The Cost of TV
Save thousands of dollars by identifying the optimal purchase prices today.
TV can deliver entertainment, news, sports, and many other channels right in the comfort of our homes. However, the subscription to a TV package is relatively costly, not to mention equipment rental fees, premium networks, taxes, and charges among others. Thankfully, there are methods to obtain television programming at a cheaper price if you are willing to compromise in some areas. Below is a sneak peek at some of the cheapest TV packages in the market and what they offer.
Basic Broadcast TV
Free and includes local stations like ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS OTA broadcast TV. No extra equipment is required; just an antenna will suffice for you to access such channels. It is okay in this aspect since it is a picture and is in high definition. While Broadcast TV will not offer you a pool of channels as with other plans, the best shows, local news, and football matches including the NFL are broadcasted. It is quite economical and does not call for continuous expenditure which is usually incurred while using the other facilities of satellite TV.
If you wish to have DVR-like capability with an antenna then you can go for the OTA DVR box available from Tablo and Plex. There may be a tiny subscription charge but it is far lower when compared to cable TV packages.
Skinny Bundles
A skinny bundle is a small package of channels that are cheaper than cable programming services and have a limited number of networks. Some of the most popular skinny bundles include YouTube TV, Hulu, Sling TV, Philo, and FuboTV. They begin from $20- $35 per month depending on the channel list that is offered.
One notable thing is that you have more flexibility to choose the channels that the skinny bundles offer than the cable packages. And many include networks such as ESPN, TNT, Discovery, FX, regional sports, and others. A streaming device app is much like cable or satellite but the apps themselves give the experience.
The major disadvantage of skinny bundles is that some of them don’t carry every local broadcast station. It can go to around 50-100 conventional channels at the most depending on the service offered. However, for many cord-cutters, skinny bundles provide an ideal package that includes almost all the necessary content while still being relatively affordable.
Cord-Cutting Streaming
There are now several options to go from no cable to streaming services at all. As the term implies, the result is not a ‘TV service,’ but getting a couple of the most popular streaming services for a few bucks a month gives you plenty of video content.
For instance, Netflix is available for $9-$20 per month, Hulu for $7-$12 per month, and Prime Video for $9 per month in addition to having an Amazon Prime membership to gain full access to a massive amount of movies, classic and current television shows, and originals. Of course, such options as Disney+, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock, or Discovery+ are even more diverse if you add them to your portfolio.
The cost to subscribe to multiple streaming services is approximately $40-$60 a month – far less than the average cable bill which is $217. Yes, this approach is a discard of live channels and DVR. But as long as one is willing to adjust their schedules a little bit more, streaming offers the benefit of more affordable prices in addition to the feature of being able to watch it at one’s leisure.
Cheap Live TV Streaming
There are two compelling extremely affordable live streaming services and that are Philo and Frndly TV. Philos costs $25 per month and provides access to over 60 well-known networks such as AMC, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, Hallmark, VH1, SundanceTV, and many others. It also does not have sports channels, broadcast networks, and local stations. Still, at a very low price, Philo can complement other streaming content for viewers.
Another competitor of DISH TV is Frndly TV, which costs $7 per month for family-oriented content. The channels contain family, hitmen, classic shows and movies, comedy and entertainment, outdoors, and faith channels. It is almost free but delivers live and on-demand shows for those who do not want large monthly bills.
Free Streaming Apps
There are numerous free streaming apps with TV series, movies, news, and even live streaming. Well, of course, you will have to accept ads, which you surely do not want to hear from time to time. However, for those with limited funds available for purchase, the free applications allow for TV watching without charges.
Some of them are Tubi, Xumo, Pluto TV, Peacock, IMDb TV, Crackle, Plex, Kanopy, Freevee, and The Roku Channel which is available for free. Selection differs more regarding relatively newer ‘exclusive’ material. Though it can be a time-consuming process to search for the movies in the libraries, it can sometimes turn out to be fruitful. And as the ad saying goes which is…bad boys and girls for example chose the best things in life are free.
Taking Advantage of Promotions
Another way to manage the cost of TV is by signing new subscriber deals New subscriber deals could be taken to mean strategies that TV uses to attract new subscribers into its system. Free trials or notably large first-time offers often come hand in hand with streaming services and skinny bundles. What you may try is to have another email address created and then you can switch to a different provider after some time to continue to take advantage of the promo offer. But please ensure you’re monitoring the billing and cancel before the program is over.
The Bottom Line
Subscribing for cable or satellite TV for $100 or anything above that is no longer an absolute necessity. Consumers have more affordability access than they used to in 2022. Not having to always have a specific show at a specific time as well as being an informed viewer can save staggering amounts of money.
If that were true no one’s budget, preferences, and TV needs would be the same. But anyway – there are inexpensive solutions for the selection of TV packages for you. Perform certain research across the different streaming platforms, skinny bundle offers, and antenna broadcasts. And you know that before you know it, you are going to be enjoying low-cost TV designed to fit your lifestyle.
Transform your viewing experience with DirecTV! Call us today at +1 855-213-2250 to explore our plans and find the perfect package for you. Our experts are ready to assist you and get you set up with top-notch entertainment. Don’t wait—contact us now!
