Best TV Providers
Based on In-Depth Reviews
- 200+Hours of research
- 10+Sources used
- 17Companies vetted
- 3Research Criteria
- 3Top
Picks
- The advertised price rarely, if ever, includes extra charges such as broadcasting fees or equipment fees.
- Most plans will start you off at a promotional rate for 12-24 months, after which your prices will be raised to the provider’s “standard” rate.
- Bundling services is generally a lower-cost option than a cable-only plan.
- There are no providers with nationwide availability.
How we analyzed the best TV Providers
Our Top Picks: TV Providers Reviews
Xfinity review
Best for Smart TV and Home Security Integration Features
XFinity by Comcast is the largest service provider in the U.S. in terms of subscriptions. Although its competitor, Charter Spectrum, covers more states, XFinity leads the pack by just over 9 million subscribers. XFinity’s standout feature is their X1 platform, which allows you to integrate smart home features into the TV display itself. These integratable applications include house alarms, smoke alarms, home video surveillance systems, and other smart home systems. One of the more useful aspects of this platform is its voice activated remote that lets you control all of the X1’s functions. This is a great feature if any members of your household are unable to use a traditional remote.
The Plans
XFinity’s plan options are incredibly diverse and flexible. They actually vary depending on which particular state you live in and come in two varieties. The first variant is a sort of package builder format. With this service selection method, you’re allowed to choose specific services you want, as well as what tier of service. So, for example, you could select the biggest cable TV option, but pick up the slowest internet option, or vice-versa. This particular method of building your package also comes with quite a few discount options, since without those cost savings it’s easy to build a package that quickly outgrows your budget.
The second variety of plan selection only allows you to pick pre-built packages based on what combination of services you want. If you want only cable, you will see a specific list of plans, whereas you’ll see a completely different set of plans with different details if you pick TV plus phone, or TV plus internet, or all three. Interestingly, in states where this plan selection method is offered, customers don’t seem to have the option to add XFinity home services to their bundles.
Given that XFinity’s rates and plan options vary wildly from state to state, the general plan information is as follows:
The “plan builder” option consistently shows three cable-only plan options. They offer the “Basic” tier, which costs $30 per month and allows you to add a variety of themed channel packs that range from $10-$30, with the “Sports & News” package being the most comprehensive and expensive one. You are also offered the option to add premium channels that range from $5.99 to $15 per month, with HBO and ShowTime being the highest cost on the list. Lastly, you have the option of adding on demand packages such as FOX Nation, the Lifetime Movie Club, international movie channels, and more. These options range from $3.99 to $12.99, with the Lifetime Movie Club being the most affordable one. NHL Center Ice is an option for a one-time fee of $149.99 for the duration of the season.
The next tier is “Extra” at $70 and includes over 125 channels, with all of the extra channel packs offered in “Basic” already included. Premium channels are still considered separate except for “Streampix”, which is a movie streaming service. On demand packages are also considered separate, with the exception of another movie streaming service, Hitz. For some reason, NHL Center Ice is not an option for this tier.
The final tier in the “plan builder” model is “Preferred”. This tier includes over 200 channels, with all channel packs included, as well as the Streampix premium channel. Although not explicitly stated, this tier includes even more sports-focused channels such as NBA TV, NFL Network, and many other sports options. Interestingly enough, NHL Center Ice is also not an option at this tier, and it is unclear whether it is already included or not.
Screenshot of the “plan builder” view. Taken 10/18/2019
The second model of service selection, which XFinity’s website refers to as “find my deal,” has five different plan types available for cable TV. The first two are “Choice” and “Basic.” We put these two together because they’re essentially the same level, offering little over 10 channels, but with one major difference. “Choice” allows you to add channel packs, premium channels, on demand options, and even NHL Center Ice. “Basic,” on the other hand, only offers FOX Nation, but little else. Notably, “Choice” is $30 per month, with the price going up for each option that you add, but “Basic’s” advertised price tag of $46.95 only applies if you select every add-on that XFinity offers.
