Being very tight financially, I am always looking for ways to save money. Today, Kevin from Satellite TV Guru is going to warn us about falling for the hype of the free satellite tv. Hope you enjoy this post
Free satellite television, like all those free lunches, simply does not exist. Advertised by hucksters and billion dollar companies alike, the notion of “free satellite TV” is designed to prey upon those who are looking to cut back on expenses (who isn’t?) or those looking to get something for nothing but have no idea the consequence of their actions. Looking past the fine print on offers from Dish Network and DirecTV regarding “free TV” and satellite pirates who try to recruit you into their gang, it’s actually cheaper to stick with a basic satellite plan. Plus you can sleep at night.
Seen through multi-colored paper flyers and internet ads, free satellite TV can either mean two things: Dish Network or DirecTV are offering free installation and are walking a fine line on truth in advertising or there are those who don’t even bother with the right side of the law and can provide consumers with equipment to obtain pirated satellite signals.
For DirecTV and Dish Network, both leading satellite providers used to run a lot of ads with “Free Satellite TV*” emblazoned across the top with big fancy fonts. Notice the asterisk? It means read the fine print because this is too good to be true and it is. When both companies run these types of ads, (they’ve greatly decreased them) what they mean is free installation, not free content. It’s still a good deal but don’t be fooled; once either company strolls up to your humble abode, they’ll get you set up for TV viewing but make no mistake, they are going to send you a bill for all channels you get. Still, as far as Johnny Law goes, paying a programming bill to its owner beats obtaining their signals through illegal means.
Many fly-by-night operations advertise free satellite television by selling off-shoot dish equipment and cards that will allow buyers to pick up signals without the burden of payment. There’s a catch. DirecTV and Dish will discover you and knock out your service. When they do, all you can do is return to your “provider” to have them reprogram your card for a price. You’d have to keep doing this every time your service is knocked out. Plus, it’s not out of the question that DirecTV and Dish would be able to detect locations and relay that information to local authorities.
In the end, it’s just plan easier and cheaper in the long run to obtain satellite service through, let’s say, traditional methods. If you’re simply looking to slash budgetary costs, going with either DirecTV or Dish and purchasing their cheapest plan is the way to go. Both companies offer basic plans which run around $24.99 to $29.99 before tax with additional fees for HDTV and DVR service though Dish Network’s plan is the cheapest. The “DishFamily” package provides local channels and a handful of popular channels like Animal Planet, Discovery, Nickelodeon, TV Land and Fox News. Using each company’s “free offer,” installation is free up to four rooms along with dish positioning and receivers. DVRs may cost extra. Legal and cheap usually wins and, in this case, it does.