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DirecTV begins refreshing user interface for satellite TV customers

The refreshed user interface for DirecTV via Satellite aims to make it easier for customers to find the shows they want to watch. (Courtesy image)
The refreshed user interface for DirecTV via Satellite aims to make it easier for customers to find the shows they want to watch. (Courtesy image)

Premium live television provider DirecTV has stated rolling out an updated user interface to the set-top boxes of its traditional satellite TV customers.

A small portion of customers in the Denver area will be the first to receive the update this week, a DirecTV spokesperson confirmed this week, followed by a broader rollout in the Denver metropolitan area over the coming weeks. It will expand to all DirecTV via Satellite customers by the end of the year.



The update includes a fully-redesigned menu that appears when a customer first turns on their set-top box, and includes dedicated content rows for live TV and programs that a customer was previously watching. Additional rows include “Live Sports” — suggesting that sports content is among the most-viewed by DirecTV via Satellite subscribers — and a “Discover” carousel that helps subscribers find new things to watch.

The revamp also includes an upgraded “Sports Central” portal that was first introduced last year. The platform aggregates live sports content playing across channels distributed by DirecTV — including channels owned by Comcast’s NBC Universal, the Walt Disney Company (ESPN), Fox Corporation (FS1, FS2), regional sports broadcasters and national sports leagues — as well as sports that are offered through streaming services like YouTube (NFL Sunday Ticket), Peacock and ESPN Plus.



Later this year, the user interface will also include personalized content recommendations that are tailored based on a subscriber’s watch history.

DirecTV via Satellite is primarily marketed to prospective customers who live in rural parts of the country or who are in areas where broadband Internet is hard to come by. All other customers are pushed toward DirecTV via Internet and DirecTV Stream, though new customers are allowed to purchase DirecTV via Satellite if they prefer, even if they have high-speed Internet available to them.



DirecTV via Internet and DirecTV via Satellite tend to offer comparable programming tiers with near-identical pricing, though the equipment used to receive each service is different, and may carry their own unique equipment lease fees. DirecTV Stream‘s pricing tiers tends to be lower when compared to the other two DirecTV products, and it is widely available on phones, tablets and smart TV platforms like Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, without any extra equipment to lease.

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Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting. Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn by clicking or tapping here.
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