DirecTV is raising prices on June 25 — what's changing, why, and what sports fans should do

DirecTV's latest increase takes effect June 25, with hikes from $1 to $14 a month — and the sports tier is among the hardest hit. Here's the full breakdown, why it's happening, and how to decide whether it's still worth it.

The gist: DirecTV is raising prices across its satellite service and DirecTV Stream starting June 25, 2026, with increases ranging from about $1 to $14 per month depending on your plan. The sports-focused tier is one of the bigger jumps. If you're a DirecTV subscriber — especially one paying mainly for regional sports — this is a good moment to check what you'll actually owe and whether it still pencils out. Here's the full picture.

What's changing

The increases vary by plan, and DirecTV is notifying customers individually rather than publishing one uniform schedule. From customer notices and industry reporting, here's what's confirmed on the streaming "Genre Pack" plans:

• MySports (the sports-channel pack): $64.99 → $74.99 — up $10, the most relevant jump for sports fans.
• MyEntertainment: $34.99 → $42.99 — up $8, the biggest genre-pack increase.
• MyNews: up about $5.
• MiEspañol: $34.99 → $37.99 — up $3.
• MyKids: $19.99 → $20.99 — up $1.

On the larger Signature packages, some subscribers report Ultimate rising from $173.99 to $186.99 (+$13) and Premier increasing about $14. DirecTV hasn't published uniform new pricing for those tiers — it's communicating the specific new rate to each customer. (Per Cord Cutters News, TheStreet, and The Desk.)

Why it's happening

DirecTV attributes the increases to rising programming costs — and it singles out live-sports rights, local broadcast stations, and network content as the drivers. That's the same pressure squeezing every pay-TV provider: the companies that own the channels keep raising the fees they charge to carry them, and those costs get passed to subscribers.

For context, this is DirecTV's third increase in roughly nine months (after rounds in October 2025 and February 2026), and it lands while the company is losing customers fast — an estimated 222,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2026 alone, part of the broader shift from satellite and cable to streaming. (Per TheStreet.)

The part that matters most for sports fans

Sports is the main reason a lot of people stay on DirecTV in the first place — it carries ESPN, FS1, NFL Network, MLB Network, and, crucially, the regional sports networks (RSNs) that show your local MLB, NBA, and NHL teams. That breadth is real, but it comes with costs that aren't in the headline price:

• The MySports increase ($10/month) hits exactly the subscribers who signed up for that sports breadth.
• On the satellite and Choice-and-above packages, a separate regional sports network fee (up to about $15.99/month, depending on your ZIP code) stacks on top of the base price — so your true sports cost is higher than the advertised number.

Here's the wrinkle worth sitting with: a big share of what you're paying for is RSN access — and the RSN landscape is collapsing. Teams across all three leagues have been leaving regional networks for their own direct-to-consumer streaming apps (we've covered this shift repeatedly this month). So it's genuinely worth asking whether the RSNs you're paying a premium for still carry the teams you watch — or whether your team has already moved somewhere cheaper.

What to do about it

You have more options than a few years ago. Before you renew at the higher rate:

• Check your specific plan. DirecTV is notifying customers individually, so log into your account to see your new rate rather than guessing from the ranges above.
• Confirm what your RSNs actually carry. If your local team has shifted to a direct-to-consumer app (often around $20/month), you may be paying DirecTV's sports premium for a network that no longer has your games.
• Run the switch math — and compare a few services, not just one. Live-TV streamers differ a lot in price and, crucially, in which national sports channels and regional sports networks they carry (prices as of mid-2026; they change):
  • YouTube TV (around $82.99/month) has a broad national lineup including ESPN, TNT, and TBS, and is the only home of NFL Sunday Ticket — but it's lighter on RSNs, so local NBA/MLB/NHL coverage can be limited.
  • Fubo (Pro around $73.99/month, plus a regional-sports fee) leans hardest into sports and tends to carry the most RSNs, which makes it strong for local teams — though its broader channel lineup has had gaps worth checking.
  • Sling TV (roughly $45.99–$60.99/month) is the cheapest and most customizable, but also the leanest — fewer channels and limited RSNs. None is automatically a like-for-like replacement for DirecTV: which RSNs — and therefore which of your local teams — each one carries varies by market. Check your ZIP and your exact teams before switching.
• Don't forget free locals. Many nationally televised games — and your local broadcast-network games — are available free over the air with an antenna, which can shrink what you actually need to pay for.
• If you're a new customer, note that sign-ups before June 25 lock in the current rates; after that, the new pricing applies immediately.

The bigger picture

This won't be the last increase — from anyone. Pay-TV prices have been climbing for years as sports-rights costs balloon, and providers are passing the bill along while subscribers drift to streaming. The upside for fans is that the alternatives have multiplied: standalone team apps, sports-specific streaming tiers, free over-the-air games, and day-pass options didn't exist at this scale a few years ago. The catch is that figuring out the cheapest correct combination for your specific teams has gotten genuinely complicated.

That's the exact problem StreamCaddy solves: enter your ZIP code and the services you already have, and it tells you the cheapest correct way to watch your teams — so a price hike becomes a reason to optimize, not just to pay more.

Sources

1. Cord Cutters News — "Another DIRECTV Price Hike is Coming Next Month" (effective June 25, 2026; satellite and DirecTV Stream; increases up to ~$8/month on packages), May 2026 — https://cordcuttersnews.com/another-directv-price-hike-is-coming-next-month/
2. TheStreet — "DirecTV customers threaten to cancel service after price hikes" (MyEntertainment $34.99→$42.99, MySports $64.99→$74.99, MyKids $19.99→$20.99, MiEspañol →$37.99, MyNews +$5; Premier +$14; cites live-sports-rights costs; 222,000 subscribers lost in Q1 2026), May 2026 — https://www.thestreet.com/retail/directv-customers-threaten-to-cancel-service-after-price-hikes
3. The Desk — "DIRECTV MyEntertainment, genre-pack price increases" (MyEntertainment $35→$43 effective June 25; channel lineups unchanged), May 2026 — https://thedesk.net/2026/05/directv-myentertainment-mynews-price-increases/
4. The Streamable — "DIRECTV Genre Packs price increase June 2026" (most Genre Packs rising June 25; new customers can sign up at current rates until then; RSN fee up to ~$15.99/month on Choice and above), May 2026 — https://thestreamable.com/directv-genre-packs-price-increase-june-2026
5. DIRECTV Support — "DIRECTV price changes" (effective on or after June 25, 2026; new rate communicated per customer), 2026 — https://www.directv.com/support/article/000066845