Best TV Service Providers for 2023: Plans, Prices, and More

If you’re a TV fan like us, we highly recommend DISH Network for its channel count, reliability, industry-leading equipment, parental controls, and transparent pricing.

That said, maybe you’ve already had DISH, and it isn’t right for you. Read on to see why we say DIRECTV is best for sports, Verizon Fios has the best value, YouTube TV is best for live TV streaming, and HBO Max is best for on-demand streaming.

Jump to:

• Editor’s Choice Awards for best TV service providers
• Compare TV service providers head to head
• Other top cable and satellite TV providers
• Other top streaming services
• What to look for in a TV provider

2023 Editor’s Choice Awards

• DISH: Editor’s choice, best for families ($79.99–$109.99/mo.)
• Verizon Fios: Best value ($60.00–$119.00/mo.)
• DIRECTV: Best for sports ($64.99–$154.99/mo.)
• YouTube TV: Best for streaming ($72.99/mo.)
• HBO Max: Best on-demand streaming ($9.99–$15.99/mo. or $99.99–$149.99/yr.)

• Armstrong Cable ($150.90–$185.90/mo.)
• Astound Broadband powered by RCN ($116.04–$151.95/mo.)
• Cox ($56.00–$139.00/mo.)
• DIRECTV STREAM ($74.99–$154.99/mo.)
• fuboTV ($74.99–$94.99/mo.)
• Hulu + Live TV ($69.99–$82.99/mo.)
• Optimum ($30.00–$115.00/mo.)

• Philo ($25.00/mo.)
• Sling TV ($40.00–$55.00/mo.)
• Sparklight ($42.00–$109.75/mo.)
• Spectrum: ($42.00–$109.75/mo.)
• Xfinity: ($20.00–$80.00/mo.)
• Xtream powered by Mediacom ($29.99–$129.99/mo.)

Compare the best TV providers head to head

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

For the third year running, DISH is our Editor’s Choice pick for best overall TV service—and the best TV provider for families.

DISH doesn’t have the best prices or even the best cost per channel, but it guarantees that your payment won’t increase for three years. This guarantee is huge; no other TV provider—even the ones without contracts—offers such a guarantee.

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 has some new equipment and services for 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.

Verizon Fios’ streaming TV service is such an excellent deal that it’s a shame it’s available in only the metropolitan areas of nine states.

With 425+ channels, Verizon has more channels than any other provider, and it offers them for less. With The Most Fios TV, you can have all 425+ networks (which include SHOWTIME®, STARZ®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL®, and MGM+™) for $119.00 a month, which is only $0.28 per channel—no other provider can beat that.

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 (speeds up to 940 Mbps), you’ll enjoy consistently pristine picture quality. Bundling Verizon Fios TV with internet service will add $49.99–$89.99 to your monthly TV price, depending on your chosen speed (300 Mbps, 500 Mbps, or 940 Mbps).

So, if you get the fastest plan (1 Gig, $89.99 a month), your total payment would be $208.99 monthly ($0.49 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 GrubHub or DoorDash gift cards, up to $300 off a Stream TV soundbar, and your choice of an Amazon Echo Show 10, Echo Show 5, or Echo Dot. You can also choose one of these perks:

• Streaming deal: 2 TB Verizon Cloud Storage and Disney+ for six months
• Gaming deal: A free MoCA Ethernet adapter and a $50 Xbox eGift card
• Both deals: All of the above plus Whole Home WiFi for $10/mo.

And if you decide to bundle with Verizon fiber-optic internet service, another limited-time offer locks in your price for ten years. Amazing. But, again, it’s too bad that most of us can’t access the Verizon Fios value.

If you crave sportsball action like oxygen, DIRECTV is the service for you. It has 27 sports channels including FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, NFL Network, NHL Network, NBA TV, and more. But if you want NFL SUNDAY TICKET, you’re outta luck—you’ll now have to go to YouTube TV for those out-of-market games. Fortunately, DIRECTV still offers sweet sports add-ons like FOX Soccer Plus, MLB Extra Innings, NBA League Pass, and NHL Center Ice.

