Optimum TV Review

Optimum offers traditional TV services to its fiber and cable internet subscribers using a streaming set-top box. Prices start at a reasonable $30 to $40, depending on where you live, and that includes 25 hours of cloud DVR at no charge. You may get your first Optimum Stream box and the required Optimum internet gateway free. Just be aware promotions expire without warning, and your price could jump up significantly.

Optimum provides TV and internet services in several states, from the East Coast to West Virginia and the Midwest to California, Arizona, and Idaho. Prices, channel lineups, and promotions differ in each market.

You can pay a little for basic cable channels from Optimum, or you can pay more for access to premium sports and news. If you want access to every channel you can imagine, you can pay a lot. If you do, you may get perks like 24-month price guarantees or gift cards worth hundreds of dollars.

The price per channel is great on the highest tier, but you might end up with a lot of channels you don’t want. Even worse, prices go up when new customer promotions expire.

It’s also important to know that Optimum internet service is required to get Optimum TV. Plans have different names and channel lineups depending on where you live, but here’s a taste of bundles we recommend:

How good is Optimum TV service?

If you love traditional TV with a familiar remote control and quick access to local news and shows on-demand, Optimum TV is about what you would expect. But its plans and bundles are confusing, your price may go up after a promo period, and you’re stuck with about $20 in taxes and fees after your monthly service charges.

If you’re more comfortable with streaming services and third-party streaming devices than you are with traditional cable TV, you might not be happy with Optimum TV. To get access to sports and premium news, you’ll pay almost $100 every month (not counting internet services), and constant carriage disputes mean you may not get to see your local pro teams. Plus, services like Netflix and HBO’s Max are priced separately.

Optimum tries to sweeten the deal by offering a free Optimum Stream device to most customers, but it’s not guaranteed. You may have to pay $12 per month depending on where you live. You may also get an internet gateway included with your bundle price, which is a nice perk. But more on that later.

Pros

• Familiar cable TV experience
• Low prices on basic plans
• Free set-top box (in most areas)

Cons

• Confusing channel lineup
• High prices for premium plans
• Internet bundling requirement

Optimum TV deals

Promotions change every quarter and vary based on your exact location, but there’s good news! Almost all new customers qualify for some kind of perk, especially if they purchase fast internet and a premium TV package. You can save even more by adding Optimum mobile to your bundle, but be aware you’ll be billed for the phone service separately.

Here’s a look at the latest and greatest:

Optimum TV packages

Optimum offers different TV packages depending on where you live. The channel lineup varies wildly, so you should take a look at yours during checkout.

Broadly speaking, you can expect basic cable like local news and Comedy Central on the first tier, but you won’t get top sports channels like FOX Sports 1 or TNT until the second or third tier. That second tier is also the only way to get classic cable news channels like Fox and MSNBC.

If you spring for the top tier, you’ll pay very high prices, but you’ll get access to everything under the sun.

If you’re not ready to start a cart but want to see what you could get with Optimum TV based on where you live, take the channel lineup lookup tool for a spin. If you’re in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or parts of North Carolina, check out the channel lineup page instead.

Optimum TV On Demand

Optimum offers thousands of shows and events on demand, and your access depends on your package. You can watch your on-demand content through your Optimum Stream box or through the Optimum app, which is available for most smartphones and tablets.

Optimum also offers some content on pay-per-view or rent, but it differs based on where you live. The only way to find out what you can get on either pay-per-view or Optimum TV On Demand is to search with an active stream box or account login.

International programming on Optimum TV

You can get loads of international programming from Optimum TV, including everything from shows in Arabic and Portuguese to news in Hebrew and French, plus more than 50 channels in Spanish.

What you can get and what you’ll pay depends on where you live, so look for your favorites during checkout.

Unfortunately, there are no language-specific packages like the one you can get with Spectrum’s Mi Plan Latino. With Optimum, you have to start with a package geared for English-speaking viewers and then choose international add-ons with additional fees.

Premium channel add-ons

Even with Optimum TV’s most expensive plan, you have to pay more for premium services such as STARZ®, HBO®, CINEMAX®, and SHOWTIME®. We recommend most people buy streaming service subscriptions instead of adding premium channels through Optimum.

Streaming service add-ons

The easiest way to view streaming service content as an Optimum TV customer is to buy the streaming services separately and sign on to each one on your Optimum Stream device. The following services are supported:

• Netflix
• YouTube
• Xumo
• Max
• Paramount+
• Google Play
• Prime Video
• Discovery+

You can also purchase Max through your Optimum subscription, but we don’t usually recommend it. You don’t save any money by doing so, and you won’t qualify for annual price savings by paying a year ahead.

Get the right Optimum TV package for you

Getting the right Optimum TV plan for you can be a frustrating experience, but you can browse and binge to your heart’s content after you order. Start by choosing an Optimum TV plan. For most households, a plan of 300Mbps or 500Mbps will be plenty.

Next, create a list of your must-have channels and compare them to channel lineups in your cart. Click on each package to see if it offers the channels you want.

Here’s a look at available offerings in some regions:

Optimum bundles

Optimum TV is only available when bundled with Optimum internet. You can also choose to add mobile to your bundle, but you don’t have to. Unfortunately, the pricing is confusing.

You get the biggest savings by bundling with mobile phone service. In fact, your internet bill shoots up in the range of $20 if you don’t. From there, TV pricing is usually straightforward, but you may see mysterious $40 TV discounts in your cart based on where you live.

Sometimes, Optimum lets you know the discounts expire in 12 months. But other times, there’s no way to tell how the discounts are calculated or how long they’ll last.

Optimum offers most new customers the Optimum Stream device instead of a traditional set-top cable TV box. Usually, you can get it free, but Optimum charges $12 per month in some markets.

The device connects you to TV services by way of your internet connection, so it’s best to plug it into your Optimum gateway using a coaxial cable. Then, you’ll need to connect the Optimum Stream device to your TV using an HDMI cable.

Luckily, most customers get the rental of their Optimum gateway included with their internet service.

Once you’re all hooked up, your Optimum Stream will work just like an Apple TV, Kindle Fire, or Google Chromecast with Google TV. It includes voice search technology, and you can add streaming apps to the interface.

Optimum TV installation

Optimum TV is easy to set up yourself, but you may need an installation appointment if you haven’t had Optimum internet at your house before. These appointments take two to five hours or longer if you’re getting fiber internet for the first time.

If you need professional installation, you may be charged $100. If you already have service but need a tech to come out and help, you may be charged $80.

Our verdict

We don’t recommend Optimum TV for most people, but you might like it if you watch a lot of live TV and prefer a traditional TV experience over managing multiple streaming services and buying your own streaming device.

You get a ton of channels with Optimum TV, but limited DVR recording capability. Plus, you have to buy streaming services separately. Furthermore, the plans and prices are confusing, and discounts may expire without notice.

If you’re still in the market for live TV but decide against Optimum, consider alternatives like DIRECTV Stream for a huge array of channels and international options, YouTube TV for local news and easy add-ons, or Fubo for cheap access to the sports you love. And if all you want is rom-coms and reality TV, Philo is always there for you.

Disclaimers