Luke Pensworth
You’ve likely heard of Comcast Xfinity - one of the United States’ largest providers of cable internet, phone service, and TV. With coverage in 38 states across the country, they’re just one of the biggest providers available.
We’ve talked about Xfinity Internet and Instant TV already, so it’s time to take a look at the cable giant’s cable TV service. With a handful of plans and a DVR for recording and on demand content, you can let the channel-surfing take you where it will, or catch up on your favorite show.
Sounds great, right? Well, size doesn’t necessarily mean quality – so how well does Xfinity do the details, especially with livestreaming platforms growing ever more popular?
Let’s find out.
Comcast Xfinity TV Packages and Pricing
| Plans | Channel count | Price | View plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Economy | 100+ | $39.95/mo.* | View plans |
| Digital Starter | 140+ | $49.99/mo.* | View plans |
| Digital Preferred | 220+ | $59.99/mo.* | View plans |
| Digital Premium | 260+ | $104.99/mo.* | View plans |
*Price includes 1-year agreement.
Xfinity TV’s 4 base packages give you a solid number of channels, even at the lowest tiers: Economy and Starter. But, when you look at the channel-per-dollar in comparison to satellite TV providers DIRECTV and DISH, you’ll wind up paying more with Xfinity, if only by a little – although perhaps not once DIRECTV reaches months 13-24 of their contract.
That said, you get multiple contract and no-contract options with the cable giant, which tips a point in Xfinity’s favor.
Contract options
Xfinity basically has 3 contract options: 1-year, 2-year, or no-contract. Of course, as they offer a contract-free service, there has to be something to entice people to continue to sign up for one of the contract options. In this case, that means you pay $10 more per month with the no-contract option. Both the 1- and 2-year options save you those $10 bucks a month in exchange for locking you in.
But that said, Xfinity contract-free option isn’t all bad: even without a contract, you’ll get a pricelock on your monthly rates for the first 12 months – no catches. Just watch out, though – after those 12 months, all bets are off and you’ll face a price jump.
Subscribed to Xfinity, but not so sure you want to keep it? No worries - take advantage of their 30-day money-back guarantee and recoup your losses.
Early termination fees
When you sign up, if you decide to save yourself $10 bucks a month – $120 a year – be wary. As with all contract plans in the telecommunications industry, if you decide to cancel before you contract term is up, you’ll face early termination fees.
Unfortunately, Xfinity is extremely vague about the exact amount that ETFs will cost you – forums and 3rd-party help guides suggest a prorated fee of $10 per each month remaining on your contract. That’s still better than DIRECTV or DISH, who each charge $20 for each month remaining.
Extra fees
Xfinity also has extra fees that aren’t built in – although thankfully, some of them are one-time only:
- Broadcast TV fee: $8/mo.
- Regional Sports Fee: $6.75/mo.
- X1 DVR Service fee: $10/mo.
- HD Technology fee: $9.95/mo.
- Pro install: $40-$80, one-time.
- Self-install kit: Up to $29.95, one-time.
- Add-on channel packs: $5.95-$15/mo.
These are pretty standard for the industry - no real surprises here. That said, livestreaming TV services (Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, among others) typically only have taxes and add-on channel packs to worry about - but that’s a problem for satellite and cable TV providers across the board.
Bundles
| Plan | Features | Price | View plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| X1 Saver Pro Quad Play |
|
$119.99/mo.* | View plans |
| X1 Saver Pro Triple Play |
|
$89.99/mo.* | View plans |
| X1 Preferred Pro Triple Play w/ HBO |
|
$139.99/mo.* | View plans |
| X1 Saver Pro Double Play |
|
$79.99/mo.* | View plans |
| X1 Preferred Pro Double Play |
|
$114.99/mo.* | View plans |
Xfinity TV really shines when it comes to bundling options - the more you combine, the more you’ll end up saving. That makes them one of the best bundling providers out there. With double, triple, and even quad play bundles, there’s nearly endless ways you can combine services to save some cash and have just one bill each month.
DISH, in contrast, uses 3rd-party internet and phone providers, which doesn’t really offer much in the way of discounts. And while, with DIRECTV being owned by AT&T means they use AT&T network for internet and phone (great!), discounts are more modest than Xfinity’s offers ($10 off per month).
