Dish Network Channels by Orbital Location

I couldn't really find a resource like this anywhere else online, so I made one. On this page you'll find a complete breakdown of what channels are carried on what satellites. It's handy to know in case you don't have a clear line of sight to one or more satellites and want to know what channels you will or won't be getting. I developed this chart by connecting a ViP 211 to each orbital location, one at a time. Since these channel assignments hardly ever change and because it's such a huge pain to go through all five satellites (none of my motorized dishes have DBS feeds) I probably won't update this very often, maybe every year or so. If you find a discrepancy, please feel free to send me an email.

Some of these satellites have spot beams which are used for things like local channels and regional sports networks. Since the assortment of spot beams visible varies by location I've decided not to include channels carried on spot beams in this list. Channels that are blocked out for viewing only in a certain region are displayed with a generic title like Sports Alternate.

Specific transponders aren't listed because it would take way too long. If you need to find out what transponder a specific channel is on, tune to that channel and go to the Point Dish screen (Menu > 6 > 1 > 1). The satellite and transponder are the ones displayed. You can also press the Info button twice while tuned to a channel to find out which satellite you're watching, its displayed as a small icon in the top left of the info box.

Everything is color coded for your convenience. As mentioned on my receivers page, DP and legacy receivers can only decode MPEG-2, while ViP receivers and the Hopper can decode MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Unencrypted streams require no authorization to view, along with the monthly preview channels, they should be viewable on any Dish receiver even if it's not active on your account, but they might not be viewable on a DVB receiver with no CAM, or a Dish receiver with a missing/outdated smart card.

Note: This isn't finished yet, it takes a lot of time to do one of these.

Echostar 16 @ 61.5°W

Summary: All MPEG-4, core HD programming, local channels (on spot beams)
Latest Update: March 2019

Nimiq 5 @ 72.7°W

Summary: All MPEG-4, music, sports alternates, SD alternates, advertising, religious/non-profit, Spanish language, and lower tier channels-
Latest Update: March 2019

Echostar 11 @ 110°W

Echostar 119°W (Echostar XIV DBS)

Summary: MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, core SD programming, top tier HD channels, religious, music, and sports alternates.