The next tier, labelled “digital starter,” is $59.99 per month and includes all channels packs except the Spanish sports pack. Everything else such as premium channels and on demand options are separate add-ons. NHL Center Ice is not available with this tier.
“Digital preferred” is $69.99 per month and comes with over 220 channels. Its channel offering is identical to the previous tier’s, with the addition of several sports channels such as NBA TV, NFL Network, MLB Network, and others. This particular tier also comes with an internet speed increase for one year, regardless of whether you are signed up for internet service or not.
The final tier, “digital premiere,” is $84.99 per month and includes over 260 channels. With this package you have access to all channel packages, except for Spanish sports. You also get HBO, ShowTime, Starz, and Hits from the premium and on demand channels. NHL Center Ice is not offered in this tier.
Screenshot of the “find my deal” view. Taken 10/18/2019
Lastly, there are a few extra charges and discount options that you should be aware of. As mentioned previously, the “package builder” option comes with a few discounts to help keep your costs as low as possible. If you choose 2/3/4 services, you are eligible for discounts of $20/$40/$60, respectively. You are also given the option to choose automatic pay and billing, which reduces your final cost by $10. This is not factored into the base prices of these packages and will raise your costs if you opt out. You could also choose to go the self-installation route and save yourself $15 or pay anywhere between $59.99 to $70 for a professional to do it for you. As with many other providers, it is possible that you live in an area without the self-install option, so be mindful of these details when making your selections.
The “find my deal” option has no comparable discounts, although self-install can still save you $15. There are reduced prices for bundles, but as these vary between states--and sometimes within the same state--it is best to see what applies in your individual case yourself.
Regardless of what plan options you have available, you will always have a $10 broadcasting fee and a regional sports fee of up to $8.25 per month. Each receiver box carries a cost of $5 per box with the “package builder,” while “find my deal” has boxes at $2.68, with each additional one costing $.50 extra. You will also have to keep an eye on the $9.95 HD Technology Fee if you choose an HD receiver with “find my deal.” DVRs are an additional $12.68 with “find my deal,” while the “package builder” option includes up to 20 hours of cloud DVR storage, with the choice to upgrade to 60 hours for an additional $10 per month.
What We Didn’t Love
As great as it is to have this wealth of choice, the truth is that many of these plan details are tucked away in the fine print or behind drop down menus. It is also incredibly easy to end up with a package that is well over what you originally thought it cost, because of all the extra charges and options that you are presented with.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have so much choice, but it certainly comes at a cost with XFinity’s plans.
Cox review
Best for Low-Cost Basic Cable Options
Cox is the third largest cable TV and internet provider in the U.S., and although they cover far less ground than their top two competitors, they make up for it by offering the lowest-cost options for cable TV services out of all three. Their aptly-named “Cox TV Starter” is offered in every area they service at $25 and includes over 75 channels consisting of local stations and basic nationwide channels such as FOX, CBS, NBC, PBS, among others. As with every other telecom provider in the U.S., the $25 price tag doesn’t include any of the additional fees and charges that have garnered the industry some criticism among consumers. However, even with all the extra charges factored in, Cox offers some of the lowest rates, as their basic tv receiver box charge is $2.99 per month and their regional sports surcharge is $6 per month at most, which is considerably lower than many competitors.
If you’re considering a more robust cable TV option, there is also the “Cox Contour TV” plan which includes over 140 channels at $69.99 such as ESPN, the Lifetime Network, the History Channel, and many others. With this particular option, you are required to select the HD cable receiver box, which costs $9.99 per month. This option also lets you select extra channel packages, which allow you to access more specialized programming such as the NFL Network, NBA TV, and others. You can also add premium channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz for $10-$16, depending on which channel(s) you choose.
Aside from traditional internet and telecom offerings, Cox also offers smart home integration services for $29.99 per month, which is lower than XFinity’s, the only other top pick that offers a similar service. They also have low-income internet access plans which, while they do not specifically cover cable TV services, is a good way to get access to essential internet services if they previously were not an option for you.
