Suddenlink TV Review 2021

Only a few months after introducing standalone TV plans, Suddenlink has already switched back to its old ways: selling TV only in bundles with high-speed cable internet service, a home phone line, or both.

Suddenlink also raised its prices by around 15%–20%, which puts its pricing in the mid-to-high range compared to other cable providers. But Suddenlink’s highest-tier TV and internet bundles, which include HBO Max™, offer decent value for the cost. And switchers can find even more value in Suddenlink’s $500 contract buyout offer, no contracts, and free installation offers.

But considering Suddenlink’s waffling on standalone TV plans, higher pricing, and poor customer satisfaction scores (it rated 7th for internet and dead last for TV in our 2020 survey), we recommend checking out other TV providers in your area before committing. If you’ve already done that, Suddenlink’s contract buyout offer and no-contract plans make it relatively risk free to try.

Suddenlink TV pros and cons

Jump to: 

• Deals
• TV bundles
• DVR and equipment
• Final take
• FAQ

Suddenlink TV deals and promotions

Before we get into Suddenlink bundles and pricing, here are some Suddenlink deals you might find interesting.

• $500 contract buyout: If you switch to Suddenlink, the provider will pay up to $500 to help free you from your current provider’s contract.
• Pop-up deal: When you first visit Suddenlink.com, you should see a pop-up offering a $200 Visa^® Prepaid card, $10 off your first month, and free installation when you order online.
• Free HBO Max^TM: Get up to a year of HBO Max free when you bundle Internet 200 or higher with TV service
• Auto Pay/Paperless Billing discount: All plans and bundles get a $5/mo. discount for paying electronically.

Best Suddenlink TV packages

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* Plus taxes, fees and other charges. Includes Auto Pay and Paperless Billing.
Wired connection speeds. WiFi speeds may vary.

If you already know you want Suddenlink, we recommend Premier TV + Internet 100 at $144.99 a month for 340+ channels and 100 Mbps.

But if you want the best of everything, Premier TV + Internet 1 Gig ($194.99 a month) has the same channel count (340+), free HBO Max for as long as you have the bundle, and 10x the internet speed.

If you want to compare more Suddenlink bundles before making a decision, keep reading.

Suddenlink bundles and deals

Suddenlink lets you pair one of four internet plans (with speeds from 100–940 Mbps) with four TV plans (with 50–340+ channels) for a total of 16 internet and TV bundle options. You can also add a home phone line to any of these bundles for $10 a month.

Suddenlink internet and TV bundle pricing

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* Plus taxes, fees and other charges. Includes Auto Pay and Paperless Billing.
Wired connection speeds. WiFi speeds may vary.

Suddenlink bundles are kind of expensive, and so are bundles from other providers in Suddenlink’s service area—like AT&T and Xfinity. But Suddenlink has more channels than Xfinity, and AT&T no longer offers TV service.

Suddenlink TV channels

With 340+ channels, Suddenlink has one of the highest channel counts in the business—only Optimum (420+ channels) and Verizon Fios (425+ channels) have more. That covers quantity; let’s examine Suddenlink’s channel lineup for quality.

Popular channels on Suddenlink

Suddenlink carries 28 of the top 30 most-watched channels according to Variety (missing: ION and MeTV).1 Of those 28 channels, 9 aren’t in high-definition (HD), and Suddenlink doesn’t include HD local channels (ABC, CBS, The CW, FOX, and NBC) in the Core package. So, if you want HD resolution, get Select or Premier.

Top 30 most-watched channels in 2020¹

1. CBS*
2. NBC*
3. ABC*
4. FOX*
5. FOX News
6. MSNBC
7. CNN
8. ESPN
9. Univision°
10. TLC†

11. HGTV‡°
12. Hallmark Channel
13. ION†
14. TBS
15. HISTORY‡°
16. Discovery Channel‡°
17. Telemundo°
18. TNT
19. Food Network
20. USA Network

21. A&E‡°
22. Bravo
23. The CW*
24. Investigation Discovery‡°
25. MeTV†
26. INSP°
27. Lifetime‡°
28. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
29. AMC
30. FX

† Not available from Suddenlink
‡ Not available in Core
* No HD in Core
° Not available in HD

Premium channels on Suddenlink

Suddenlink has fewer premium channel options than most other TV providers.

• CINEMAX ($9.99/mo.)
• HBO Max ($14.99/mo.)
• STARZ and STARZ ENCORE (/mo.)

