Cox Cable TV Review 2021

Cox is a cable TV provider that offers most of your favorite channels, decent on-demand content, and a decent DVR. And Cox now allows you to bundle four services, making Cox one of the only TV services to do so: TV, internet, home security, and a landline.

At checkout, you’ll have about four steps for each service, which include choosing a plan, choosing your equipment, and add-ons. Cox has really made the checkout process seamless, and we honestly haven’t seen a more customizable experience than what Cox offers.

Let’s get into the details.

How much do Cox TV’s packages cost?

Cox’s pricing falls into the more expensive end of the spectrum

Although Cox gives you the opportunity for a customized home,  Cox’s plans and pricing have recently changed, and the pricing unfortunately increased.  (And keep in mind, this promotional pricing lasts for 12 months, but it’s unclear as to how much your service will cost afterward).

Cox’s Starter plan with local channels used to be half the price, but $50 for 75+ channels is cheaper than what you’d get with a live TV streaming service.

When you upgrade to Cox’s Preferred plan allows you to add on more channel packs and premium channels (for an extra cost) for a more customizable package. We recommend this plan if you’d like the perfect channel variety for the family.

And lastly, Cox’s Ultimate plan gives you premium channels, like HBO and SHOWTIME, as well as the Sports channel pack.

If you choose to go with a live TV streaming service, you could also opt to not get Cox’s TV service and just get the internet, home security, and phone service for your home.

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Does Cox TV have a contract?

Since you may be locked into a two-year contract with Cox, you’ll be happy to know that after promotional pricing ends, your price won’t increase by much.

Compare that to DIRECTV, where you’ll see prices more than double after the first year. Cox’s Contour TV package increases about 30% after the first year—which is still a bummer for budgeters.

Does Cox TV have extra fees?

Both Cox Cable TV plans come with the standard fees:

• Broadcast Surcharge: up to $10.00/mo.
• Regional Sports Surcharge: up to $9.00/mo.

But depending on which standalone live TV package you get from Cox, you’ll face different additional fees.

Set-top box fees:

• Contour HD box: First included, $10.00/mo. for each additional
• Basic box: $4.00/mo.
• CableCARD: $4.00/mo.

Not only do you have to pay monthly for renting the set-top box, but you’ll also have to pay a monthly price for the DVR service (unfortunately, these charges are normal with most TV providers).

Cox’s DVR service fees:

• Essential DVR service: $10.00/mo. for one year (then increases by $4 per month)
• Preferred DVR service: $20.00/mo.
• Ultimate DVR service: $30.00/mo.

You can find more information about the set-top box and DVR services in the equipment section, but this gives you an idea of how much extra you’ll need to add to your monthly bill.

Which channels does Cox TV have?

All of Cox’s plans have a personality

The Starter package gives you the “local channels”, Preferred is the average package with “local channels and basic cable TV channels”, and you’ll get “local channels with extended cable plus premium channels” with the Ultimate package.

With that said, let’s see which personality attracts you the most.

Cox’s Contour TV Starter includes the following channels in its lineup:

Cox’s Contour TV Preferred includes all of the above and the following:

Cox’s Contour TV Ultimate includes all of the above and the following:

Which premium channels and add-ons does Cox TV have?

With Cox TV, you’ll get the option to add four premium channels and five channel packs.

When you order the Starter plan, you’ll get HBO Max for free. When you upgrade to Preferred, you can get all four premium channels for $20/mo. ($5 per channel? Not a bad deal).

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The channel packs are only available if you order the Contour TV Preferred or Ultimate packages, so here’s a little break down:

• Sports and Info Pack: This pack gives you about 23 sports channels, including NFL Network, ESPNU, ACCN, and Big Ten Network.
• Sports Pack 2: Get about 20 more sports channels, including the NFL RedZone Channel, MLB Strike Zone, NBA TV, and Longhorn Network. (Keep in mind, you can’t order this pack unless you order the Sports and Info Pack.)
• Movie Pack: Spruce up your TV service with 16 movie channels from EPIX and STARZ.
• Variety Pack: This pack is for everyone in the family. The 35 channels in this pack include Nicktoons, Disney Jr., BBC America, The Cooking Channel, and Boomerang.
• Bonus Pack: This pack only has seven channels, but it will cost nothing if you order another pack alongside it. You’ll get the Science Channel, MLB Network, and Discovery Life.
• Latino Pack: Good news for you and your abuelita: you’ll get 45 Spanish-language with this pack. Enjoy Galavisión, NBC Universo, FOX Deportes, Cine Latino, Univision Telnovelas, and CNN en Español.

Cox’s equipment and features

Your set-top box will require two fees: the monthly fee for renting the actual box and a DVR service fee (which, unfortunately, is normal with TV providers).

A Contour HD box is included with every TV plan, and this set-top box gives you access to on-demand content and streaming apps. Not only is it convenient to have everything in one place, but you’ll also get a voice remote to make your TV experience smoother.

If you just want a simple setup and don’t care for premium channels, on-demand content, or pay-per-view, get the Basic Box and save $6 per month.

Now, for the DVR service. This is where you’ll have to predict how often you and the family will be recording live games, daily or weekly TV shows, and movies.

The Essential and Preferred DVR service gives you 250 hours of DVR storage space. But Essential lets you record two shows at once while Preferred lets you record six.

We’re not really sure which household would record 24 shows or movies at once, but Cox makes it possible. The Ultimate DVR service will also give you 1,000 hours of DVR storage.

Recap: Is Cox TV worth it?

The personalization this cable TV provider brings is unique in the industry

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Cox TV has a checkout experience that gives you a service that’s tailored to you. Unlike any other TV provider, you can bundle TV, internet, home security, and a landline.

We recommend Cox TV’s Preferred plan because it has a great variety to make everyone in the family happy. You can also get a set-top box for everyone in the family and 1,000 hours of DVR storage space to share.

Although Cox has TV packages to suit everyone, Cox is considered the priciest cable TV provider in the industry. It’s worth the price if you live in one of the 19 areas of the US Cox offers its services and if you’d like the simplicity of bundling four services in one.

If you’d like to compare other TV providers, check out Best Cable TV Providers of 2021 or Cheapest Cable TV Providers.