Residential vs. Business TV: What’s the Difference (and Why It Matters)

Whether you’re at home watching a show or catching the game at a local bar, few things are as great as settling in for some prime TV programming. But for business owners, it’s important to know the distinctions between those two TV viewing situations.

Read on to learn the differences between residential and business TV and why it’s important.

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The Two Types of TV

When it comes to TV, there are two general types: residential and business.

Residential TV

Residential TV is exactly what it sounds like: it’s for households and personal use. If you need a TV package for your own entertainment, and NOT tied to a home business, you’ll want a residential TV service. This is what you think of when a person calls DIRECTV to get a TV package for their home.

Business TV

On the other hand, business TV is intended for public use or keeping your employees informed. Examples of businesses that require this type of TV package include bars, restaurants, retail shops, gyms and hotels. Essentially, if you’re a business and your intention is to use TV programming to help draw customers in, keep them around and hope they spend more, a business TV package is not only what you want but also, due to commercial viewing rights, what you need.

Without diving into any legal jargon, commercial viewing rights essentially grant businesses permission to show copyrighted programming, live sports and movies. If you own a business and you intend to have TV programming for your customers, you’re required by law to have the proper licensing to do so. Why is having the licensing so important? Because if a business airs this programming without it, they’re at risk of facing substantial fines and violating copyright law. And no, you cannot log in to a personal, residential TV account to show the sports at your business either.

Playing Sports

Speaking of sports. There may not be a better example of the difference between residential and business TV than sports programming. First off, in order to show sports in a public-facing business, like in a bar or restaurant, for example, you’re required to legally acquire commercial viewing rights as leagues and networks negotiate separate agreements for commercial distribution. Because of this, commercial establishments are licensed and billed based on their capacity, either by Fire Code Occupancy (FCO) or Estimated Viewing Occupancy (EVO). This is one of the key differences between residential and business viewing.

The packages available between the two also differ. The sports broadcasting landscape these days is extremely fragmented, with live broadcasting spread around a variety of regional sports networks, team-specific channels, direct-to-consumer streaming apps and more. And gaining access to those various options is different between residential and business. For example, if a game is exclusive to a specific streaming service, a residential TV viewer can just download that app, subscribe and enjoy the game. Businesses, not so much. They can’t just download an app or log in with a personal account because of the licensing involved. They must get their licensed sports solutions through a business TV provider like DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS®.

Getting The Support (and Tools) You Need

If a business has multiple TVs intended to be on all day long, and a residence has one TV that’s on in spurts, it only makes sense that the equipment, installation and support needs between the two differ.

Beyond the TVs themselves, equipment needs depend on whether the service is satellite or streaming. Regardless of whether it’s residential or business, for satellite service you’ll need a location on the building where a dish can be physically installed. For streaming, you’ll need a strong broadband connection. Now, where it differs between residential and business is the scale at which these things are needed. If you’re getting a satellite package for a restaurant with 20 TVs, you’ll need equipment for each one. The same goes for streaming and needing a strong enough broadband to ensure there’s no loss of connection.

This larger scale is also a major difference in account management and support. While a residential TV customer only has one location and account to worry about, a business TV customer may have multiple locations. That makes centralized account management and support a major need for business TV customers. One account covering their whole business is a huge win.

Let DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS Be Your Guide

When it comes to residential vs business TV, choosing the correct service matters. Not only for licensing purposes (nobody wants a major fine), but also for easy account management and support.

DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS brings live TV, news, entertainment and sports together in one unified system, with packages built for businesses that want a broad lineup without requiring multiple solutions. Plus, eligible small businesses can choose DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS’s streaming TV solution, providing additional flexibility to deliver premium sports and entertainment to customers. Enjoy:

• 99% signal reliability (satellite)*
• Flexible viewing options, including an easy-to-self-install streaming TV solution for eligible small businesses
• Standard professional installation included at no additional cost for satellite customers
• Dedicated customer support
• Access to DIRECTV’s curated collection of more than 140 ad-supported television (FAST) channels with business streaming packages

*Based on a representative study of national cities

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