Things We Didn’t Love
Despite its fairly low costs as compared to other big players in cable TV, Cox does one thing different that feels like a downgrade: you can’t add premium channels or channel packages to the basic cable plan. If all you need is access to basic channels, then Cox is certainly a great option. However, if you’re an avid TV fan, you might want to consider bundling your cable with other Cox services to bring down your overall costs. Their lowest priced internet/cable package (with access to all channel options) is generally an extra $20 above the Contour TV pricing, which would allow you to combine traditional cable with streaming alternatives for a lower cost than picking up each service individually. Additionally, Cox does not offer dedicated sports packages such as NHL Center Ice, which is not great news for die-hard sports fans.
Spectrum review
Best for Coverage Availability and Content Packages
Spectrum is the cable TV provider with the broadest coverage in the U.S today, operating in 43 out of 50 U.S. states. They are, however, the second largest, given that XFinity services a larger number of customers. Although their prices are very similar to XFinity’s in many areas, Charter Spectrum’s outstanding offer is their contract buyout option. Charter offers up to $500 to buyout any existing contract you might have with a competitor so you can join them instead. It is important to note that this offer has some specific requirements, namely that you sign up for a Triple Play or eligible Double Play package, which might include more services than you planned for, especially if all you want is cable TV. However, if you were considering other options on top of cable, then this might be a very attractive choice.
The Plans
As far as Spectrum’s cable services go, their basic plans start at $29.99 all throughout their service area and can be alternately labelled as “Mi Plan Latino” or “Lifestyle TV,” depending on where you live. These are two separate plans, but the only notable difference between them is that Mi Plan Latino includes a considerable number of Spanish language channels, which brings the total advertised channel count to 130+ as opposed to Lifestyle TV’s 50+.
Screenshot of spectrum.com 10/24/2019
The more comprehensive option offered by Spectrum, “TV Select,” is currently $44.99 and includes over 120 channels like ESPN, Lifetime, Cartoon Network and other channels of similar popularity.
When it comes to additional channels, Spectrum offers some package deals that are better than those provided by their competitors. First, their premium channel prices are highly competitive, ranging from $5.99 to $15, with HBO and Showtime both being the most expensive. They offer the option to subscribe to NHL Center Ice for $149.99 for the entire season, for dedicated hockey fans. They also offer two channel packages, called Digital Tier Package 1 or 2. Both packages are an additional $12 and focus on different types of content.
Package 1 focuses more on lifestyle channels such as Lifetime, Animal Planet, BBC World News, and others, as well as basic sports channels such as the Golf Channel, NFL Network, and Spanish variants of traditional sports channels such as ESPN Deportes or FOX Deportes, to name the better-known ones.
Package 2 is more sports-oriented with the whole range of ESPN College Extra channels, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, beIN Sports, and many more, but it also has a few alternative channels such as TeenNick, MTV2, and Military History, to name a few.
Finally, Spectrum offers “Silver” and “Gold” level upgrades to their basic cable packages, which provide certain additional channel options in a lower cost bundle. For $20 more, you can upgrade your cable package of choice to “Silver” and it will include the “Digital Tier Package 1” as well as HBO and ShowTime. Considering that these options would set you back $42 when purchased separately, it’s a fairly good deal.
Screenshot of spectrum.com 10/24/2019
The “Gold” level upgrade costs $40 and includes everything in the “Silver” package, plus the Digital Tier Package 2 and every premium channel except Cinemax and Epix. Again, $40 compared to the $90 it would normally cost you individually? Not a bad deal at all.
Overall, Spectrum is a good option for TV and sports fans, as they offer a large variety of channels at reasonable prices when compared to competitors.
What We Didn’t Love
There’s two things that didn’t really excite us about Spectrum as a cable provider. First, their extra fees. They have the highest broadcasting fees at $13.50, although it’s unclear whether the regional sports fee is included. There’s nothing about this fee in the fine print, which is where such information is usually located. Additionally, although not necessarily the case in all locations, we ran into scenarios where the option to self-install your equipment was simply unavailable, adding $44.99 to your checkout price. While it is understandable that certain cases may require some professional assistance to set up the equipment, it feels unfair to have the cost forced upon you due to circumstances that are mostly out of your control.
