We will get right to it: Paying for television can be confusing and expensive. Home internet service has improved largely over the years, with faster speeds, more competitive pricing, and enticing signup bonuses. However, traditional TV service has gotten more expensive and complicated.
You may even save some money by bundling your TV service, but you should not anticipate it saving you a lot. Most providers, even those who are known to reward customers for bundling, no longer offer bundle discounts. Although there are plenty of cheap bundles available, few providers offer additional incentives when you bundle internet and TV services.
What are the advantages of bundling TV and the Internet?
You might as well bundle internet and TV if you are going to get them anyway. Nevertheless, you should make sure you are getting the speed and channels you need without having to go elsewhere for a cheaper option.
Buying a $70 or $80 cable package just to watch ESPN or TBS could be a waste of money. Streaming services like Sling TV and YouTube TV offer similar channels to cable and often for less money. Furthermore, many TV providers sell “basic” or “locals only” packages that charge you for channels that can be received for free with a digital antenna. In contrast, if you want local sports channels, cable TV is your best (and sometimes only) option.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to decide which provider to choose as there are a variety of internet and streaming services available, ranging from YouTube TV, Sling TV, and their own streaming services.
Here is a list of affordable cable and internet bundles for you:
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Spectrum
Spectrum likes to keep things simple, and that is part of what made the provider our top choice. With Spectrum, customers can build bundles with any combination of internet plans and cable TV plans available in their area. If you bundle Spectrum internet with cable TV, you will also get a discount. However, Spectrum’s streaming service is the cheapest option for bundles. Its TV and internet package is called Spectrum double play, while the TV, internet, and voice package is Spectrum triple play.
Spectrum internet customers without cable TV packages can subscribe to TV Essentials for an extra few bucks per month. In addition to Comedy Central, AMC, Viceland, Discovery, Nickelodeon, and more, the streaming service features more than 60 live channels. Regional sports networks, however, are not included.
The lowest-priced Spectrum cable package, TV Select, includes local channels and regional sports channels. With this package, you get regional sports networks from any major provider for one of the lowest prices and, once again, you also get internet for an additional discount.
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Xfinity
Bundling TV and internet finally offers a decent discount. When you get Xfinity internet and TV, you can save up to $20 each month by bundling both services. Xfinity rewards customers for bundling with a discount on each additional service.
You can upgrade to Xfinity Popular TV for a few extra dollars more per month, which comes with more than 100 additional channels, including regional sports networks. If you only need 50Mbps and local channels, you cannot go wrong with Basic TV and Xfinity Connect. However, if you upgrade your internet plan, we recommend you do the same — Xfinity offers five-speed tiers, up to gig service with speeds up to 1,200Mbps in select areas.
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Mediacom
Among the few providers who do not sell stand-alone TV, Mediacom is one of them. TV plans are only available if you sign up for the internet, so there are no bundle discounts. The cheapest bundle from Mediacom is still comparatively low-priced. Internet 60 with local TV costs up to $30 a month.
Bringing Local TV into the mix will only cost you a few more dollars per month more than Access Internet 60. Even though it is just your local channels, that’s still a pretty good deal. With Access Internet 60, you can get 125+ channels at a price of up to $60 per month when you upgrade to Essential TV, bundled with 125 channels. When you bundle Variety TV and regional sports networks, you will be able to access the entire sports network lineup, including ESPN, for up to $80 per month.
If you intend to stream using your Mediacom internet service, be aware that you will be subject to the data cap. Also, Mediacom does not offer any internet bundles with streaming TV. A data cap of 200GB per month is included in the Access Internet 60 plan, and an overage fee of approximately $10 is applied for every 50GB overage. You can get up to 6TB of data with Mediacom’s gig plans, but it will cost you a little bit more per month.
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Optimum
With Optimum, you have to bundle your TV service with internet to get TV service, so there is no real “discount,” but the bundles are relatively affordable. Optimum Internet 100 and Basic TV offer speeds up to 100Mbps and a channel lineup that mostly features local networks for up to $50 a month.
With low price increases for upgrading, it is perhaps more difficult to turn down the offer from Optimum than from any other major provider. For example, upgrading from Internet 100 to Internet 300 will only cost you a few more dollars per month. Optimum Core, the company’s next lowest-priced TV package, will cost you around $35 more per month than Basic TV, but it is certainly well worth the extra cash. Additional sports channels like MSG and Yes Network are included in the package, which offers more than 100 channels.
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Verizon Fios
Sling TV runs on Verizon Fios, but it offers the low-priced bundle of internet and TV with Sling Blue TV or Sling Orange starting at $75 a month. Sling Blue TV offers symmetrical upload and download speeds of up to 300Mbps, as well as a choice of Sling Blue or Sling Orange. With Verizon internet and TV bundles, you will get the only discount – free Sling TV for 2 months, a value of approximately $70.
In Sling’s Blue and Orange packages, there are only about 30 channels available. All Verizon Fios internet plans come with a free one-year subscription to AMC Plus and Disney Plus, which means you will enjoy even more entertainment. Orange also includes Disney Channel, but Blue does not, even though both Sling packages already include AMC. The Blue package might make more sense if you already have Disney Plus with Verizon Fios internet, but you should compare the entire channel lineup of both packages before you decide.
In terms of sports, Sling TV Orange includes ESPN2 and ESPN, but not Fox Sports 1. There is no ESPN on Sling TV Blue. There are no regional sports networks available on either service. If you bundle your Verizon Fios Internet and TV, you can get those channels starting at around $125 per month with the More Fios TV package.
Wrapping Up
Can bundling TV and the internet actually save you money?
Your entertainment needs will determine that. Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus offer on-demand streaming services at lower monthly prices than most cable packages, but they do not provide live television. Live TV streaming services, like Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV, can cost more than a cable package. A streaming service usually has lower equipment costs, and it may offer more exclusive content than traditional cable.
To summarize, choosing the cheapest TV service may not suit you, just as it may not suit you for home internet. If you are planning to sign up for an internet and TV package, make sure that the package includes the internet speeds and channels you require. We hope this post helps you to choose a TV and internet package that suits your needs, demands, and budget.
Also, drop your questions and suggestions in the comments section below.
