lol the last birds life expectancy die out around 2030. Best case you got 7 years worst before if Directv pulls the plug earlier.
The numbers for DTV satellite-based subscribership are dropping. At the point that it is no longer profitable to operate the satellites, the service will fold into streaming only.
https://www.nexttv.com/news/directv... two quarters,1.9 million customers last year.
This does not spell the end of the TV service, just the mode in which the service is delivered. Streaming customers are steadily growing:
DirecTV: no of video subscribers in the U.S. 2021 | Statista.
But make no mistake of it, as you said, DBS service is going away in the near future. It is very unlikely to be profitable to fly additional birds and with a lifetime of only 15 years, the current birds' time is coming.
Dish Network, DirecTV satellites are dying. Neither company is replacing them fast enough.
This is why DTV and Dish need to be sweet-talking Starlink so they can salvage their customers that are in locations not served with alternatives. This way they can shift all of their costs and risks for building and launching satellites and therefore stabilize their operating costs. The problem is that with the loss of every satellite subscriber, the costs that have to be borne by the rest of the subscribers goes up. There is simply no way to get around it and that is why even the most basic subscribers are having to pay for their equipment upgrades, additional montly fees, and are doling out well over $100/month for DBS service when streaming competitors are offering the same service for 1/2 the cost or less.
If DTV or Dish doesn't, someone else will strike an exclusive deal with Starlink and the rest will be shutout (Hey YouTubeTV and Hulu, are you listening?). I would consider returning to DTV in our primary residence if I could get a reasonably priced bundle for TV and Internet combined, but if the cost of Starlink plus streaming service subscriptions is less, well I'm not willing to pay a premium to DTV to get the same service. Neither are most other people.
My wife and I own rentals and we have a remote mountain cabin that is wildly profitable, but today's guest demands having a full TV package and really good internet. I'm paying $200/month for DTV and just under $300/month for Viasat unlimited service. That's $6,000/year out of the pocket just to have TV and internet. My Starlink unit is due to ship by the end of the month and will run $110/month plus some taxes, so let's call it $121. YouTubeTV plus a few premium channels will run around $100/month. Let's just round it up to $250/month for service. Sure, I'll be coughing up $600 for the Starlink equipment and another $800 for streaming boxes for the 8 TVs, but I will be saving $3,000 a year in service and break even on the new equipment in less than 6 months.
There is simply no reasonable choice here. DTV is losing yet another premium subscriber.