Spectrum debuts $15 cable streaming service for Apple TV, iPhone, iPad users
For $15 per month, the Spectrum TV Essentials streaming service will provide more than 60 channels to an Apple TV or iPhone for customers of the company's internet service that don't have a cable television package.
At launch, Spectrum TV Essentials will be available for $14.99 plus tax. The lineup will be streamed through the Spectrum TV app, and will be available on a wide range of platforms.
Networks available on Spectrum TV Essentials include: A&E, AMC, American Heroes Channel, Animal Planet, AXS TV, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Her, BET Jams, BET Soul, Bloomberg, Cheddar, CLEO TV, CMT, CMT Music, Comedy Central, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Discovery, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, DIY, Food Network, FYI, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HDNet Movies, HGTV, HISTORY, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Logo, MotorTrend Network, MTV, MTV2, MTV Classic, MTV Live, MTVU, NewsmaxTV, Newsy, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nick Music, NickToons, Outdoor Channel, OWN, Paramount Network, Science Channel, Sundance TV, Teen Nick, TLC, Travel Channel, TV Land, VH1, Viceland, The Weather Channel and WEtv. Broadcast channels are not included.
"As the video marketplace continues to segment across price points and offerings, we believe a high quality, lower priced option for internet-only subscribers is very important," said Viacom President and CEO Bob Bakish about the offering. "We're excited to have our global brands as part of Spectrum TV Essentials at launch."
The Spectrum TV app arrived on the App Store on January 3. With the release, Charter Spectrum became the first U.S. basic cable company to offer support for tvOS 12's zero sign-on functionality.
Apple's zero sign-on automatically authenticates existing subscriptions, allowing users to seamlessly access channels and on-demand content provided through their selected cable bundle. Zero sign-on is an evolution to single sign-on, which debuted in 2016 to streamline the log in process for a growing number of third-party video streaming apps.
At launch, Spectrum TV Essentials will be available for $14.99 plus tax. The lineup will be streamed through the Spectrum TV app, and will be available on a wide range of platforms.
Networks available on Spectrum TV Essentials include: A&E, AMC, American Heroes Channel, Animal Planet, AXS TV, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Her, BET Jams, BET Soul, Bloomberg, Cheddar, CLEO TV, CMT, CMT Music, Comedy Central, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Discovery, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, DIY, Food Network, FYI, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HDNet Movies, HGTV, HISTORY, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Logo, MotorTrend Network, MTV, MTV2, MTV Classic, MTV Live, MTVU, NewsmaxTV, Newsy, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nick Music, NickToons, Outdoor Channel, OWN, Paramount Network, Science Channel, Sundance TV, Teen Nick, TLC, Travel Channel, TV Land, VH1, Viceland, The Weather Channel and WEtv. Broadcast channels are not included.
"As the video marketplace continues to segment across price points and offerings, we believe a high quality, lower priced option for internet-only subscribers is very important," said Viacom President and CEO Bob Bakish about the offering. "We're excited to have our global brands as part of Spectrum TV Essentials at launch."
The Spectrum TV app arrived on the App Store on January 3. With the release, Charter Spectrum became the first U.S. basic cable company to offer support for tvOS 12's zero sign-on functionality.
Apple's zero sign-on automatically authenticates existing subscriptions, allowing users to seamlessly access channels and on-demand content provided through their selected cable bundle. Zero sign-on is an evolution to single sign-on, which debuted in 2016 to streamline the log in process for a growing number of third-party video streaming apps.
Comments
My experience with Spectrum is that they advertise $14.99/month plus tax but there are always a bunch of fees that they tack on. I had their cable + internet for a while and the fees added up to something like $9/month. Franchise fees, broadcast subscriber fees, universal access fees, pork belly cleaning fees, blah blah blah. I'll look up one of my old bills later and detail the exact amounts.
So, throw a bunch of crap together and hope someone bites?
Thanks to some unnecessarily restrictive and anti-competitive laws you won't see the networks on this for the vast majority of country. Even if your locals do eventually make it onto the App you won't be able to watch them unless you are in your area due to these rules.
Pass.
I am currently on YouTube TV with PBS Passport ($5 a month to any members station unlocks all their streaming) and HBO Now. It is far less than Comcast was charging, but still too much for the advertising fest that is commercial TV. I just do not watch enough TV to be happy with anything but a la carte.
As to ESPN, I would happily pay per view on sports events, but have no desire in subsidizing Disney’s empire of schlock and sports gossip.
Too little too late for me, I will stick with Philo.
https://www.philo.com
widget tax: 20¢
Fee the company is charging you to recover the 20¢ we paid in addition to the 20¢ we are billing you: $2.00
total cost to customer:$2.20