Best TV Service Providers for 2024: Plans, Prices, and More

The DISH Hopper 3 ($10/mo.) is consistently the highest-rated DVR in the TV business. It stores 500 HD hours, allows you to record up to 16 programs at once, supports 4K resolution, and includes the DISH Voice Remote. Also, you can have multiroom viewing with the DISH Joey ($7/mo. per TV, wired or wireless).

DISH also introduced some new equipment and services in 2023. Hopper Plus (free after $25 activation fee) is a new streaming device that supports paid live and on-demand streaming TV apps, plus gaming and lifestyle apps. The new Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 (both $7/mo.) add 4K HDR picture quality to the Hopper’s features.

Finally, families will love that DISH has the channels kids want from Disney, Nickelodeon, and local PBS affiliates. And parents will appreciate DISH’s excellent parental controls, created in partnership with Common Sense Media, which enable them to fine-tune the content their kids consume.

The value gets even better, though. The Most Fios TV also includes your set-top box plus wireless multiroom DVR service with voice control, a combined value of $24 a month.

And, if you bundle with Verizon Fios’ lightning-fast fiber-optic internet service (download speeds up to 940 Mbps), you’ll enjoy consistently pristine picture quality. Bundling Verizon Fios TV with internet service will add $49.99–$109.99/mo. (w/ Auto Pay) to your TV price, depending on your chosen download speed (300Mbps, 500Mbps, 940Mbps, or 2,300Mbps). No bundle discounts, but the fast speeds and low prices are worth it.

So, if you get the fastest plan available in all areas (Fios 1 Gig, $89.99 a month w/ auto pay for 1 GB download speeds), your total payment would be $218.99 monthly ($0.52 per channel). That’s a lot of bang for your buck—even before you factor in Verizon’s sweet sign-up deals.

For a limited time, with select TV plans, Verizon will give you up to $200 in Verizon gift cards. Amazing. But, again, it’s too bad that most of us can’t access the Verizon Fios value.

Still, without NFL SUNDAY TICKET—which it used to offer free for a season to new subscribers—DIRECTV had to make some changes to compete with its main rival, DISH. As of November 2023, DIRECTV has new pricing ($69.99–$159.99/mo.) that’s guaranteed not to increase during your two-year contract. Unfortunately, DIRECTV’s pricing remains sky-high. Also, the satellite TV provider now charges a $15-a-month Advanced Receiver Service Fee—a roundabout way of charging a fee for the Genie DVR after years of including it in all DIRECTV plans.

DIRECTV still has a hefty channel count (75–150+), including close to 30 sports channels. And, although the Advanced Receiver Service Fee sucks, the Genie (wired, 200 hours of storage, five simultaneous recordings) and Genie 2 DVR (wireless, 450 hours, five simultaneous recordings, $99 bridge fee at signup) are powerful machines. But we think non-sports fans and families would prefer the more affordable and transparent DISH Network.

If you have the money, DIRECTV is a reliable service with high customer satisfaction ratings—and the PREMIER All Included package ($159.99 monthly, 340+ channels) has every single channel DIRECTV offers, including Max, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, Cinemax, STARZ, and MGM+ (formerly EPIX). That’s the package we’d get if we could afford it.

But, if you like sports more than movies, CHOICE All Included ($79.99 a month, 200+ channels) and ULTIMATE All Included ($114.99 per month, 270+ channels) will give you respectable channel lineups for $45.00–$75.00 less each month. Those savings will free up some of your budget for sports add-ons.

Spectrum TV Select Signature’s previously low price used to leave ample room for premium channel add-ons. If you add Max ($15.00 a month), STARZ & STARZ ENCORE ($9.00 a month), and Sports View ($7.00 a month for 16+ sports channels), you’ll now pay $126 a month. It’s still cheaper than some comparable cable packages, but it’s no longer a steal.

But, if you’re looking to leave your current provider, Spectrum does have a great deal for you: a contract buyout of up to $500. You also won’t have to sign a contract with Spectrum, so you can peace out whenever you’re unhappy.

Prime Video’s deep, deep library has everything: Original and exclusive TV series (Fallout, Them, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and films (Ricky Stanicky, Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain), video store–era deep cuts, stand-up comedy specials, game shows, live sports—we could go on. There’s even a menu of “Prime Video Channels” that lets you add other streaming services to the Prime Video app for one-stop convenience.

With a 30-day trial and no contract—you can cancel the annual membership anytime and get a prorated refund, Prime Video is also risk-free. If you have it, you know. If you don’t, give it a shot.

Also, Xfinity has the highly rated X1 TV box ($7.50 a month), which includes a rather measly 20-hour cloud DVR, six simultaneous recordings, the XR15 voice remote, and integrated streaming apps. If you want more DVR storage, you can get 150–300 hours for an extra $10.00–$20.00 monthly.

As a bonus, the Xfinity Stream mobile app lets you stream your live TV channels, on-demand movies and shows, DVR recordings, and more. It’s one of the best mobile streaming experiences we’ve found from a traditional TV provider.

When you sign up for Xfinity TV service, you can build your own TV and internet bundle. Prices and plan names vary across the provider’s three US regions, but if you choose a TV plan with 185+ channels and a 1,200 Mbps internet plan, you’ll pay $130.00–$150.00 per month.

That’s a decent deal for so much content and internet speed, but with equipment, broadcast TV, and regional sports network (RSN) fees, the monthly payment increases by $53.50.

