If you want to have cable TV installed in your home, one question that will certainly come up when subscribing is what package tier you want to sign up for. While these packages are often described by the number of channels that you get, nobody wants to overpay for channels that they do not need. Here are some tips for narrowing down a TV package.

Determine Your List of Shows You Need and Want

The first step is making a list of shows that you want to watch, which is certainly a reason that you are subscribing to cable in the first place to watch them as soon as they air. However, you'll want to break down that list of shows into one that you need to watch and those that you would like to watch.

Compare the Cable Packages

Next, take that list of TV shows and figure out which cable channels they are on. Write down the channel tier next to each show so you can keep track of which shows are in a higher package. You may discover that all of your must-have shows are all covered in a lower channel tier, but there are shows that you only like to have in a higher channel tier. Maybe there is only one show on that upper tier, which is making you question if you really need the more expensive package.

Look for Ways to Watch Higher Channel Tier Shows

For those shows that are only offered on the higher channel tiers, do some research to figure out what the alternate ways to watch it are. Will the entire season come to a streaming service after the season is over? Can you purchase or rent individual episodes off another content service? Can you subscribe to the higher channel tier for a single month and catch up through on-demand viewing? Will you end up buying the latest season on DVD or Blu-ray at a later date anyway? You may be surprised at how many alternate ways there are to watch a TV show aside from watching it live. 

Look at How Often Your Higher Channel Tier Shows Air

If you insist on having that higher channel tier for a few shows, look at how many episodes of the show air per season. You may want to consider only subscribing to that channel tier when the show is airing, and then lower your package after the season is over. 

To learn more, contact internet and cable providers like XYZies.

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