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 January 2023, DIRECTV has new pricing ($64.99–$154.99/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 (165–340+), 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.

Still, if you have the money, DIRECTV is a reliable service with high customer satisfaction ratings—and the PREMIER package ($154.99 monthly, 340+ channels) has every single channel DIRECTV offers, including HBO Max, 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 ($84.99 a month, 200+ channels) and ULTIMATE ($109.99 per month, 270+ channels) will give you respectable channel lineups for $50.00–$70.00 less each month. Those savings will free up some of your budget for sports add-ons.

While Verizon Fios gives you the most for your money, Spectrum has one of the cheapest TV package overall.* Spectrum TV Select is $59.99/mo. monthly for 125+ channels, including all 35 of the most-watched channels, according to Variety.

Spectrum TV Select’s low price leaves room for premium channel add-ons. If you add HBO ($15.00 a month), SHOWTIME ($10.00 a month), STARZ & STARZ ENCORE ($9.00 a month), and Sports View ($6.00 a month for 20 sports channels, including NFL Network), you’ll pay only $89.99 a month.

If you love movies and sports, Spectrum TV Select plus those premium add-ons is an excellent deal—especially because HBO subscribers also get free access to HBO Max (regularly $14.99 monthly). That’s a ton of content for under $100. Few other cable and satellite providers can offer that.

Unfortunately, Spectrum doesn’t include a TV box or DVR service with TV Select. Spectrum’s TV box is $9.99 a month, or, for a limited time, you can rent-to-own an Apple TV 4K for $5.00 a month (a 50% discount over the regular price). DVR service, which records up to 100 shows regardless of length, costs $4.99–$9.99 a month.

But even with those fees, your total payment is only about $119 per month ($0.59 per channel). That’s still a fantastic price for such a quality-rich package.

And, if you’re looking to leave your current provider, Spectrum has one more 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.

For the third year running, YouTube TV is our Editor’s Choice for best overall live TV streaming service. It has 100+ channels (second only to DIRECTV STREAM’s 140+ channels), unlimited DVR (with a nine-month storage limit), three simultaneous streams, six user profiles, and numerous channel-pack and premium add-ons. And YouTube TV is now the official home of NFL SUNDAY TICKET (formerly a DIRECTV add-on), with loads of live, out-of-market games for football fans.

You might have noticed that YouTube TV has a high cost per channel ($0.65), but this is good because live TV streaming services have leaner lineups stocked mostly with popular channels.

But while YouTube TV’s channel lineup has a higher concentration of popular channels, it is missing some popular networks, like A&E, Lifetime, and VICE. If those are must-have channels, check out our guide to the Best Live TV Streaming Services to find a service that has them.

A downside to YouTube TV—to any streaming service, really—is that you need an internet connection to stream TV. So keep that in mind.

If you’re not sure whether you’d prefer streaming TV over cable and satellite TV, you can try YouTube TV free for seven days before deciding to switch. We think you’ll dig it.

HBO Max is one of the most popular on-demand streaming services around thanks to its affordable pricing and its library of top-shelf TV series and films for the whole family.

We might see another price increase in summer 2023 with the debut of the anticipated HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service, but for now, HBO Max is a steal at $9.99 per month (with ads) or $15.99 a month (ad-free).

We always recommend ad-free plans for the best TV experience. But, if you’re cost-cutting due to inflation, the ad-supported HBO Max plan saves you $5 a month. And the only thing worse than watching ads on HBO Max is not watching HBO Max at all.

Other top cable TV providers

If our top providers are on your nope list or are just not available near you, check out these providers.

Xfinity—Best for on-the-go streaming

Xfinity has middling cost per channel numbers ($0.40–$0.53) on its TV-only plans and bundles, but the bundles have high internet speeds that might be worth the extra money.