Again, HBO Max is free with all Premier bundles. You can even get HBO Max free for a limited time with certain Suddenlink internet plans:

• Internet 200 ($34.99 a month): Up to three months of free HBO Max
• Internet 400 ($44.99 a month): Up to six months of free HBO Max
• Internet 1 Gig ($54.99 a month): Up to 12 months of free HBO Max

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Suddenlink add-on packs

Suddenlink once offered a variety of add-on channel packs, but when we placed an order, we saw only one. Conexión Única gives you 30+ Spanish-language channels (including Cine Latino, CNN en Español, ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes, Discovery en Español, and more) for $15 a month.

We think that DISHLatino is a better option if you’re looking for more Spanish-language content. Check out our DISHLatino review (English, Español) for more information.

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Suddenlink DVR service and TV equipment

When you sign up for Suddenlink internet and TV bundles, you can rent a modem/router, TV receiver, and other optional devices. Here’s the menu.

Suddenlink TV boxes, modem/routers, and Wi-Fi extenders

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* For 18 mos.

Suddenlink charges $10 a month for its Gateway 5 or Gateway 6 modem/router devices (the one you need depends on your plan speed), but your first Altice One Mini is free.

If you want to watch your Suddenlink channels, on-demand content, and DVR recordings on other TVs in your house, you can select up to nine more Altice One Minis for $10 a month each.

You can also rent-to-own an Apple TV 4K streaming device ($10 a month for 18 months) to use as one of your TV boxes. The upside to this is having your Suddenlink TV service and streaming TV subscriptions in one place. You’ll also get three free months of the Apple TV+ streaming service, so you can finally see what’s so great about Ted Lasso.

Suddenlink cloud DVR service

Cable TV providers like Suddenlink are ditching physical DVRs for cloud DVR.

Suddenlink DVR plans and pricing

Data as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

Okay, $8 a month for 25 hours of cloud DVR storage sucks. Cloud DVR Plus ($10 a month, 75 hours) doesn’t suck as much, but it’s still not great. Cloud DVR Max ($20 a month for 150 hours) has better storage, but its price just blows, especially since all these DVR plans increase your monthly payment by 12%–29%.

By contrast, other DVRs in the biz give you way more. The DISH Hopper 3 DVR has 500 hours of storage for $10 a month, which increases your payment by only 10%–13%. And DIRECTV’s Genie DVR has 200 hours of storage at no extra cost.

If you like huge DVR storage more than constantly deciding which DVR recordings to sacrifice for new ones, consider getting DISH satellite TV. Then you can get standalone internet service from Suddenlink.

Suddenlink TV apps

With Suddenlink’s Altice One app (Android, iOS, Kindle Fire), you can take your favorite couch-creature habit (psssst—it’s watching TV) wherever you go. You can watch your Suddenlink channels, on-demand content, and DVR recordings wherever you have mobile service or Wi-Fi access, plus set and manage DVR timers and parental controls. User reviews for the Altice One app range from 2.1/5.0 on the Apple Store to 3.5/5.0 on both Google Play and Amazon).

The Suddenlink Support app (Android, iOS) allows you to pay your bill, get support, and manage your account. Based on user reviews (2.4/5.0 on Google Play, 1.3/5.00 on Apple Store), Suddenlink customers have some major frustrations with the company and the app.

Final take: Is Suddenlink TV worth it?

Suddenlink’s channel count and internet speeds are about as good as you’ll find from any provider, and our two recommended bundles are solid deals. We do, however, have qualms about Suddenlink’s customer satisfaction scores, which are persistently low.

So, before you pick Suddenlink, we suggest seeing what other providers offer TV and internet service in your area. Enter your zip code below to see your options.

Suddenlink TV FAQ

Methodology

CableTV.com spends dozens of hours researching internet and TV providers like Suddenlink, comparing plans, pricing, features, reliability, promotions, testing the checkout process, and more, then offering our expert analysis to our readers to enhance and inform their buying experience. For more on our methodology, see our How We Rank page.

Endnote

1. Variety, “Year in Review: Most-Watched Television Networks—Ranking 2020’s Winners and Losers,” December 2020. Accessed October 7, 2021.

Disclaimer:

‡Visa® Reward Card: Offer is not available to individuals who have previously participated in an Optimum Visa Reward Card promotion within the past 12 months. Visa Reward Card will be mailed to customers who maintain promotion and remain in good standing with no past due or returned payments throughout first 90 days after account activation. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Limit 1 per customer. Visa Reward Card cannot be used to pay Optimum monthly bill. Card value expires in 12 mos. Visa Reward Card may be used when making purchases from merchants in the U.S. and District of Columbia everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. No ATM access. Terms and Conditions apply to Reward Cards. See Cardholder Agreement for details. Visa Reward Card is issued by MetaBank®, N.A., Member FDIC pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. This optional offer is not a MetaBank product or service nor does MetaBank endorse this offer. Card is distributed and serviced by InComm Financial Services, Inc., which is licensed as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services.