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How to Cancel DISH Network

DISH Network is one of an extensive list of home entertainment choices available today. In a wireless world, a satellite dish attached to your roof may seem antiquated.

Because of this, many people may be thinking about canceling their DISH Network service. The steps to do so may seem simple, but there are many things to consider before starting.

What Is Dish Network

DISH Network is a satellite television provider that started operating in the 1990s. At the time entertainment choices consisted of an antenna on your roof or cable television. DISH Network marked a giant leap forward in home entertainment.

Today DISH Network provides service to roughly 12,000,000 subscribers. They claim to have some of the highest quality programming and technology. They like to say they couple this with tremendous value.

DISH Network offers the most international channels. They also like to say that they lead the pay-TV industry in state-of-the-art equipment and technology.

What Dish Network Includes

At its heart, DISH network is a satellite television company. That means that they installation of a satellite dish.

Users can install their own satellite dish if they wish. The reality is since DISH Network offers free installation, there would not seem to be much reason to do this.

That said, if this is something you want to do on your own, the steps are not that difficult. If you are just a little bit handy and you have the right tools for the job, most people can install the dish themselves.

Once the hardware installation is complete, DISH Network offers several packages. The more channels that you want, the higher the cost.

All their packages include a smart HD DVR and a free Google voice remote. They offer up to 80,000 movies and shows on demand. They also provide the DISH anywhere app that lets you watch shows on mobile devices.

A concern for satellite owners in the past was the reliability of the satellite signal. This signal loss became of greater concern during inclement weather. DISH Network claims 99% signal reliability no matter what the weather.

Some of the Good Things About DISH Network

Most television options are going to talk about how many channels they have. DISH Network is no different.

Besides a high number of channels, DISH Network also offers quite a few sports choices. These sports choices also include the most college football coverage available on any provider. So for many folks, that combination is an excellent reason to get DISH Network.

One thing that many entertainment viewers hate is starting service at a low rate that does not last. Just as you begin to love the service, the price increases. DISH Network asks you to make a two-year commitment. If you do, your price for your package will stay the same the entire time.

One headache for those searching for entertainment options is a lack of availability of local channels. DISH Network offers all four local networks to subscribers.

Some Drawbacks of DISH Network

There are two significant drawbacks users find with DISH Network. They both center around a lack of popular entertainment choices.

DISH Network does not offer HBO of any kind. DISH Network claims that HBO made ridiculous demands for the cost of the services. Because of this, HBO blacked out DISH Network.

While DISH Network offers NFL RedZone, they do not provide the full NFL Sunday Ticket. Reports are that NFL Sunday Ticket costs DISH Network’s biggest competitor, DIRECTV, $700 million per year. DISH Network does not seem interested in paying this high fee for the service.

Reasons to Cancel DISH Network

Today there are many home entertainment choices available. This plethora of options may be one reason you may want to cancel DISH Network. There are, however, several others as well.

You Want to Try the Competition

The main satellite competition to DISH Network is DIRECTV. It could be that you started with DISH Network and now realize you cannot live without HBO or NFL Sunday Ticket.

This choice may be the most significant difference between the two services. DIRECTV offers both of these in their packages.

Prices for DIRECTV tend to be higher even if you do not get these two packages. That is probably due to the need for DIRECTV to pay the high prices for these services.

Industry experts also feel that the technology of DIRECTV is inferior to DISH Network. The DISH Network remotes and DVR’s offer far better functionality.

Switching to a Streaming Television Service

The days of sending entertainment through a wire are ending. DISH Network falls in this category and then some. Bolting a satellite dish to your roof seems very 20th century.

Today there are an ever-expanding number of choices for streaming television service. It requires a simple connection to the Internet to provide you television choices.

Some of the choices include:

• YouTube TV
• Hulu
• AT&T Now
• Sling TV
• Philo
• Apple TV+

All of these choices offer a host of television channels. They also offer movies, sports, and on-demand entertainment. Like DISH Network, they also provide DVR services as well.

