In 1991, Primestar started offering DBS services to consumers in the US. Shortly after, in 1994, DirecTV became the first company to offer a national high-powered DBS system. In 1996 Dish Network launched as DirecTV’s primary competitor. Since then a few other companies have come and gone, like Voom, which was sold off in-part to Dish Network. Primestar was dissolved in 1999. Today only two companies remain. Since both companies and their services are very similar, market share is close to equal. In 2006 Dish Network had about 13 million subscribers, and DirecTV had about 16 million. To learn more about these companies and how their services compare, check out the following articles:
Technology Reviews and Perspectives