Finally, Xfinity’s term agreements are only 12 months long. That’s not terrible, and it’s worth it for this price. But, if you’re living somewhere temporarily, Xfinity does have no-term agreement plans for an extra 33% per month (yikes).

Yup, we said “bundles,” not “plans”—to get Astound’s TV service, you have to bundle it with high-speed internet. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Astound’s best bundle includes its 1.5 Gig internet plan and top TV package, Basic TV + Preferred TV, for $161.60 per month. And you get Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, STARZ, and TMC free for a year.

You’ll access your Astound Broadband channels via a free TiVo device (extras are $7 a month each) for watching your Astound live TV channels, on-demand titles, and even your subscription-based streaming TV services. The TiVo device also has 125 hours of HD DVR storage (included with your Astound TV plan) that you can upgrade to 250 hours ($9.99 a month).

We think this is a pretty solid bundle deal—if you’re lucky enough to live in Astound Broadband’s service area.

But Cox’s top-tier TV plan, Contour TV Ultimate ($152.00/mo.), is a decent value with 250+ channels—including CINEMAX, Max, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, and STARZ—plus your first TV box free and the Record 1 Starter DVR service (250 hours of storage, one simultaneous recording) free for 12 months.

If you want more DVR storage and simultaneous recordings, it’s gonna cost you. Cox has three tiers of DVR service with 250–1,000 hours and 2–24 recordings for $10–$30 per month.

To compare, DISH’s America’s Top 200 plan has 240+ channels, 500 hours of DVR storage, and 16 simultaneous recordings for only $112.999 a month—and DISH guarantees the price for three years. Cox prices are good only for 12 months. With DISH, you’ll get more bang for your buck—and save some bucks.

If you want the best of everything, Cox’s Contour TV Ultimate (250+ channels) with Ultimate DVR (1,000 hours of storage, 24 recordings), bundled with the Go Super Fast internet plan (1 Gbps download speeds), comes to $292 monthly. And you’ll have all the channels, the most storage, and a super-fast internet connection.

When you sign up at Optimum.com, you’ll first choose an internet plan. They cost $40.00–$280.00/mo. for 300–8,000 Mbps download speeds (cable or fiber, depending on your location).

Then you’ll add a TV plan ($35.00–$125.00/mo. for 50–420+ channels). Premier TV has 420+ channels—including Max, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, and STARZ—for $125 a month. That’s a great value for so many channels, especially with the included premiums.

We recommend bundling Optimum 1 Gig Internet with Premier TV for $215.00 monthly.

Also, you get your first Optimum TV box free with Optimum bundles. Or you can rent-to-own an Apple TV 4K ($10 a month for 18 months) instead.

Unless you’re bundling with a 1 Gig internet plan, in which case you’ll receive free Cloud DVR, you will have to pay an extra $8–$20 a month for Optimum’s Cloud DVR service. That’s pretty pricey for 25–150 hours of storage. Alternatively, you could buy your own DVR, which will pay for itself (eventually) and hold more movies and shows.

As an upside, if you’re tired of your current TV provider, Optimum has no contracts and a contract buyout of up to $500. Those are two good reasons to switch to Optimum. Too bad it’s available in only four states.

If you’d rather have the best deal, DISH, Spectrum, and Xfinity offer more channels and faster internet for a better price in the same area. You might want to go directly to those providers.

You locally minded customers who want to try Armstrong should know that the provider offers TV only in bundles with internet or phone service for $150.90–$185.90 a month. This pricing is already average to high—and includes a $40 promotional discount. Yikes.

Armstrong’s pricing looks even worse when you realize that its main TV plan, Television Plus, has only 100+ channels. Armstrong stashes 245+ more channels in add-on packs ($5.25–$13.25 each monthly).

Your EXP Stream TV box (powered by TiVo) adds $9.95 per month, but it’s not mandatory—you can use your own compatible streaming device. Cloud DVR storage is $6.00–$10.00 monthly for 50–250 hours.

We love supporting mom-and-pop shops, but we’re not sure we’d pay this much for TV and internet service.

If more channels are a must, we suggest getting Xtream powered by Mediacom’s 1 Gig Unlimited internet plan ($64.99 a month), then signing up for DISH’s America’s Top 250 ($122.99 a month, 290+ channels). It’s a solid combo, and at $187.98 monthly, it competes with bundles from Optimum and Astound Broadband—but you won’t enjoy the convenience of a single bill.

If you want DVR service, Xtream includes your first XTREAM1 TV box free and you can choose up to 11 more boxes for $9.99 each. Unfortunately, the provider decided to stop offering TiVo DVR service because of “too many problems,” according to a rep, and that means Xtream has no DVR option at this time.

Unfortunately, Sparklight’s pricing isn’t so modest at $56.00–$120.00 monthly, which is an astonishingly high $1.20–$2.80 per channel. Both packages include a 200-hour cloud DVR, which can cost up to $20.00 a month with other providers, but that doesn’t improve the value much.

To put Sparklight’s poor value into perspective, the DISH America’s Top 250 has 290+ channels for $122.99 a month ($0.42 per channel) and you can add the Hopper 3 DVR (500 hours and 16 simultaneous recordings) for an extra $10.00 monthly. That comes to $132.99 monthly—and DISH is available almost anywhere.

Sparklight has bundles with internet, TV, and phone service, but the value isn’t much better at $190 a month for 100+ channels and 1,000 Mbps internet speeds. So, if you live in Sparklight’s area, we recommend getting DISH for TV and Sparklight’s Connect Gig Ultra ($70 a month, 1,000Mbps).