Spectrum TV Select is a contract-free cable TV plan that provides more than 125 channels. It costs $59.99 a month for the first year. After which, it will turn into $79.99 monthly.
This plan works best for anyone who wants Spectrum cable TV. Because you don’t have many other options.
I want to find a cable TV plan that gives us the best value. After hours of research, I’ve decided to review Spectrum’s TV Select to help you determine whether it offers value.
Throughout this review, I’ll cover the following:
- Pros & cons
- What it is
- Who it’s best for
- Pricing
- Channel lineup
- Where it’s available
- Bundles
- How to get started
- How to reach customer service
- Versus competing TV plans
Time to go. There’s much to cover.
Spectrum TV Select Pros & Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Spectrum TV Select.
Pros:
- Many channel package options
- Spectrum TV app offers enormous value
- Free Peacock Premium subscription for 1 year
Cons:
- Expensive once a year passes
- No discounts when bundling channel packages or services
- You must pay for the TV box
What Is Spectrum TV Select?
Spectrum TV Select is Spectrum’s English-language-focused cable television package. It’ll give you more than 125 channels monthly.
If you choose, you can purchase additional packages like:
- International channels
- Sports channels
- Variety channel package
- On Demand
Otherwise, most of the value from this plan comes from the Spectrum TV app. It helps you save money you would have otherwise wasted on cable TV boxes.
Let’s see who this plan works best for.
Who Is Spectrum TV Select Best For?
Spectrum TV Select works best for anyone who wants an enormous list of English-language channels. It also works best if you don’t want to focus your home’s entertainment around the Spectrum TV app.
Otherwise, you’re better off going with Spectrum TV Essentials. It’s a live television streaming service that’s obtainable when buying a Spectrum internet-only plan.
The price doesn’t increase, there’s no broadcast TV fee. And you have access to over 60 channels.
New and existing Spectrum customers who get Spectrum TV will get 2 perks:
- Free Peacock Premium subscription for 12 months
- Spectrum TV app
The first perk gives you a free streaming account for a year and provides access to over 80,000 hours worth of content. Some content you’ll get includes WWE, The Office, and Parks and Recreation.
The Spectrum TV app allows you to watch a select number of channels simultaneously on unlimited devices at home. Or 2 devices at the same time when traveling.
It requires an internet connection, though.
Check out a separate piece I wrote covering the Spectrum TV app more in-depth.
I want to revisit the TV Essentials plan for a second. Getting an internet-only plan plus the live TV streaming will give you the Peacock Premium subscription free for 90 days.
Getting Spectrum TV Select will save you $59.88 in total on this subscription. An internet-only plan would save you around $15.
Speaking of pricing. Let’s talk about how much this TV plan will set you back.
Spectrum TV Select Price
Spectrum TV Select costs $59.99 a month for the first year. This price doesn’t include sales tax or other fees.
Once the initial 12 months pass, you’ll pay $79.99 monthly.
Spectrum doesn’t offer an auto-pay or paperless billing discount. They don’t offer much flexibility in lowering your TV bill.
You’ll also need to keep hidden fees in mind.
Spectrum TV Select Hidden Costs
Here are the “hidden” costs of using Spectrum TV Select [1]:
| Service/Equipment | Price |
| HD TV Box | $9.99/mo. each |
| Apple TV 4K | $9.99/mo. each for 18 mo. or$180 (one-time) |
| Cloud DVR Plus | $9.99/mo. |
| Broadband Tv Fee | $21/mo. |
| CableCARD | $2.95/mo. |
| Secure Connection | $1.00 |
| DVR Service Package (2 To 4 DVR Receivers) | $19.99/mo. |
| DVR Service (1 DVR Receiver) | $12.99/mo. |
| Additional Bill Copies | $1.99 |
| Insufficient Funds Fee | $25 |
| Late Fee (45 Days Past Due) | $8.95 |
| Phone Payment Processing (Charter Assisted) | $5.00 |
| Self-Installation Fee | $19.99 |
| Reconnection Fee | $4.99 |
| Professional Installation | $49.99 |
Spectrum TV Select hidden fees.
The biggest fee you must worry about lies in their HD TV box (or Apple TV 4K), the activation surcharge, and the broadcast TV fee.
You must lease one of the TV boxes. Paying $180 for the Apple TV 4K box will save you money in the long run. But you may not be able to access all your Spectrum cable channels.
You’d need to pay for the CableCARD if you want to use your own TV or DVR box. The card allows you to receive Spectrum’s television services.
Installing Spectrum’s services yourself requires the $19.99 activation fee. It’s dumb, I know. Or you can pay a technician $49.99 to install everything for you.