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).

Astound Broadband Powered by RCN has limited service areas: Boston, Chicago, DC, Lehigh Valley (PA), New York (Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens). The provider’s internet-and-TV bundles, pricing, and channel counts vary slightly between areas, but they’re all a solid value.

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 1.2 Gig internet plan and top TV package, Basic TV + Signature TV for $156.00 per month. That’s only $0.51–$0.54 per channel—a terrific deal for 1,200 Mbps and 287–305+ channels (channel counts vary by region). And you get 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.

Cox

Cox has four TV-only plans, plus bundles with high-speed internet—and everything is pretty expensive, even the DVR service. With Cox standalone TV plans and bundles, the cost per channel is $0.58–$0.97. Only Sparklight ($1.20–$2.80) costs more.

But Cox’s top-tier TV plan, Contour TV Ultimate ($145.00 a month, $0.58 per channel), is a decent value, with 250+ channels—including CINEMAX, HBO Max, 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 $99.99 a month ($0.42 per channel)—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 Internet Gigablast (1 Gbps download speeds), comes to $274.99 monthly. And you’ll have all the channels, the most storage, and a super-fast internet connection.

Optimum

To get Optimum TV service, you must live in Connecticut, New Jersey, or New York (the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, or Westchester). And you have to bundle—no standalone TV plans here.

When you sign up at Optimum.com, you’ll first choose an internet plan. They cost $40.00–$180.00/mo. for 300–940 Mbps download speeds (cable or fiber, depending on your location).

Then you’ll add a TV plan ($30.00–$115.00/mo. for 50–420+ channels). Premier TV has 420+ channels—including HBO Max, SHOWTIME, and STARZ—for $115 a month. That’s a great value for so many channels, especially with the included premiums.

We recommend bundling Optimum 1 Gig Internet ($80.00 a month) with Premier TV ($115.00 a month). The total monthly price would be $195.00 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.

Armstrong Cable

Armstrong Cable is an 80-year-old family business offering high-speed internet, digital HD TV, and telephone service in northeastern US. If you like to “buy local,” you know that means paying higher prices—but usually for better service.

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.

Xtream powered by Mediacom

Mediacom offers bundles with TV, internet, and phone service in 22 states. The provider’s channel count is low (170+), but so are its prices: You can get all 170+ live TV channels plus a 1 Gbps internet connection and a free TV Smart Box for only $129.99 monthly. That’s a pretty good deal—unless you want more TV channels.

If more channels are a must, we suggest getting Mediacom’s 1 Gig internet plan ($59.99 a month), then signing up for DISH’s America’s Top 250+ ($104.99 a month, 290+ channels). It’s a solid combo, and at $164.98 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, Mediacom charges $14.95–$19.95 per month for either single-room or multiroom service with up to 150 hours of HD storage. That’s not a great price for such low-capacity storage. But there’s another DVR option for existing customers.

If you’re not a new Mediacom subscriber, you can buy the compatible, cable-ready TiVo EDGE for Cable DVR (they’re about $220 on Amazon) and get 300 hours of HD storage. You’ll still have to pay $14.95 a month for a TiVo membership—but Mediacom doesn’t charge a CABLECARD fee (for the first card), unlike most TV providers.

Sparklight

Sparklight (formerly Cable ONE) has modest TV offerings—two packages with 20–100+ channels—accessed through a streaming device (either an Amazon Fire TV Stick provided by Sparklight or your own compatible device).

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 $109.99 a month ($0.38 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 $119.99 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, 1,000 Mbps).

What to look for in a TV provider

What? Really? You wanna do your own legwork after all the sweat we put into this? Just kiddin’—we respect you for doing additional research. Here’s a tip sheet for TV-plan shopping to help you.

Channels: quantity vs. quality

Channel counts are only numbers—don’t rely solely on them. Review each provider’s channel lineups to ensure you get what you want. Here are some to get you started.

