Your decision to acquire a cable TV subscription is typically driven by the necessity to catch up with the latest in entertainment TV. While there’s a rise in TV-viewing options in recent years, cable TV continues to be a significant force in the USA. The country is home to over 500 cable TV providers, a number that opens consumers to multiple viable options, including several reasonably priced Spectrum TV packages. Hence, it has become necessary to sort through the long list of companies to choose the best one. Several considerations are factored in before making a final decision.
If you’re considering changing providers or getting a new one, here are useful tips on choosing from the top cable TV companies in the USA for you:
1. Conduct A Preliminary Research
Making the right choice requires preliminary research on service availability and reviews. Many cable TV providers market themselves as having nationwide coverage, but you need to be sure whether your area is included in their scope. There are websites dedicated to the comparison of cable TV services that you can check out.
Popular nationwide providers may be attractive options, but you should also speak with locals, colleagues, and friends. Ask for their opinion on which ones they’ll suggest based on service availability and downtime frequency.
2. Check For Packages That Offer The Most Important Channels
Cable TV providers in the USA provide over 200 channels to consumers, yet people mostly watch less than 50 of them. Making a list of the essential channels you’d love to have in your package is an effective means of choosing a provider. With your customized channel list, compare the top providers’ basic plans to determine the right one for you.
3. Look Into Bundled Services
Cable TV companies provide a trio of cable, internet, and phone services as a bundle. If such plans are available, it’s a great idea to take advantage of one. Typically, it reduces the individual cost of each of those three services.
While looking into bundled services, you should also consider the internet speeds and delivery methods you’ll be getting with the bundle. Conventionally, internet speeds will be slower on a lower-priced package, and vice versa.
Network delivery options are split into DSL, cable, or fiber optic, the third being the best option. Fiber optic internet reaches upload and download speeds of 250 to 1000Mbps while both DSL and cable internet offer download speeds of 25 to 500Mbps with drastically lower upload speeds of 5 to 30Mbps. Based on the bundle cost and delivery method, you can easily make a choice.
4. Customer Service Delivery And Scheduled Repair Times
Customer service response time is a relevant determining factor in making your cable TV choice. Low-cost cable providers often have downtimes for service calls, meaning customers have to wait for hours for a human response. Scheduled repair periods can also extend to a week after lodging complaints.
Asking colleagues and friends for their customer service experience with any cable TV provider is a great way to get an honest review. Also, consider interacting with the provider’s customer service center to assess the quality of their response time.
5. Check For Deals
New customers often get great deals from cable TV companies. These companies offer percentage-based cuts for the first year of service, totaling over USD$50 in discounts. Compare the discounts across providers to decide.
Beyond the initial discounts, you need to make sure that the subsequent bills you’ll be getting after the first year won’t be too expensive. You can get this information by reading the subscription information of each provider.
6. Get A Quote And Negotiate
You can make your final decision by speaking with a customer service representative or a customer retention specialist. Confirm all your findings, including channel lists, basic plan costs, and internet speeds. Ask for the total amount of your preferred subscription and run it against your predetermined budget. If the bill you’re given is higher than you can afford, then negotiate the quote. You might be able to get a satisfactory reduction to the initial calculated bill.
Final Thoughts
Choosing a top cable TV company requires following a multi-step process diligently. Indeed, conducting preliminary research to find out basic information about providers in your locality is a must. Creating your preferred channels list is also needed, as well as checking for great bundle services. Of course, their customer service procedures and new customer deals are also worth studying. Based on these findings, make sure to get the best quote from your preferred company by negotiating your money’s worth.
