Best TV Packages and Deals for May 2023

Are you a budget-conscious bargain hunter? Every month, CableTV.com scours the offerings of several top TV providers for details on their best cable TV deals, promotions, and packages—and we post our findings here for you.

Check out the first section for the best limited-time promotions from cable and satellite TV providers, then read the second section to see which providers have the best cable prices and plans—and, finally, the best TV and internet bundle.

Jump to:

• Monthly promotions
• Best TV packages
• Best TV and internet bundle
• What to look for

May 2023 TV promotions and deals

We’ve combed through cable and satellite TV providers’ websites to find the best limited-time only deals. Here’s what we found—get ’em while they’re hot. Note: Most of these are for new customers only. But if we find a deal for current customers, you’ll see it here (clearly marked, of course).

• Verizon: New and existing customers can get 2 mos. Free of Sling Orange or Blue (then $35/mo., exp. June 30, 2023).
• DIRECTV: Two-year price guarantee, plus 3 mos. free of HBO Max™, SHOWTIME®, STARZ®, CINEMAX®, and MGM+™ with the ENTERTAINMENT package or higher. (Note: These channels already come in the PREMIER plan.)
• DISH: New customers get a three-year price guarantee. And for a limited time, new customers get SHOWTIME® and the DISH Movie Pack free for 3 mos.
• Spectrum: New and current customers get the Peacock Premium streaming service fee for 12 mos. with Spectrum TV or for 90 days with Spectrum Internet (exp. December 7, 2023).
• Optimum: Enjoy cloud DVR for free with 1 Gig Internet + TV packages.

Best TV packages and plans

These cable deals have so much to offer it may be hard to choose just one.

• DIRECTV PREMIER All-Included ($154.99/mo.*)—Best sports package
• DISH America’s Top 200 ($99.99/mo.)—Best overall package, best family package
• Spectrum TV^® Select ($59.99/mo. for 12 mos.**)—Cheapest TV package
• Optimum 1 Gig (or Fiber Internet 1 Gig) + Premier TV ($195.00/mo.†)—best internet and TV bundle

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* w/ 24-mo. agmt. AutoPay and Paperless Bill req’d. Advanced Receiver Service Fee $15/mo. and Regional Sports Fee up to $13.99/mo. are extra & apply.
** For the first 12 mos.
† For the first 12 mos. Wireless speeds may vary.

Compare the best TV plans and pricing

Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* w/ 24-mo. agmt. AutoPay and Paperless Bill req’d. Advanced Receiver Service Fee $15/mo. and Regional Sports Fee up to $13.99/mo. are extra & apply.
** For the first 12 mos.
† For the first 12 mos. Wireless speeds may vary.

These are three of the best TV packages out there, and each appeals to a different lifestyle.

DIRECTV is the way to go for sports fans because it has the most sports channels of any TV provider—although it no longer includes NFL SUNDAY TICKET (YouTube TV snagged that one for 2023). New customers who choose the ENTERTAINMENT™ plan or higher get three free months of HBO Max™, CINEMAX^®, SHOWTIME, and STARZ. For the most sports channels, we recommend going with PREMIER All-Included ($154.99 a month, 340+ channels).

Families will love DISH for its education and kids channels, excellent parental controls, and Hopper 3 DVR, which stores 500 hours of HD content—and can record up to 16 movies at once. We recommend America’s Top 200 ($99.99 a month, 240+ channels). Since DISH charges $10 a month for the Hopper 3, your total payment for this plan would be $109.99 monthly.

For the budget-conscious TV lover, we suggest Spectrum’s TV Select package ($59.99 a month, 125+ channels). But if you have more room in your finances, you can add HBO MAX, SHOWTIME, STARZ & STARZENCORE^®, and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ for only $39.00 more per month (total monthly payment: $89.98).

And although it’s a more expensive option, if you’re looking for a quality bundle, we recommend bundling Optimum 1 Gig or Fiber Internet 1 Gig ($80.00 a month, 940 Mbps*) with Premier TV ($115.00 monthly for 420+ channels, including HBO Max, SHOWTIME, and STARZ at no extra cost. (Optimum offers both cable and fiber internet, depending on your location. Both plans are currently the same price, but fiber offers a better experience.)

Best for sports: DIRECTV PREMIER All-Included

DIRECTV is the best TV provider for sports programming. It has 27 sports channels (including NFL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network, and NHL Network), loads of regional sports networks, and four big sports add-ons: FOX Soccer Plus, MLB Extra Innings, NBA League Pass, and NHL Center Ice. (DIRECTV also used to have NFL SUNDAY TICKET, but YouTube TV has it now.)

If sports is your main concern, you’ll do fine with CHOICE™ ($84.99 a month, 200+ channels) or ULTIMATE ($109.99 monthly, 270+ channels). But DIRECTV’s best TV package is PREMIER, which has 340+ channels (that’s everything DIRECTV carries except for add-ons) including HBO Max, SHOWTIME, Cinemax, MGM+, and STARZ, for $154.99 per month.

Yes, $155 is a big monthly bill, especially with the new $15-a-month Advanced Receiver Service Fee for the Genie DVR (formerly included with your plan)—but if you’re looking for the best TV package, PREMIER is stacked with value. And, fortunately, DIRECTV now has a two-year price guarantee, so the satellite TV provider’s massive second-year price hike is now only a bad memory.