Cable and satellite TV provider channel lineups

Contracts vs. no-contract plans

Nobody likes to be stuck with a provider and a payment that they don’t like. Be sure you understand the terms of your contract, from how long your contract lasts to how much you have to pay if you leave before it ends. Or, you can look for providers that don’t require contracts, like Spectrum and Optimum.

Some providers, like Xfinity, offer no-contract plans at a higher monthly fee. Often this fee is high (Xfinity no-contract plans are as much as 33% more than the contract plans). We recommend these only if you’ll be moving soon—or you’re living away from home for an extended period.

Contract buyouts

Some providers will pay to get your business. Optimum, RCN, Spectrum, Suddenlink, and Verizon Fios all pay up to $500 to free you from your current contract. How nice is that?

DVR specs and fees

Ideally, with physical DVRs like the DISH Hopper 3 and DIRECTV Genie, you want tons of storage (200 hours or more) and multiple tuners (at least two, ideally more than five) to allow for simultaneous recordings. The DVR should also run streaming apps and have a voice remote.

Key features of cloud DVR are storage and simultaneous streams. Typically, cloud DVR storage is lower than that of a physical DVR. Expect to see providers offering 25–200 hours. As for streams, three is a good amount.

Monthly fees for physical and cloud DVRs range from $4.99–$30.00, with a median rate of $15.00 a month. You’ll find the best DVR bang for your buck with DISH ($10 a month for up to 500 hours and 16 tuners) and DIRECTV (200–450 hours and five tuners for $15 monthly).

Hidden fees

When you’ve spent all this time picking a plan with a good price and cost per channel, any extra fee feels like a surprise. Your provider should disclose these when you subscribe, but these fine-print details are easy to miss. So be on the lookout.

Here’s a list of fees that you could see on your bill:

Mobile app

If you lead a busy life, you’ll want to choose a provider with a reliable mobile app that allows you to make payments, manage your account, contact customer service, or watch TV on the go or offline.

We’ve reviewed some of the best TV provider mobile apps:

• Cox Contour App Guide
• DISH Anywhere App Guide
• Spectrum TV App Guide
• Xfinity Stream App Guide

Final take

DISH is our Editor’s choice for the best overall TV provider and the best TV provider for families. It has high channel counts, transparent pricing, reliability, the highest-rated DVR, top-notch parental controls, and many children’s channels.

And DIRECTV remains our best-for-sports pick because it has the most sports channels and the best sports add-ons—even now that the provider has lost NFL SUNDAY TICKET.

Despite its limited availability, we’re giving the best value award to Verizon Fios for its channel count, superb picture quality, and inclusions like a free set-top box and Basic DVR plan.

Enter your zip code below to see which of these providers are in your area. Good luck!

Best TV providers FAQ

Methodology

For our annual Editor’s Choice Awards, our TV experts spend thousands of hours comparing top TV providers on plans, pricing, channels, customer satisfaction, features, and more. We award points in each category, then calculate an overall editorial rating. We then recognize these providers in five key categories—Editor’s Choice (best overall), best for families, best for sports, best value, and cheapest—so you can pick a TV provider that fits your needs. For more information on our process, see our How We Rank page.

Disclaimers:

* Spectrum TV® Select: Limited time offer; subject to change; valid to qualified residential customers who have not subscribed to any services within the previous 30 days and who have no outstanding obligation to Charter. Spectrum TV® Select promotion price is $59.99/mo; standard rates apply after yr. 1. Taxes, fees and surcharges (broadcast surcharge up to $21.00/mo) extra and subject to change during and after the promotional period; installation/network activation, equipment and additional services are extra. General Terms: TV: TV equipment required; charges may apply. Channel and HD programming availability based on level of service. Account credentials may be required to stream some TV content online. Services subject to all applicable service terms and conditions, subject to change. Services not available in all areas. Restrictions apply. Enter your address to determine availability. ©2022 Charter Communications.