# Just take a look at how many channels the UK has compared to the US



## mkdtv21 (May 27, 2007)

The British should feel lucky in terms of how many national cable channels they have compared to the States.

Just check out this lineup from Sky UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_channels_on_Sky

The thing that makes me jealous the most is the amount of music video channels they have. Directv has really only 6 or so and most of them don't show music.
Also they have a whole 900's section of just adult channels. Who would even need that many for that kind of entertainment.

However we still have more HD channels the they do.


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## ericcooper1956 (Jul 19, 2011)

As far as general entertainment is concerned, the US sat companies have far more choices. I would rather have my DirecTV.


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## kenglish (Oct 2, 2004)

Notice how many of those are shown as "Free-to-Air", then compare to DirecTV, DISH or Cable.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Most of the FTA are either government supported (TV tax) or not worth paying for. One is still looking at $30+ subscriptions for the good stuff.

Channel lists can be misleading. Not all of those channels are available everywhere. There are thousands of channels on US DBS providers if you count all of them. One could receive several hundred unique choices via DBS anywhere in the US with the right equipment and subscriptions.


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## mkdtv21 (May 27, 2007)

James Long said:


> Most of the FTA are either government supported (TV tax) or not worth paying for. One is still looking at $30+ subscriptions for the good stuff.
> 
> Channel lists can be misleading. Not all of those channels are available everywhere. There are thousands of channels on US DBS providers if you count all of them. One could receive several hundred unique choices via DBS anywhere in the US with the right equipment and subscriptions.


What DBS system could I receive thousands of channels in the US and would the US ever get government supported free to air channels in the future and have a system like Freeview and Freesat.


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

mkdtv21 said:


> What DBS system could I receive thousands of channels in the US and would the US ever get government supported free to air channels in the future and have a system like Freeview and Freesat.


Maybe if we paid a $240.00 annual tax, as the Britts do, to watch TV.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

mkdtv21 said:


> What DBS system could I receive thousands of channels in the US and would the US ever get government supported free to air channels in the future and have a system like Freeview and Freesat.


Just like in the UK, the thousands of channels are not available nationwide. If you read what I actually wrote you'll see:
"One could receive several hundred unique choices via DBS anywhere in the US with the right equipment and subscriptions."

The basic English language packages top out around 300 channels, plus regional sports channels, PPV, Spanish and international channels.

As far as freeview channels, the US regulations do not require free public interest channels be provided to non-subscribers. So both providers have placed the US equivalent of free channels in their lowest paid packages. US regulations also do not allow providers to carry broadcast TV without the permission of the local stations - permission that more often than not comes at a price. Local stations that have become dependent on retransmission payments would do everything they could to kill a freeview system.

There are separate FTA antenna systems that can be used in the US ... they are just not marketed in the same way as overseas. Glorystar is a major primarily religious and family programming option. But FTA has stayed generally separate from the paid services in the US. Absolutely separate on the pizza dish systems. (No channels on DISH or DirecTV are actually offered FTA. Some may be receivable unscrambled, but the channels are not being offered free via those services.)


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## mkdtv21 (May 27, 2007)

Let me see if understand this correctly, the thousands of channels on dbs make up mostly local market stations and the several hundred unique choices on dbs would be like having the old Titanium package on Directv. As for free to air in the US, channels like universal sports and retro tv and other sub channels from a local stations ota are considered the fta here. But you must admit that there are far more national fta stations in the UK than the US. I looked up some of them and they show quality programming. Not all of them are public interest. Also when I look at the sky lineup it basically has 700 channels but I see most of them as national. Doesn't the UK not really have local stations except the regional bbc stations.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

mkdtv21 said:


> As for free to air in the US, channels like universal sports and retro tv and other sub channels from a local stations ota are considered the fta here.


Perhaps in your opinion. Those local subchannel TV channels are services the local stations subscribe to and pay for via advertising (in most cases). They may be free to OTA TV viewers, but they are not free to carry and they are only free to viewers via stations that have chosen to pay for the right to carry the "channel" in question.

True FTA doesn't cost anyone anything to watch ... and you'll find that on non-DBS satellite.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

davring said:


> Maybe if we paid a $240.00 annual tax, as the Britts do, to watch TV.


If there's a blind person in the house it's only $118, $40 if blind and with a B&W TV.

What's crazy is they actually have enforcement officers for it.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> If there's a blind person in the house it's only $118, $40 if blind and with a B&W TV.
> 
> What's crazy is they actually have enforcement officers for it.


Why is that crazy?

We have enforcement officers in the US for our tax laws... The IRS or local State government will come after you for not paying taxes.


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