The broadcast TV fee is unavoidable and part of all traditional cable television plans.
Now that you understand the costs of using Spectrum TV, let’s cover channels you can access.
Spectrum TV Select Channel Lineup
Channels you can get with Spectrum TV Select include [2]:
| WABC – ABC | NewsNation |
| WCBS – CBS | Nickelodeon |
| WNBC – NBC | Oxygen |
| WNET – PBS | Paramount Network |
| WNYW – FOX | QVC |
| A&E | QVC2 |
| ACC Network | REVOLT |
| AMC | SEC Network |
| ASPiRE TV | SUR Peru |
| Animal Planet | SYFY |
| BBC America | Shop Zeal 1 |
| BET | Shop Zeal 2 |
| Bloomberg Television | SonLife |
| Boomerang | SundanceTV |
| Bravo | TBC |
| C-SPAN | TLC |
| C-SPAN 2 | TNT |
| C-SPAN 3 | TV Land |
| CMT | TV One |
| CNBC | The Weather Channel |
| CNN | Travel Channel |
| Ceo | USA Network |
| Comedy Central | VH1 |
| Cooking Channel | WE TV |
| Daystar | msnbc |
| Discovery Channel | truTV |
| Disney Channel | HSN2 |
| E! | Hallmark Channel |
| ESPN | Hallmark Movies & Mysteries |
| ESPN 2 | IFC |
| EWTN | INSP |
| FOX Business Network | Investigation Discovery |
| FOX News Channel | Jewelry TV |
| FOX Sports 1 | LOVE |
| FX | Lifetime |
| FXX | MTV |
| Food Network | Magnolia Network |
| Galavision | National Geographic |
| HGTV | HLN |
| History | HSN |
If you want more channels, you’ll need to subscribe to additional channel package plans (e.g., HBO). I have separate posts that describe these packages more in-depth:
- Channel package pricing
- Every channel included in each channel pack
I’d list them here. But I don’t want to repeat myself and waste your time.
I likely won’t waste your time by talking about sports.
Charter Spectrum TV Select Sports Channels
Sports channels that come with Spectrum TV Select include Fox Sports 1, ESPN, and ESPN 2.
If these aren’t enough channels, you’ll need to get one of these sports channel packs:
| TV Package | Price |
| Sports View | $6.00/mo. |
| NHL Center ice | $69.99 |
| NBA League pass | $99.99 |
| Fox Soccer | $10/mo. |
The Sports View pack will come with these channels:
| ACC Network | BTN | BeIN SPORTS |
| ESPNEWS | FOX Sports 2 | Golf Channel |
| MAVTV Motorsports Network | MLB Network | MLB Strike Zone |
| NBA TV | NFL Network | NFL RedZone |
| NHL Network | Olympic Channel | Outdoor Channel |
| TVG | Tennis Channel | Willow TV |
Perhaps you’re convinced to go with Spectrum by this point. But is it available in your area?
Where Is Spectrum TV Select Available?
Here are all the states that support Spectrum TV Select [3]:
| Alabama | Arizona | California |
| Colorado | Connecticut | Florida |
| Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho |
| Illinois | Indiana | Kansas |
| Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine |
| Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan |
| Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri |
| Montana | Nebraska | Nevada |
| New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico |
| New York | North Carolina | Ohio |
| Oregon | Pennsylvania | South Carolina |
| Tennessee | Texas | Vermont |
| Virginia | Washington | West Virginia |
| Wisconsin | Wyoming |
Spectrum doesn’t provide support for TV Select in every county and city within these states. Visit Spectrum.com/services, pick your city or county, then select the ‘TV’ tab.
You’ll want to see ‘Spectrum TV Select’ on their television service offerings page.
If you’re eligible, congratulations.
You may want to also consider bundling your TV with Spectrum’s internet or landline service. But there’s a caveat.
Spectrum TV Select Bundles
Spectrum doesn’t offer lower prices when you bundle Spectrum TV Select with their internet or voice services.
But it may make your billing a bit easier to manage by using one of these bundles:
| Bundle | Promo. Price | Post Promo. Price |
| Spectrum Internet + TV | $109.98/mo. | $154.98/mo. |
| TV Select + Internet + Voice | $129.97/mo. | $174.97/mo. |
| Ultra + TV Select | $129.98/mo. | $174.98/mo. |
If you bundle Spectrum internet with TV, I recommend getting Spectrum Internet 300 Mbps and adding Spectrum TV Essentials to your plan. It’s $74.98 for the first year. And you could watch every Spectrum TV-supported channel with this plan.