The second, and somewhat worrisome, issue is Charter’s recent legal woes. Although they recently settled the matter, Charter was sued due to allegedly providing internet speeds that were up to 80 percent slower than advertised in some areas. Despite the fact that no decision was formally reached, an accusation of that nature is something to keep in mind when considering what type of customer service support to expect from the company.
Although these matters have been resolved for the time being, it is much too soon to know whether Charter will abide by its promises, or if it will continue to engage in practices that would cause customers and state commissions to bring up these allegations in the first place.
AT&T TV review
An Alternative to Cable
In March of 2020, AT&T launched AT&T TV across the U.S. as its main paid television service. While sold via contracts and bundles, similarly to cable providers, AT&T TV uses Android TV-based boxes that are rented to subscribers. Originally called DirecTV Now, the service has four plans, including the basic "Entertainment" package, "Choice" (which adds regional sports networks), "Xtra," and "Ultimate." If you're not sure which is best for you, the company includes a compare channel lineup feature for easy reference.
Screenshot att.com, April 2020.
The Plans
Entertainment - At just $49.99 a month for the first year, this is AT&T TV's starter plan, with a focus on entertainment, as the name says. Aside from its basic offering of 65+ channels, it includes premium channels Nick, HGTV, TNT, and ESPN, with the option of adding other premium channels for an additional fee.
Choice - This is their recommended plan, with 85+ channels within entertainment, sports, and lifestyle for just $54.99 a month during the first year. This includes Travel, MLB, Tennis, and the Cooking Channel.
Xtra - For $64.99 a month during the first year, the focus here is sports. The package has 104+ channels, including specialty ones such as GOLF, FXM, CBS Sports, and NBA TV.
Ultimate - AT&T TV's most comprehensive offer, this plan shines for its movie selections. It features STARZ ENCORE and Boomerang, as well as 125+ channels, for $69.99 a month during the first year.
WHAT WE LOVE
Great UX
The DIY setup for AT&T TV is easy and quick, requiring a simple plug-in of the HDMI cable...and this usability travels across the whole experience. The voice remote uses Google Assistant to perform a multitude of functions well beyond changing the channel—from checking the weather, stocks, and traffic to accessing news. It can also control compatible smart home devices, such as your lights or thermostat.
Not only does the interface has a classic TV guide showing what's on each network and what's coming up next, but users can also schedule unlimited simultaneous recording, with up to 500 hours of Cloud DVR as storage.
Customization and Bundling
While each package has its own specific channels, you can also add on many premium channels (including Spanish-language ones) for an additional fee—and their current offer includes a free year of free HBO with all packages.
Screenshot att.com, April 2020.
If you're interested in bundling, AT&T can help you save $120 during your first year, with unlimited internet.
WHAT WE CAN DO WITHOUT
Cost
While AT&T TV's basic package starts at a very reasonable $49.99, after the first year it nearly doubles in price, and the 24-month contract has some pretty considerable early cancellation fees.
More insight into our methodology
Availability
Cable TV is slowly but steadily going the way of the dinosaur. With the rise of streaming services and many people choosing to “cut the cord,” many former cable TV providers are shifting their attention from cable packages to internet-focused alternatives, with regional providers phasing out TV offerings entirely. This shift in focus has resulted in many areas having access to only one major provider, and sometimes none at all. We took a look at the providers with the widest coverage to make sure we’re covering the options that are most likely to be available to most people.
Cost
After making sure that you have access to cable TV plans in your area, the next major factor you should consider is cost, since you’ll want to make sure you're getting the best deal available. While the few providers with broad coverage generally offer reasonably-priced cable TV plans, bundling your TV with internet services usually costs less than purchasing cable TV and internet plans separately.
Features
Just because your options might be limited doesn’t mean that you should settle for barebones service. Some providers include features and services that once were considered ‘premium’ during cable’s heyday. Generally speaking, this refers to DVR options, but it could also mean TV on the go, which allows you to watch your preferred channels from your smartphone or tablet for no added cost. Even though these are billed as ‘bonus’ features, they could make all the difference in your decision to subscribe, as there may be more cost-effective alternatives for you if all you need is access to certain specific channels.
