Being entertained has become excessively easy these days with online gaming, streaming, and social media being so active. However, the number one source would always be television and while you can access it through a number of mediums including live streaming services, we all know that cable TV is the right way. Cutting the cord is still an option but if you are adamant about keeping your entertainment live through cable TV, you must know the best cable TV providers that you should get in 2021. This article is written to provide you with enough comparative information about all the best cable TV providers, so you can make an educated choice.
Before beginning with the list, you should know the merits that are somewhat important when choosing a cable TV provider:
- Decent pricing
- Extensive channel lineup with most of the major networks included in the base plan
- Sufficient DVR capacity
- Ease of no contract
Following are the best cable TV providers of 2021.
DISH
Price Range (monthly): 64.99 USD to 94.99 USD
No. of Channels: 190 to 290+
DVR capacity: 500 hours
No. of recordings at the same time: 16
DISH is a great cable TV service for families and kids. It locks your price for a period of two years, which means that you will not have to suffer any price increase. It further allows you to take benefit of Hopper 3 DVR, providing a lot more storage capacity, at a monthly rate of 15 USD. Moreover, you can record 16 streams at the same time. If you are a part of a large household and have multiple televisions, you can use DISH Joey at a nominal rate of 5 USD to 10 USD monthly. For kids, DISH brings all the major channels including Nickelodeon and Disney. Its parental controls are great and full of control.Â
spectrum
Price Range (monthly): 44.99 USD to 94.99
No. of Channels: 125 to 200+
DVR capacity: Depends
No. of recordings at the same time: 2 to 6
Spectrum is one of the most popular cable TV providers because of its no contractual obligation and contract buyout policy. This means that you can leave your provider with its help and in the future, if you are not satisfied with its services, you can opt-out anytime. Such a win-win deal! Another great thing is that with Spectrum bundles, you can combine phone, cable, and internet services in a way that suits you and enjoy great savings. All of its plans are value-added and when it comes to DVR service; it offers two options – a traditional box DVR that provides 90 hours storage at 17.98 USD and a Cloud-based DVR that provides 180 hours storage at the same rate of 17.98 USD.
xfinity
Price Range: 60.00 USD to 89.99 USD
No. of Channels: 125 to 260+
DVR capacity: 150 hours
No. of recordings at the same time: 6
Xfinity has something for everyone. It offers a 30 USD plan as well that can get you a total of 10 channels. Therefore, if you are someone with very limited interests, you can enjoy its Choice TV plan. It has a vast availability network and with the inclusion of HD programming, it has become the viewer’s choice. Xfinity also offers a voice remote that functions incredibly.Â
cox
Price Range (monthly): 25.00 USD to 69.99 USD
No. of Channels: 75 to 250+
DVR capacity: 100 to 1,000 hours
No. of recordings at the same time: 2 to 24
Cox offers limited standalone TV packages – its TV starter package allows you to watch 75 channels at 25 USD and the Contour TV package allows you to watch more than 140 channels at 69.99 USD. You can bundle up services to avail some savings. Cox offers two types of DVR service – Contour Record 6 that gives 250 storage hours and six simultaneous streams at 19.99 USD per month and Contour Record 24 that gives 1,000 storage hours and 24 simultaneous streams at 29.99 USD per month.
optimum
Price Range (monthly): 74.99 USD to 124.99 USD
No. of Channels: 220 to 420+
DVR capacity: 75 hours
No. of recordings at the same time: 15
Optimum offers a contract buyout policy of up to 500 USD and does not bind you any sort of contract as well, making its plans completely irresistible. It has one of the highest channel counts, which means you can enjoy more. Optimum DVR service would cost you 20 USD for 75 hours of storage capacity. One thing that might bug you is that it does not offer any standalone TV plan and you will have to subscribe to a double play or triple play plan, however, bundling up services makes it more affordable and convenient so it is not that bad. Another somewhat restrictive thing is the limited availability of Optimum – it is only available in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York (Brooklyn, Westchester, the Bronx, and Long Island)
rcn
Price Range (monthly): 59.99 USD to 82.12 USD
No. of Channels: 55 to 304
DVR capacity: 20 to 75 hours
No. of recordings at the same time: 2 to 6
RCN provides one of the cheapest standalone cable plans allowing you to enjoy entertainment at a strict budget. It offers a no-contract option and includes all major channel networks from all genres including NBC, Fox, ESPN, HSN, MTV, Comedy Central, QVC, Hallmark, SyFy, HGTV, Animal Planet, and Investigation Discovery. Its TV packages further allow you to access RCN2go through which you can watch cable channels and live TV on the go, as well. Although channels like Cinemax, HBO Max, and Showtime are not included in the plans, you can still add them by paying a small subscription fee.Â
suddenlink
Price Range (monthly): 58.00 USD to 124.99 USD
No. of Channels: 225 to 340+
DVR capacity: 75 hours
No. of recordings at the same time: 15
SuddenLink is quite similar to Optimum in its working pattern, which means that if Optimum is not available in your area, you can check out for SuddenLink. It covers almost 20 states, offers 500 USD contract buyouts, and has a no-contract policy. Again, it is a double win! Some packages allow you to lock the price for life and the 30-day money-back guarantee is the cherry on top. Like Optimum, SuddenLink also does not offer any standalone TV package.