The clear advantage over DISH Network is the lack of hardware needed. All that is usually required is an Internet connection and a television that is capable of connecting to the Internet.

If You Only Need a Certain Service

Some viewers only watch particular shows or channels. If you fall into that category, there are much more specific and cheaper options for you. Sometimes these channels are add-ons that require a subscription to television service. There are also some that can serve as standalone entertainment choices as well.

Some of these include:

• HBO Now
• Disney+
• Bravo
• DIY Network

This list is an abridged version of what is a very long list. Practical every network has its own dedicated channel or app. So if you were someone that does not need a whole host of channels, this approach might be the best for you.

You Are a Movie Buff

Maybe you are someone that couldn’t care less about the latest television shows. You are not interested in the next big sporting event. Perhaps you spend all your time watching movies. If so, dedicated streaming services exist just for that.

Some of these include:

• Amazon Prime Video
• Netflix
• IndieWire

The great thing about many of these services is their original content. So not only can you see movies that you love, you can see original content that these channels are creating.

Mix and Match

Before canceling DISH Network, do some research about what you will do next. As you do this research, you are going to start to see there’s a bit of overlap between all the services available.

One example of this is Hulu. They offer movies and television shows from other networks and studios. They also provide live television.

Then, in addition to all of that content, they also create their own content that resides on their network. So that is really four different types of content all existing on one platform.

The trick for consumers is balancing how much you get versus how much it costs. Perhaps you are looking to downsize the number of services and hardware needed. In that case, it makes sense to go through all these choices and find the services they provide compared to how many things you need.

Steps to Cancel Dish Network

DISH Network has a dedicated webpage to handle the cancellation of your service. As you might imagine, they will first try to dissuade you from making that choice.

The other options they offer include:

1. Move for Free

If you are moving to a new location, DISH Network wants you to keep their service. They claim that they make moving free and easy. They will install your hardware and start your service at your new location at no additional cost.

They offer what they called the move-in deal. This service includes free installation as well as hardware upgrades and free content.

All DISH Network requires of you is to take your receivers and remote controls yourself. Once you’re in your new location, you simply call them to come set up the rest of the hardware and start your service.

2. Pause Your Service

DISH Network offers the option of merely pausing your service. If you’re not going to be using the service, you can turn it off and not pay.

This change is merely canceling your service for a short time. It is nice, however, that DISH Network will allow you to stop the service and start it again without any additional fees.

3. Lower Your Bill

One way to lower your cost of DISH Network is with their flex pack. This choice is a small package that includes local channels.

You have the option to add on additional channels for an additional cost. The best way to think of this is as an entertainment à la carte menu.

This option can be great for those that like DISH Network but maybe pay for channels they never watch. With the flex pack, you can be much more selective in the channels you receive and what you pay.

You Still Want to Cancel

If you still want to cancel, DISH Network has an 800 number dedicated to this. If you do have a contract, there will be a cancellation fee.

This cancellation fee will vary based on the contract you have and the remaining term. It always pays to try to haggle to get out of this cancellation fee. Usually, your best bet is to speak to a manager or supervisor and plead your case.

DISH Network will provide you with a return label to send your equipment back. The equipment you will need to send back includes:

• Receiver and remotes
• LNB unit
• DISH Network switch box

This is the point where it may get a little tricky. Free professional installation was available when you started your service.

The location of the LNB unit and switch box is at your satellite dish. Chances are this dish is on the roof. So you can either retrieve these things yourself or pay for someone to do it for you.

Once you have all these items, you need to pack them up in your own box and apply the shipping label. You can drop them off at the shipping outlet, and your cancellation is complete.

The Choice To Cancel

Once you have made the choice to cancel DISH Network, the process is fairly straightforward. What is not so straightforward, is what you will do after the cancellation.

With so many entertainment choices available today, there is no reason to stick with something that does not work for you. Do the research to find the best fit for you, then get started on the easy process of canceling DISH Network.