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.
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
Package | Price | Channels | DVR storage | Download speeds | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DIRECTV PREMIER All-Included Best sports package |
$154.99/mo.* | 340+ | 200 hrs. (Genie) or 450 hrs.. (Genie 2) | N/A |
View Package Read DIRECTV review |
DISH America's Top 200 Best family package |
$99.99/mo. | 240+ | 500 hrs. | N/A |
View Package Read DISH review |
Spectrum TV Select Cheapest TV package |
$59.99/mo.** | 125+ | Varies | N/A |
View Package Read Spectrum review |
Optimum 1 Gig + Premier TV Best internet and TV bundle |
$195.00/mo.† | 420+ | 25–150 hrs. | 940 Mbps |
View Package Read Optimum review |
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
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.
Pros
- New 2-yr. price guarantee (goodbye, second-year price hike)
- Fantastic selection of sports channels and add-ons
- 3 mos. of premium channels
Cons
- High pricing
- No more included Genie ($15/mo. fee)
- Activation fees for service and devices
- No more NFL SUNDAY TICKET
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
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Pros
- Hopper 3 DVR
- Inexpensive packages
- 3-year price guarantee
Cons
- Limited internet/phone bundling options
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:
- Educational value
- Positive role models
- Positive messages
- Sex
- Violence and scariness
- Language
- Drinking, drugs, and smoking
- 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
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
* For the first 12 mos.
Pros
- Affordable price
- Plan buyout for switchers
- Free Peacock Premium
Cons
- Limited, confusing DVR storage
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
Data effective as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
† For the first 12 mos. Wireless speeds may vary.
Pros
- No contracts
- $100 contract buyout
- HBO MAX, SHOWTIME, and STARZ included in Premier TV
- Free installation (online orders)
Cons
- Limited availability
- Limited DVR storage
- DVR fees
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:
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- 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
How much is cable per month?
Standalone cable TV packages run $49.99–$154.99 per month, with the average standalone TV plan costing $83.35 monthly. You can find cheaper basic cable TV packages, but we don’t recommend them. You can get all the same channels by buying an over-the-air (OTA) TV antenna for a one-time payment of about $25.00–$60.00, which is much cheaper than paying a monthly fee.
Can you still get basic cable for free?
You can’t get basic cable free, but you can get your local channels and several of their subchannels free after you purchase and install an over-the-air (OTA) antenna. You can get a good one for only $25–$60. To learn more about OTA TV and see which antennas we recommend, check out our guide, “What Is Over-the-Air (OTA) TV?“
What is the best TV provider?
According to our “Best TV Providers in Customer Satisfaction” survey, Verizon is the top TV provider when it comes to overall customer satisfaction. But our editorial pick for the best overall TV provider is DISH, which rated 4.34 (out of 5.00), with DIRECTV close behind at 4.05.
What is the best TV streaming service in 2023?
In our guide to the “Best Live TV Streaming Services,” we named YouTube TV the best streaming provider among six other streaming TV services. For $72.99/mo. you get 100+ channels—including tons of sports networks, access to the NFL SUNDAY TICKET add-on, thousands of on-demand movies and shows, three simultaneous streams, unlimited cloud DVR storage (recordings expire after nine months), and up to six user profiles. The app is also easy to use and runs like a champ on an array of compatible streaming devices.
Which TV provider is cheapest?
In our guide to the “Best TV Providers,” we compared 11 top TV service providers and found that Spectrum has the best cable prices if you’re looking for cheap cable TV packages. Spectrum TV Select gives you 125+ channels for $59.99 a month.
But Xfinity, in its western region—where it competes with Spectrum—has a package called Popular TV that’s the same price and channel count as Spectrum TV Select.
Or, in all Xfinity regions, Xfinity internet customers are eligible to purchase the Flex streaming service and device. It includes a ton of free on-demand movies and shows, plus hundreds of free live channels through Pluto and Xumo. Flex also supports a variety of other streaming TV apps (separate subscriptions required).
What's the cheapest satellite TV provider?
We’d say that DISH is the cheapest satellite TV provider. This is based on cost per channel ($0.39–$0.46) and the fact that DISH guarantees no rate hikes for three years. And we should mention that DISH is our pick for the Best Overall and Best for Families TV provider. You can read more about that in our guide to the Best TV Providers.
Where can I find a list of TV providers near me?
To find a list of internet and TV providers in your area, enter your zip code below.
How much does it cost to get basic cable?
Basic cable packages start at around $20–$60 per month, though this varies by provider and service area. We don’t really recommend paying monthly for basic cable packages, though. You can get the same local channels with an over-the-air (OTA) TV antenna that you only have to pay for once—and you can get a good one for only $25–$60.
You can learn more about OTA antennas in our guide, “What is Over-the-Air (OTA) TV?”
But, if you’re still interested in basic cable, check out our article on “Basic Cable Channels and Package Guide.”
Who has the best TV and internet bundle?
Our pick for the best overall cable and internet bundle is Optimum 1 Gig + Premier TV (420+ channels, including HBO Max, SHOWTIME, and STARZ). It’s currently $195 a month. Note: this isn’t an official bundle because Optimum has switched to selling its internet and TV plans a la carte. So, to get this “bundle,” select Optimum 1 Gig (or Fiber Internet 1 Gig if you live in Optimum’s fiber optic area) then select Premier TV.
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.