Mediacom TV Review

How good is Mediacom TV service?

Mediacom ditched the traditional cable TV boxes for IPTV ones, so the reliability of the service and the quality of the streams you get squarely depend on your internet connection, your home network, and the devices you use to watch TV. Whether Mediacom TV is good or not is purely subjective to the user.

But on a feature level, Mediacom TV is no different than the competition. You get several starting points to choose from, and then you can add all the channels you can afford, even some naughty ones. Plus, Mediacom gives you two ways to stream your channels to your TV, both of which include a voice remote.

The biggest con for Mediacom TV is the price hikes when you bundle. The price for internet goes up after one or two years, but you can cancel service at any time, as you’re not ball-and-chained to a contract.

Mediacom TV plans

Mediacom keeps your TV choices simple, and that’s a good thing. Simply select a starting point and build your channel count from there.

The Local TV plan speaks for itself. Get access to your local TV stations plus a small selection of cable TV channels like QVC and C-SPAN.

Essential TV tacks on more traditional cable TV channels, such as HD versions of A&E, TBS, TNT, and Syfy.

Variety TV packs nearly every TV channel Mediacom has to offer, adding A&E, MTV, The Weather Channel, USA Network, loads of sports TV channels, and so much more.

All three TV plans include music channels, on-demand programming, and access to the Mediacom Smart Guide. Take a look:

Each Mediacom TV plan comes with a set number of channels. You add channels by tacking on digital PAKs and premium channel groups. For example, the Kids & Variety PAK adds Boomerang, Discovery Family, Disney XD, Game Show Network, and 26 other channels. Here’s the full add-on list:

• Sports & Information
• Kids & Variety
• Movies & Music
• Digital Premium HBO Group
• Digital Premium CINEMAX® Group
• Digital Premium SHOWTIME®/The Movie Channel Group
• Digital Premium STARZ®/ENCORE Group
• International Channels
• Digital Premium Channels
• Canales Latinos
• HD PAK
• Digital Music

Mediacom TV and internet bundles

You don’t save any money by bundling compared to paying for the services individually. Internet pricing goes up after one or two years anyway, depending on the plan you bundle.

Mediacom TV tech

Mediacom has several tools to help you enjoy your TV service throughout your home and while you’re out and about.

Mediacom1 box

The Mediacom1 box is an Android-powered IPTV streaming device that comes with all Mediacom TV plans, replacing the traditional cable TV box. It supports Google Play, Google Assistant, and Chromecast, the latter of which allows you to stream content to your TV using any Chromecast-enabled app.

The Mediacom1 box includes the Mediacom Voice Remote. With it, you can search for specific shows and titles without taking five hours to type out three words.

The first unit is free to use, while additional units cost $9.99 per month. Customers must pay a one-time activation fee of $15.

Xumo Stream Box

The Xumo Stream Box is another IPTV streaming device offered through a number of internet providers, including Cox, Spectrum, and Mediacom. The difference is that this device doesn’t support Google Play, so you’re limited to the apps you can get through Xumo. It’s free to use and comes with its own voice remote.

The first unit is free to use. Additional units cost $5 per month.

Mediacom TV app

With the Mediacom TV app, you can watch TV and premium channels on any smartphone or tablet that supports Google Play, the Apple App Store, or the Amazon Appstore.

But we’ll give it to you straight—people don’t seem to like it. At the time of writing, the Mediacom TV by Mediacom mobile app has sub-two-star ratings in both the App Store and Google Play Store.

Beyond watching TV on your smartphone or tablet, the app can be used to turn your device into a smarter remote or remotely (ha!) set up DVR recordings. It also makes it easier to browse your recordings or on-demand library.

To watch Mediacom TV in a browser, visit the Activation page and log in using your Mediacom ID credentials.

Mediacom TV installation

There are two noteworthy aspects of Mediacom’s installation. The first is that you can schedule service appointments for evenings or weekends. The second is that Mediacom gives you a fairly short, 30-minute arrival window for your service appointment. Those two things together mean you’ll spend less time waiting on the technician to show up.

Mediacom’s standard installation fee is pretty high at $99.99. But it’s pretty easy to get a hefty discount off that fee by signing up for services online. During our research, we saw discounts covering up to 100% of the install fee, while several other service areas covered $85.00.

That still leaves you on the hook for Mediacom’s $10 activation fee and any additional charges for extra work—like if the technician has to install a new TV outlet. You can find a full list of potential fees for your area using Mediacom’s online rate card.

My verdict

Mediacom doesn’t overload you with choices. You can pair any one of its Mediacom TV services with any of its three cable internet plans. Plus, Mediacom provides the TV equipment you need at no extra cost unless you need additional units in other rooms.

Truth be told, you can’t get Mediacom TV without Mediacom internet, so I’m a little disappointed there’s no price reduction when you bundle. Spectrum, for example, gives you a little internet discount for two years when you bundle it with TV—Mediacom does not. Honestly, bundling discounts should be a priority in 2025, when customers can get their live TV fix from Hulu, Google, and Sling TV.

Still, given that Mediacom doesn’t require a contract, you don’t have to keep any of its TV and internet services when the promotional pricing ends.