Xfinity TV Channel lineup
| Plans | Channels | View plan |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Economy | A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, ASPiRE, BBC America,BBC World News, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cable News Network, CNBC, CNN HD, Comedy Central, CSPAN, CSPAN2, E1, Educational Programming (Local), Eternal Word TV Network, EVINE Live, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, FXX, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, History Channel, Home Shopping Network, HSN2, Jewelry Television, Lifetime, MSNBC, Music Choice, National Geographic, National Geographic USA, NBCSN, Oxygen, QVC, Smithsonian Network, Special Event Channel HD, SYFY, The Discovery Channel, The Golf Channel, The Weather Channel, TV Land, Unknown, USA Network, ABC, FOX, NBC, PBS, CW, CBS, many HD channels | View channels |
| Digital Starter | Most of Economy’s channels, plus: Big Ten Network, Big Ten network Overflow, Big Ten Network 2, Cartoon Network, Crossing TV Minneapolis/St. Paul, CSPAN3, Daystar Televison Network, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNHD, Food Network, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports Net O3P, Fox Sports RSN, Freeform, FX, Game Show Network, HLN, Home & Garden Television, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime Movies, MOTORTREND, MoviePlex, MTV, MTVLINVE, Nickelodeon, Oprah Winfrey Network, TBS HD, Telemundo Television Network, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, truTV, Turner Broadcasting System, Turner Network TV, TV ONE, Universal Kids, UP, VH1, WGN America, many HD channels | View channels |
| Digital Preferred | All of Economy and Starter’s channels, plus: AFRO, American Heroes, BabyFirst TV, BET Her, BET Jams, CBS Sports Network, CMT Music, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Discovery Family Channel, Discovery Life, Disney Junior US, Disney XD, DIY Network, El rey Network, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, Flix, FM, Fox Sports 2, FXM, FYI, Galavision Cable Network, Great American Country, IFC, Impact Network, LOGO, MLB Network, MTV Classic, MTV2, National Geographic Wild, NBA TV, Newsy SD, NFL NETWORK, NHL Network, Nick Jr., Nick Music, Nick Too East, Nicktoons Network, Olympic Channel, Outdoor Channel, Ovation TV, Paramount Network, POP, ReelzChannel, REVOLT, Science, SEC Network, STARZ (x8), SundanceTV, Teen Nick, Tennis Channel, The Sportsman Channel, Tr3s, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Turner Classic Movies, UNIVERSO, Univision Deportes, Viceland, many HD channels | View channels |
| Digital Premium | All the previous plans’ channels, plus: ActionMAX, CineMAX, HBO (x12), MoreMAX, SHOWTIME (x5), STARZ (x7 more), The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel Extra, ThrillerMAX, many HD channels | View channels |
As we already mentioned, Xfinity offers a decent channel selection, even in the lower tiers. Xfinity owns the industry for the major networks, with ABC, CBS, The CW, FOX, NBC, and PBS all belonging to their lineup from the get-go – and that includes educational programming, too.
Pop your zip code into their checker to see what specific stations are in your area.
Alongside the major networks, you’ll see popular channels like A&E, AMC, and several sports channels. You’ll gain even more with each tier, but if you don’t want to do that, you can nab some of their add-on packages. We’ve included the prices wherever possible, but Xfinity isn’t forthcoming on many.
