Compare Cable TV Providers

To ensure that you get the best combination of price, channels and extra features, study up and compare the cable TV providers in your area. The top three cable providers in the country, Comcast, Time Warner and Cox Communications, offer a great variety of introductory and long-term offers. This guide aims to show you how to make sure you get the best bang for your cable TV buck.

Find out who is in your area

A quick look-up online by zip code can tell you who offers services in your area. This is a great way of also finding out which specials are available for those companies. Cox, Comcast, Time Warner, Mediacom and the many other cable providers are also available for contact via phone by the main customer service numbers found on their websites.

Research offers and promotions

Many deals found online are actually done through third-party vendors who work with the cable companies. They get leeway sometimes to offer special prices that the company themselves or their stores cannot offer. These deals can involve free or reduced-pricing on service for anywhere from a month all the way up to one or two years. Seeing the combinations of channel packages offered different providers in conjunction with the special offers and regular prices can give you a great start. It is recommended to also contact the companies directly and ask them if they can beat their online deals; many times this is a possibility.

Haggling: not just for car dealerships anymore!

Another great way to get the best deal from your future cable provider is to ask for the installation charges, outlet installation and other setup fees for free. Sometimes these charges can go over $100! Many cable providers are losing customers left and right and are eager to get a new customer. Also, beware of entering into long-term contracts unless you are sure you are willing to stay with the company for that amount of time. Otherwise, you might end up paying hundreds of dollars in termination fees to get out of your contract.

A little research and a lot of shameless haggling can go along way into getting you the absolute best deal available, with packages including hundreds of channels, online access and On-Demand for far less than regular price. It is worth making a few calls, for sure.

Comcast, Time Warner and Cox Communications offer both introductory and long-term offers