Last summer, Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable) slowly began offering customers an a la carte TV option called “TV Choice”. The program was initially designed as a retention option to persuade individuals from ditching cable. At the time, many didn’t know what to make of it, and details were scant.
However, Spectrum started rolling out the option with more gusto early this year. Cord Cutters News reported last week that the company plans to push the option more heavily. A recent Techhive review what many suspected: TV Choice is still wrapped in the funk of limited options and price creeps.
TV Choice? More Like Poor Choice
Techhive’s Jared Newman received a retention call from Spectrum, offering him the TV Choice a la carte option. Here’s how it broke down:
- He would get all of the major broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW)
- He would then get to pick from 10 major cable TV networks
- His cost initially would be
$40 a month
with an included broadcast TV fee
For a cable company, that sure sounds like a good deal. But compare the cost and TV options with popular OTT options:
- Sling TV Orange: $20/month, 30 channels (no locals)
- fuboTV: $44.99/month, 65+ channels (including some locals)
- YouTube TV: $35/month, 50+ channels (including some locals)
- Philo: $16/month, 37 channels (no locals, no sports)
If locals broadcast networks are imminently important, a consumer might be tempted by TV Choice. But Newman notes there’s a price creep that brings the cost up to $30 per month.
For fewer than 20 channels at $30 per month, TV Choice is severely lacking in the kind of choice most cord-cutters are looking for.
Sam Cook is a full-time content strategist by day, a part-time freelance content writer since 2015. In another life, he was a high school English teacher for nearly a decade. Based in sunny New Orleans, he writes long-form educational content on technology, including Insurtech, Fintech, HRtech, and content streaming. He loves whittling down complex ideas within these areas that make decisions easier for buyers. When he’s not reading books with his son Miles and playing video games with the family, you can find him immersed in his growing collection of Euro-style board games.
