Logo, Oxygen, TVG)
*Centric and LMN recently rebranded. Their new names are BET Her and Lifetime Movies
DirecTV STREAM Channel List Overview: Premier
Premier ($150/month) seems to have been designed with movie fans in mind. With DirecTV STREAM’s highest-tier plan, you get all eight Starz and Starz Encore channels as well as Chiller, the El Rey Network, and Boomerang.
In other words, Premier has all the Ultimate channels and:
- 8 STARZ channels (STARZ Action, STARZ Black, STARZ East, STARZ Family, STARZ Classic, STARZ Suspense, STARZ West, STARZ Westerns)
- 1 more Family / educational channel (Boomerang)
- 1 more Spanish-language channel (Univision Deportes)
- a couple of variety channels (Chiller, El Rey)
DirecTV STREAM’s Lesser-Known Channels, Explained
Do some of the networks on our DirecTV STREAM’s channel list have you scratching your head? If so, you’re not alone. Here are descriptions of the lesser-known channels that appear on the DirecTV STREAM menu.
FXX
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Entertainment.
FX’s sister channel airs comedy and drama reruns and made headlines in 2014 for playing all 550+ Simpsons episodes back-to-back.
HLN
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Entertainment.
HLN’s former (and far more descriptive) name was Headline News. The point of the recent rebrand effort was to refocus the news service on domestic stories and “news that hits home.”
REELZ
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Entertainment.
Like FXX, REELZ is another channel that airs repeats of old TV shows and movies. In addition to airing syndicated shows, REELZ also churns out original reality TV programs like Master P’s Family Empire and Celebrity Damage Control.
Freeform
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Entertainment.
Freeform’s target demographic is young women between the ages of 14 and 34 – an age group that Freeform’s president Tom Ascheim calls “becomers.”
“The most important question that young people ask themselves as they’re going from high school to their thirties is, ‘Who am I becoming?’ So we call the life stage ‘becoming’ and the people going through it Becomers,” – Tom Ascheim, president of Freeform
The network’s two most popular shows at the moment are Pretty Little Liars and Shadowhunters.
Centric (BET Her)
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Ultimate.
Though DirecTV STREAM still lists Centric as a channel that comes with Ultimate, the channel recently changed its name to BET Her. As the new name suggests, BET Her is a lifestyle channel that caters to African-American women.
Chiller
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Premier.
If you guessed that the Chiller channel was about chilling out and relaxing, you’re not only incorrect – you’re dead wrong. Chiller specializes in horror movies and its tagline is “It’s scary good.”
Logo
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Premier.
When Logo first came out back in 2005, its target demographic was the LGBT community. However, in 2012 Logo shifted gears. Citing research indicating that most gays and lesbians do not prefer living and socializing in exclusively gay and lesbian communities, Logo decided to shift away from shows featuring LGBT leads and themes.
Currently, Logo only has two original programs: a show about dating called Finding Prince Charming and a reality TV show about six gay men sharing a beachfront house called Fire Island.
Destination America
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Ultimate.
Destination America – a network currently known for reality TV shows featuring ghost investigations – was originally a channel about environmentalism and sustainable living called Planet Green. The network is currently using its official website to promote yet another paranormal-themed reality TV show called America’s Most Haunted Asylum.
El Rey
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Premier.
Though El Rey is funded by Univision, it isn’t a Spanish-language channel. The El Rey network airs English-language grindhouse films. El Rey’s founder Robert Rodriguez directed Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn and a slew of other notable horror flicks.
Revolt
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Ultimate.
The Revolt network is the brainchild of the rapper formerly known as Sean “Diddy” Combs. Originally, Revolt was designed to be a music channel “by artists, for artists.” However, low ratings made it hard for the network to gain ground. Vice’s music blog Noisey recently described Revolt as “once good but now forgotten” – but Revolt is still carrying on, regardless.
American Heroes Channel
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Ultimate.
American Heroes Channel is a Discovery Channel offshoot that focuses on programs related to the military, warfare, and military history and science. On the official American Heroes Channel website, the network is promoting a new documentary called WWII: Witness to War.
Boomerang
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Premier.
Boomerang is owned by Cartoon Network. It specializes in repeats of classic cartoons like Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Scooby-Do, but it also airs repeats of newer Cartoon Network shows originals as well.
LMN (Lifetime Movies)
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Ultimate.
Like Centric, LMN is another DirecTV STREAM offering that technically no longer exists. LMN is now known as Lifetime Movies. Like its newer and more descriptive name suggests, LMN specializes in female-oriented made-for-TV movies.
fyi
- Available on DirecTV STREAM with Ultimate.
The fyi channel calls itself a “contemporary lifestyle network.” In other words: it’s a reality TV show factory. When it first came out in 1999, fyi was known as The Biography Channel.
DirecTV STREAM’s Channel List In a Nutshell
DirecTV STREAM is a cable replacement service from DirecTV that allows you to get your cable TV fix via the internet. Four monthly plans are available: Entertainment ($70), Choice ($90), Ultimate ($105) and Premier ($150).
If you’re into college sports…
If you’re an NCAA sports fan, Choice could be all you need. With Choice, you can get ESPN 1 and 2, ESPNU, the SEC and Big 10 networks. Plus, you have a good chance of getting local TV feeds if you live close to a major city. That’s not a bad deal for $90, especially if you follow an SEC or Big 10 team.
If you’re a movie buff…
The 8 STARZ movie channels that come with Premier are designed to lure in people who like box office smash hits (STARZ) and horror movies (El Rey, Chiller). However, it only makes sense to invest in Premier if you’re a true movie geek. If you’re the type of person who only watches movies every once in a while, it may make more sense to rent a movie from Google Play or Amazon Video whenever you’re in the mood to see a flick.
If you get most of your entertainment over the airwaves…
If your TV antenna takes care of most of your television viewing but your local channels bore you occasionally, the Entertainment plan lets you add some spice to your TV lineup. The Entertainment channel lineup isn’t huge but it’s diverse and has a little something for everyone. In addition to having a nice selection of family-oriented channels, Entertainment also has a robust mix of variety TV networks.
Alex Munkachy is a freelance writer, game developer and hobby robotics enthusiast. You can find his blog about robotics news and reviews at robotfanatics.com.
As a NYC area sports fan, are there any plans to add MSG, SNY, & YES to DirecTV Now’s channel line up?