Helpful information about TV Providers
If All Your Friends Cut the Cord, Would You Do It Too?
With the rise of streaming services in recent years, there’s been more and more talk of “cutting the cord,” or canceling your cable subscription in favor of streaming services in order to reduce your monthly bills. However, it’s been a few years since Netflix and other similar companies came out with their streaming services and cable is still chugging along seemingly none the worse for wear. Is cord-cutting really a thing, or is it just some buzzword cooked up by millennials to let the aging cable TV industry know that the future is now?
Regardless of one’s feelings on the matter, cord cutting is very much part of our common lexicon at this point, and market research shows that while not necessarily an immediate threat to the cable TV industry, it is most certainly giving it a run for its money. With this in mind, one would think that cord cutting is the way to go then, right? Well, like everything else involving cable TV, it really depends on your individual situation.
Photo from Shutterstock.com
Why Cut the Cord?
Budgetary concerns are the primary reason that people contemplate cutting the cord. According to the FCC’s latest report on cable industry prices, expanded basic cable packages cost an average of $71.37/mo. Keep in mind that basic and expanded basic cable packages will have slight variations in what’s included, except for federally-mandated channels that will remain the same across companies. This also does not account for network television channels which will drive up the costs of your cable subscription, and this is all before taxes and any extra fees--which you can reliably expect to see on your bill, regardless of provider.
So we’re currently looking at close to $100 per month for cable, whereas streaming services like Netflix or Hulu start as low as $8.99 and generally reach no more than $20 on average, depending on your plan choice. This does seem like simple math at face value, but you have to be aware that streaming services these days are heavily fragmented in their offerings, with Netflix and Amazon specifically moving towards their own original programming, and many others grabbing the streaming rights to popular TV shows like slices of a particularly attractive pie. In short, this means that if you wanted to get all of the same shows as a “standard” cable package, you could end up paying just about the same or more in streaming subscriptions, plus the cost of a potent enough internet connection to watch said shows with little to no hiccups in the streaming quality.
Colin Grubb/ConsumersAdvocate
So… What’s the Difference?
Because the cost of cable versus other television broadcasting services can end up being just about the same, here’s a quick list of items to go through to help you consider if you really should keep your cable package, as well as trying to lower your costs while you’re at it.
First, you’ll want to consider how important signal stability is to you, since this is the main factor that sets cable apart from other pay TV services. Streaming and satellite may offer better prices in certain regions, but they’re subject to potential signal interruption if there’s bad weather or if your network is experiencing heavy traffic.
Second, how important are sports to you? If you’re only a fan of one major sport, and you don’t mind the potential signal interruptions of streaming or satellite, then there are certainly lower-cost alternatives to cable out there. However, if you’re a die-hard fan of all flavors of athletics, those streaming services will start to add up very quickly, easily rivaling the cost of a comprehensive cable sports package. Plus, there’s the minor detail that many sports streaming services are subject to national blackout rules, meaning that one way or another, you’ll still need access to some major networks if you don’t want to miss any games throughout the year. All in all, if you want guaranteed access to any and all sporting events at a predictable cost, cable might just be the way to go.
Lastly, and similar to the case of sports, how important are all those channels to you? Sure, it’s nice to know that you have access to over two hundred channels at all time of day, but how much of that content are you really making use of? One of the major reasons why people cut the cord is because they realize that they only need a handful of shows/channels to tide them over, and that’s one thing that streaming is good at. If your shows and or channels of preference don’t have any streaming alternatives, you can always try negotiating an a la carte plan with your cable provider, if they offer such an option.
Monopoly: Ruining More Than Just Friendships
Ever wondered why the big cable companies are not more stringently regulated, even though for all intents and purposes they appear to have established monopolies in certain parts of the country? So did we. We had a brief conversation with Christopher Mitchell, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Community Broadband Networks Initiative, regarding telecom monopolies and the impact that they have on the industry as a whole.