Plus, you don’t have to dread the post promotion pricing. At least for the TV side of the plan.
Want Spectrum TV Select?
Learn how to get your plan.
How To Get Started With Spectrum TV Select
Order your Spectrum TV Select service online. Or visit your nearest Spectrum store.
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll need to wait for your self-installation kit to arrive in the mail. Meanwhile, you’ll want to create an account for the Spectrum TV app at Spectrum.net.
You can stream your channels while waiting for your kit if it doesn’t take too long to activate your account.
Once your kit arrives, connect it to your TV. Visit Spectrum.net/selfinstall or download the My Spectrum app to activate your TV box.
Upon activating your device, power on your TV. Flip through the input sources until finding on-screen prompts. You’ll need to spend around 20 minutes following these prompts. Once that’s finished, watch TV and relax.
Don’t forget to return unused equipment within 15 days of receiving your kit. Take your Spectrum-provided hardware to your nearest FedEx, UPS, or Spectrum store.
If you need to program your TV remote, we have a separate guide that covers that more in-depth.
Spectrum TV Select Customer Service
Current and new Spectrum TV Select customers can contact their customer support by calling 833-267-6094. Or you can Tweet to @ask_Spectrum.
If you’re on Facebook, visit their Facebook page: facebook.com/spectrum.
Existing customers can reach their customer support by using the live chat on their website.
They don’t have the most helpful customer service. If you’re considering a competing cable TV provider, you’ll want to explore the following options.
Spectrum TV Select vs. The Competitors
Here’s how Spectrum TV Select compares to similar television plans:
| Plan | Channels | Post Promo. Price | Price Per Channel |
| Spectrum TV Select | 125+ | $79.99/mo. | $0.63 |
| Xfinity Extra/Popular | 125+ | $70/mo. | $0.56 |
| Verizon Your Fios TV | 125+ | $70/mo. | $0.56 |
| YouTube TV | 100+ | $64.99/mo. | $0.64 |
Spectrum TV Select compared to competing plans that offer 125+ channels.
Xfinity Comcast requires you to go on a 12-, 24, or 36-month contract if you want a cheaper plan. Leave this contract early, and you must pay $120–$240.
Spectrum TV Select doesn’t require a contract. But Verizon and YouTube also don’t need contracts.
Verizon Fios will charge you a lot to install and activate your services. If you don’t get their plan when they waive the installation fee.
And YouTube TV requires an internet connection at all times.
If you’re like me and always use the internet, YouTube TV is the ideal plan. You’ll need a device that supports it (e.g., Roku).
Pricing and discounts put Spectrum at a significant disadvantage.
Here’s a list of where the competing plans win with pricing:
- Xfinity Extra/Popular: discounts when bundling and enabling auto pay
- Verizon Your Fios TV: free TV modem rental
- YouTube TV: no broadband TV fee, includes DVR, & no TV box required
The Spectrum TV app offers the best value out of all these services. You can watch it on unlimited devices at home without an extra fee. And it supports most modern devices.
Let’s talk about availability and overlapping coverage. YouTube TV is available anywhere within the U.S. I cover areas of Verizon Fios, Xfinity, and Spectrum support in a different piece.
Check it out.
FAQs: Spectrum TV Select
Read on to find commonly asked questions about Spectrum TV Select.
Does Spectrum TV Select Have Music Channels?
Spectrum TV Select includes around 50 music channels.
Does Spectrum TV Select Include Home Internet?
Spectrum TV Select does not include home internet. You must get this plan separately.
What Is the Standard Rate for Spectrum TV Select?
The standard rate (post promotion pricing) for Spectrum TV Select is $79.99 a month.
Does Spectrum TV Select Have DVR?
Spectrum TV Select does not come with a DVR. You must buy a DVR plus a DVR receiver separately. Or pay for one of the Cloud DVR plans.
Does Spectrum Offer Discounts on TV Select?
Spectrum does not offer discounts on TV Select. You should check out our Spectrum deals page to see whether they offer other promotions to new and existing customers.
Does Spectrum TV Select Require a Cable Box?
Spectrum TV Select requires you to either rent an HD box or an Apple TV.
Conclusion
Spectrum TV Select is a viable cable TV plan if you don’t want to rely on an internet connection to stream live television. Otherwise, you’re better off going with any Spectrum internet plan plus Spectrum TV Essentials.
Unfortunately, the package falls short regarding pricing compared to competitors.
I recommend exploring all other services Spectrum offers. That way, you can determine whether it’s worth weaving your household into Spectrum’s ecosystem.