| Plans | Channels | View plan |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Economy | A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, ASPiRE, BBC America,BBC World News, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cable News Network, CNBC, CNN HD, Comedy Central, CSPAN, CSPAN2, E1, Educational Programming (Local), Eternal Word TV Network, EVINE Live, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, FXX, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, History Channel, Home Shopping Network, HSN2, Jewelry Television, Lifetime, MSNBC, Music Choice, National Geographic, National Geographic USA, NBCSN, Oxygen, QVC, Smithsonian Network, Special Event Channel HD, SYFY, The Discovery Channel, The Golf Channel, The Weather Channel, TV Land, Unknown, USA Network, ABC, FOX, NBC, PBS, CW, CBS, many HD channels | View channels |
| Digital Starter | Most of Economy’s channels, plus: Big Ten Network, Big Ten network Overflow, Big Ten Network 2, Cartoon Network, Crossing TV Minneapolis/St. Paul, CSPAN3, Daystar Televison Network, Disney Channel, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNHD, Food Network, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports Net O3P, Fox Sports RSN, Freeform, FX, Game Show Network, HLN, Home & Garden Television, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime Movies, MOTORTREND, MoviePlex, MTV, MTVLINVE, Nickelodeon, Oprah Winfrey Network, TBS HD, Telemundo Television Network, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, truTV, Turner Broadcasting System, Turner Network TV, TV ONE, Universal Kids, UP, VH1, WGN America, many HD channels | View channels |
| Digital Preferred | All of Economy and Starter’s channels, plus: AFRO, American Heroes, BabyFirst TV, BET Her, BET Jams, CBS Sports Network, CMT Music, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Discovery Family Channel, Discovery Life, Disney Junior US, Disney XD, DIY Network, El rey Network, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, Flix, FM, Fox Sports 2, FXM, FYI, Galavision Cable Network, Great American Country, IFC, Impact Network, LOGO, MLB Network, MTV Classic, MTV2, National Geographic Wild, NBA TV, Newsy SD, NFL NETWORK, NHL Network, Nick Jr., Nick Music, Nick Too East, Nicktoons Network, Olympic Channel, Outdoor Channel, Ovation TV, Paramount Network, POP, ReelzChannel, REVOLT, Science, SEC Network, STARZ (x8), SundanceTV, Teen Nick, Tennis Channel, The Sportsman Channel, Tr3s, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Turner Classic Movies, UNIVERSO, Univision Deportes, Viceland, many HD channels | View channels |
| Digital Premium | All the previous plans’ channels, plus: ActionMAX, CineMAX, HBO (x12), MoreMAX, SHOWTIME (x5), STARZ (x7 more), The Movie Channel, The Movie Channel Extra, ThrillerMAX, many HD channels | View channels |
Premiums
| Channel | Price | View add-on |
|---|---|---|
| HBO | $15/mo. | View add-on |
| CINEMAX | $12/mo. | View add-on |
| STARZ | $12/mo. | View add-on |
| SHOWTIME | $12/mo. | View add-on |
| EPIX | $5.99/mo. | View add-on |
| The Movie Channel | Unknown | View add-on |
If you just want one or two of the premium channels, DISH or DIRECTV may be the better bet. But if you want them all – plus an extra – grab Xfinity TV’s Digital Premium for the best value-for-money.
For premium channels, Xfinity is pretty standard: HBO, CINEMAX, SHOWTIME, etc. Prices are a bit higher than their satellite competitors, however.
DISH offers cheaper prices ($7-$10 a month), but they lack HBO due to a disagreement. DIRECTV includes HBO for the first year for free starting with their CHOICE package, and SHOWTIME, CINEMAX, STARZ, and EPIX for the first 3 months for free.
That said, if you want to nab all those premiums together with Xfinity TV, the cable provider actually winds up being the best deal: Digital Premium is $104.99 a month versus DIRECTV’s deals after their 3-month free period, or DISH’s America’s Top 250 channel selection.
Sports packages
| Channel/Package | View add-on |
|---|---|
| SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT | View add-on |
| NFL Network | View add-on |
| REDZONE | View add-on |
| NBA TV | View add-on |
| College Sports | View add-on |
| MLB Network | View add-on |
| Golf Channel | View add-on |
| NHL Network | View add-on |
| NASCAR | View add-on |
| MLS Direct Kick | View add-on |
| Pay-Per-View Boxing | View add-on |
| Pay-Per-View WWE | View add-on |
Xfinity’s Digital Economy includes Fox Sports 1, but not really anything else - which makes sense, as it’s the budget version. More show up in Digital Starter, like the Big Ten Network 1 + 2, ESPN 1 + 2, Fox Sports 2, and more. Preferred continues to add on, but if you want more you’ll have to check out their add-on packages.
SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT gives you channels like NFL REDZONE, MLB Network, NHL Network, and more. Or, you can grab individual channels as you please with any of their other options.