Context matters, so we asked Mitchell for the Cliff’s Notes on how cable companies managed to maintain control over large parts of the country’s cable infrastructure. He told us that early cable companies were granted exclusive franchising rights by city governments because of the incredibly high upfront cost of building the cable infrastructure. They were also required to provide service to all residents within their area of operation. This arrangement worked out for a while: the cable providers got to make their money and the local governments could carry on without having to worry about the cost of infrastructure maintenance.
Things changed, however. According to Mitchell, “In 1992, the federal government outlawed exclusive franchising, but we didn’t suddenly have a lot more competition because of the difficulty for a new company to come in and compete with an established company. And that continues to be the challenge[...] An established company can lower its prices to temporarily prevent any new network from getting customers, and then the new networks will go out of business--they can’t get enough customers--and then the monopoly basically springs back up.”
Photo from Shutterstock.com
One side effect of the large companies’ effective monopoly is that the numbers they report for areas served are consistently over reported. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, cable and internet providers report their areas serviced based on census blocks which, while small in relation to the scale of the U.S. Census, tend to cover areas that vary wildly in size and population. This causes the reports to be of varying accuracy, since the companies are allowed to report a census block as being served, even if only one person in the area has the potential to receive service.
A direct consequence of this imprecise reporting is that it allows the companies providing these services to claim they’re servicing a larger area than they actually are, such as in the case of Charter Spectrum, which was ousted from New York state by the NY Public State Commission for failing to live up to promises to roll out service to underserved communities. Although Charter has reached an agreement with the NYPSC to live up to these promises by September 2021, it’s still a clear example of the kind of shenanigans that companies can engage in because of their effective monopolies over the service infrastructure.
We also asked Mitchell if he was aware of any basic protections that consumers had when it comes to telecom services--cable in particular--and their pricing methods. The Federal Communications Commission does have some say over cable TV, as it is still a form of communication. However, there are very basic consumer protection rules for areas which the FCC determines not to have “effective competition,” per Mitchell’s explanation. The problem lies in the fact that the FCC’s criteria for determining effective competition are not very clearly outlined, leading to a scenario in which “[...]the Federal Communications Commission largely believes because of satellite [...] that there is enough competition, and then they would also say now [because of] internet streaming there is enough competition. But I don’t think that’s how most of us feel.”
Picking the Right Option for You
So how do you figure out which carrier to choose, based on all of this information? It all depends on where you live. As mentioned earlier, cable television specifically relies on existing infrastructure in order for it to even be available in the first place and the current market landscape does not guarantee that you would have one or more providers available in your area.
There are a few ways to find out what options you have nearby. One option is to use a third party website that allows you to input your zip code and within a few seconds will determine what options are available to you. Another option is to go to a provider’s website directly and input your zip code and address information there. Third party websites usually rely on general information which might be outdated, so inquiring further on a provider’s website is always a good idea.
Another reason to do this is that while certain ZIP codes may be serviced by the company of your choosing, their cable infrastructure may not actually extend to your specific address. Some companies will not even allow you to look up your ZIP code and instead require you to call them directly. This can be beneficial since you’ll be able to speak with a live person and ask more specific questions that might not be answered by the website. Of course, you’ll then have to keep in mind that you’re speaking with a person who’s trying to sell you a product, so ask as many questions as you need to in order to make sure you’re not just subscribing to a plan that’s convenient for them and not you.
Ultimately, you might not actually have a say in your choice of cable provider. Mitchell had these closing words to offer regarding this matter. “I think that we are seeing more competition for internet access. Most of the networks that are being built now, they are not expecting to provide linear cable tv service like Comcast does, they are expecting people get it via software over the internet connection, I think, so I would not expect a lot more competition for that particular service in the way that companies experiencing.”
If you find yourself in the tricky position of having only one option or no options at all for cable specifically, you can always try shopping around for satellite TV providers or streaming services that carry your preferred content. Even though they may not always be reliable for uninterrupted broadcasts or streams, they are in fact a viable alternative to cable these days. For what it may be worth, if you’re hesitant to try cable alternatives, Mitchell suggests giving the Roku a shot, since it brings a simple, intuitive remote that can replicate the cable experience while still offering the flexibility of streaming.