Best for families: DISH America’s Top 200

DISH offers Disney Channel in America’s Top 120+, but America’s Top 200 is where you start getting more specific family favorites. If you’re an Animal Planet, Disney XD, or Nick Jr. fan (or if at least your kids are), America’s Top 200 will meet all your needs for $99.99 a month.

What really sets DISH’s plan apart is its partnership with Common Sense Media. Using the Hopper 3 DVR, you can tailor your child’s viewing experience with age-appropriate recommendations and ratings in eight different categories:

1. Educational value
2. Positive role models
3. Positive messages
4. Sex
5. Violence and scariness
6. Language
7. Drinking, drugs, and smoking
8. Consumerism

For keeping kids happy on the go, you’ll appreciate the DISH Anywhere App. It plays your favorite shows away from home while still allowing you to filter content by age and set up separate accounts for each of your children. That’s a lot of peaceful car rides for you—and no worries about inappropriate shows popping up for your kids.

Cheapest TV package: Spectrum TV Select

Spectrum TV Select ($59.99 a month for 12 mos., 125 channels) is the cheapest standalone TV package we’ve found. (Note: In Xfinity’s western region—where it competes with Spectrum—it offers the Popular TV package, which is the same price and has 125+ channels. So you lucky westerners have options.)

If you’re sick of your current TV plan but worried about paying cancellation fees, Spectrum is eager to steal you away. When you bundle Spectrum TV with Internet and phone services, it’ll buy out your contract (up to $500) to rescue you from the dungeon of your current provider’s plan. Don’t keep settling for a plan you don’t love.

But Spectrum’s DVR service is kinda weird. Most TV providers measure DVR storage in hours, but Spectrum lets you record a certain number of movies and shows, regardless of length. For some customers, that makes sense, but for others, that can get really confusing, and it could lead to the accidental deletion of your recordings. For a more straightforward DVR experience with more storage, consider buying your own Spectrum-compatible DVR, like the TiVo EDGE for Cable.

Best TV and internet bundle: Optimum 1 Gig + Premier TV

The TV portion of the bundle, Premier TV, has 420+ channels, including big-time premium channels like HBO Max, SHOWTIME, and STARZ for $115.00 a month.

But you can’t purchase Optimum TV without first picking an internet plan. You can choose between 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, and 1 Gig, although whether this service is delivered via traditional cable or fiber is entirely dependent on your location. Both cable and fiber cost the same, but fiber offers symmetrical upload and download speeds, which means a better experience overall.

As for current deals, depending on which internet option you choose, you could receive a Visa gift card up to $500. Plus, installation is free if you order online. For more information, head over to our Optimum deals page.

What to look for in TV packages and deals

Not convinced these TV packages are for you? Let us explain what to look for on your quest for the perfect TV package.

TV service types

You should know the different TV services types so you can see which is best for your lifestyle.

Cable TV

This is the classic, transmitted (as you’d expect) via a cable. Availability is often limited to a defined service area. Top cable TV providers include Cox, Astound Broadband powered by RCN, Optimum, Spectrum, and Xfinity—all of which offer cable and internet packages that bundle high-speed internet with hundreds of live channels. This is the service to pick if you have a large household that does a lot of streaming and gaming.

Satellite TV

Also somewhat of a classic, satellite TV signals get beamed from Earth to space, then back to a dish mounted on or around your home. For that reason, satellite TV is available almost anywhere—which is great if you live in a rural area or an ever-rambling RV. DIRECTV and DISH have a duopoly on satellite TV service.

Streaming TV

Some providers, like DIRECTV STREAM and Verizon Fios, are actually streaming services that deliver your TV channels via the internet. These services tend to have more streamlined channel lineups with mainly popular channels so you won’t have to wade through zillions of music, shopping, and weird fringe channels to get to the good stuff.

Channel lineup

The perfect package for you might look completely different from anyone else’s because you have your favorite channels you don’t want to miss out on. Look for packages that include all the channels you want at a good price.

If you’re willing to invest time in examining each package from providers that service your area, you’re much more likely to find exactly what you want.

Area availability

Despite your quest for the best TV package in all the land, you’re limited by what’s in your area. Unless you want to move to a place with all the best TV providers (like Wake Forest, North Carolina), you’re stuck with what you got.

Enter your zip code below to compare TV services near you.

Final take

For those ready to commit to a superior TV experience, allow us to recap our best cable TV packages:

• • The best package for sports fans is DIRECTV PREMIER All-Included ($154.99/mo.) because it has the most sports channels and all the best premium channels.
  • The best cable TV package for families is DISH America’s Top 200 ($99.99/mo., 240+ channels) for its exceptional parental controls and many kids channels. DISH is also our pick for best overall TV provider.
  • The cheapest standalone TV package is Spectrum TV Select ($59.99/mo. for 12 mos., 125 channels).
  • And the best TV and internet bundle is Optimum 1 Gig (or Fiber Internet 1 Gig) + Premier TV ($195.00/mo.)

Any of these plans should help you binge-watch to your heart’s content. But before you fall in love with one, enter your zip code below to see if it’s available in your area.

Best TV packages and deals FAQ

Methodology

Our monthly promotions are tracked down by a rabid team of data specialists so that you get the most accurate information possible. We also put our editorial know-how to the test by comparing the deals and top packages from nationwide providers so you don’t have to. To learn more about our methods, check out our How We Rank page.