Of course, if you’re a serious football fan, Xfinity can’t hold a candle to DIRECTV – not with DIRECTV holding proprietorship over NFL SUNDAY TICKET; nor can Xfinity compete with fuboTV for soccer coverage.
International
| International TV package options | View add-ons |
|---|---|
| Arabic, Brazilian, Chinese, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Israeli, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, South Asian, Spanish, Vietnamese | View add-ons |
Xfinity TV offers a lot of international options, too – specifically, 17 different language packs. Check ‘em out.
On demand
| Subscription On Demand package options | View add-ons |
|---|---|
| Disney Story Central, Xfinity Streampix, AMC Premiere, Acorn TV, Stingray Karaoke, Disney Family Movies, Lifetime Movie Club, History Vault, Gaiam TV Fit & Yoga, Grokker Yoga Fitness, FitFusion, Gaia, Dog TV, Here TV, Curiosity Stream, Up Faith & Family, Anime Network, Kidstream, TumbleBooksTV, Stingray Classica, Eros Now, Flipino, The Jewish Channel, Pantaya, UMC | View add-ons |
To start with, Xfinity boasts that 90% of their on demand content is free. We couldn’t find specific numbers like we did for DISH and DIRECTV, but Xfinity’s website claims thousands of movies and the latest episodes from the “top 100 shows,” plus On Demand movies available a month before either Netflix or Redbox.
But, if that’s not enough, you can also subscribe to some on demand packages – check out the table above for examples.
DVR + Installation
| DVR | # of Simultaneous recordings | Price |
|---|---|---|
| X1 DVR | 6 | $10/mo. / varies |
| DISH’s Hopper 3 | 16 | $10/mo. |
| DIRECTV Genie | 5 | Free |
Xfinity’s X1 DVR will cost you $10 or more per month, possibly adding on the HD service fee we mentioned earlier in the “Extra fees” section. But the X1 is more than just a DVR – you can use combine it with its remote to use voice controls on not only the TV, but also your Wi-Fi, security system, or phone – it’s kind of like an Alexa or Echo, so long as you also have Xfinity Internet.
Although the X1 DVR is better than DIRECTV’s Genie for number of shows you can record at once, it still can’t compete with DISH’ Hopper 3 - nobody can.
Installation
For installation, having a pro do it will run you anywhere from $40 to $80 or more, depending on your area. You’ll get assigned a 2-hour window, which is great since it means you won’t have to take off your entire day from work waiting for the installer to arrive.
Or you can self-install for $15-$30, which is a nice option. If you decide to take this route, Xfinity’s website has lots of great resources for getting set up yourself.
Xfinity TV Customer Support
Unfortunately, customer service isn’t great - TV services are generally rated pretty poorly as an industry whole. But for Xfinity, by the numbers, they could be worse. The 2019 American Customer Satisfaction Index rated them toward the top of the middle, with a 61 out of 100 - just 1 point below the average of all providers.
Xfinity’s online support center is setup well, though, with plenty of guides for each potential topic. There’s also chat, social media, telephone, and “find a service center” options.
Recap
Big bills for TV service are no fun, but Xfinity TV doesn’t do too bad. Price-for-channel-count is neck-and-neck with DISH, and Xfinity beats out DIRECTV’s plans for cost because of the latter provider’s huge 2nd-year price hike.
You’re not going to miss out on any major channels like you might with a streaming service, and there’s a solid selection of add-on packages to suit most people’s needs – although in specific cases, like sports, it may be cheaper to do a higher-tier package or choose a provider like DIRECTV.
But Xfinity is best for those looking to bundle together solid cable TV with internet and phone, or just want to skip the contract altogether.
Q&A
What are the best Xfinity TV deals?
The exact deals that show up in your region will vary, but as a general rule, the more services you bundle – up to 4 – the more money you’ll save all around. Check out our review of the Best Bundle Deals for TV, Internet, and Phone to learn more – with Xfinity, you can save as much as $60 bucks a month with right bundle.
Can I watch Xfinity TV online?
Yes. All you need to do is download the Xfinity Stream app, or go to the Xfinity Stream Portal through your web browser by logging in.
