Questions on digital vs satellite tv

I have heard the DISH network carries Democracy now and other progressive news shows. I was wondering what other options were out there and if people have opinions on DirecTV (which i'd like to avoid because of Murdoch) vs. digital cable vs. any other options. I'd like to get some BBC (and EuroSport in my wildest dreams), and admittedly i only started researching this because i found out that the N-Channel is going to be playing My So Called Life reruns. Not sure how much this will all cost...