Sling vs Spectrum TV Choice: which is better?

Cable company Spectrum has a cord-cutting offering that allows you to pick 15 channels from a wide array of networks.

Sling TV is also the work of a cable company – Dish – but it offers a different approach. You get to pick from two base packages (blue and orange), each with a set of channels, and then add on packs of extra channels.

You can also combine both packages from Sling. Blue and Orange each cost $35 / month, combining them will cost $50, or $20 less.

Accessibility: Sling’s offer is easier to understand

To decide which service to get, first you have to understand the offering. 

Sling TV is more of a pure cord-cutting service with clear prices and a clear channel lineup. Spectrum TV choice might still be too attached to the company’s cable ways: you have to be “localized” to know which “offer” you’re eligible to. The service is not available everywhere and the pricing will depend on where you are based.

Usability: Sling has a better interface

Spectrum is notorious online for having a horrible DVR interface. This makes it hard (or impossible) to rewind or forward live programming. When you record shows, they don’t seem to offer thumbnails which makes it difficult to figure out what is what. 

With Spectrum watch out for the “local broadcast” fee

Spectrum TV has a very attractive price offer, allowing you to pick 15 of your favorite channels for $30 / month. However, depending on your location, they might also charge you $13 which is what’s called a “broadcast tv surcharge”, and which they themselves pay to local CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and PBS affiliates.

With Sling TV, you might not get many local channels (if any)

Sling does not charge a “local broadcast” fee but they have solved the problem in a less than ideal way: they just don’t offer many local channels. They only have NBC and FOX in select markets.