Cox Cable TV Review

Cox TV has a checkout experience made to personalize your service

Cox
Cox Communications
2.8 out of 5 stars
2.75
  • pro
    Bundle TV, internet, mobile, or smart home automation
  • pro
    Three DVR options for the family
  • con
    Plans are on the pricier side
Chantel Buchi
Mar 15, 2024
Icon Time To Read5 min read

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Cox Communications is a cable TV provider that offers most of your favorite channels, decent on-demand content, and a decent DVR. Cox offers internet, TV, phone, and smart home automation, and you can even bundle all three services together.

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

Cox does give you the opportunity for a customized home, but Cox’s pricing is at least $20 more than the competition.

On the upside, Cox’s Contour TV Starter plan with local channels is only $61 for 75+ channels, which is cheaper than what you’d get with a live TV streaming service. But those 75+ channels do include 50 Music Choice channels, whereas live TV streaming services include only popular channels.

When you upgrade to Cox’s Preferred plan, you will have access to TV channels like ESPN, Food Network, Disney Channel, and MSNBC. We recommend this plan if you’d like the perfect channel variety for the family.

Upgrading to Cox's Preferred Plus plan will grant you access to premium channels such as Max, STARZ, Cinemax, and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME®.

And lastly, Cox’s Ultimate plan gives you the same premium channels as the Preferred plans as well as the Sports-channel pack and Movie Pack, which will get you MGM+.

Keep in mind that no matter which plan you choose, Cox allows you to add on more channel packs and premium channels for a more customizable package (more on that below).

How much does Cox TV cost per month?
Plan
Monthly price
Available channels
Learn more
Contour TV Starter$61/mo.*75+
Contour TV Preferred$115/mo.*170+
Contour TV Ultimate$152/mo.*250+
* Pricing for 1 year

Does Cox TV have a contract?

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

Does Cox TV have extra fees?

Cox Cable TV plans come with the standard fees:

  • Broadcast fee: $13.50/mo.
  • Regional sports fee: up to $10.00/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: $8.50/mo. 
  • CableCARD: $6.00/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: $13.50/mo.
  • 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?

Cox has all local and popular channels that we like

The Starter package gives you the "local channels." Preferred is the average package with "local channels and basic cable TV channels" and Preferred Plus is the above-average package with "local and cable channels, including premium channels." And you'll get "local and cable channels including premium channels and channel packs" 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:

  • ABC
  • CBS
  • CoziTV
  • C-SPAN
  • CW
  • FOX
  • HSN
  • MeTV
  • NBC
  • PBS
  • PBS Kids
  • QVC
  • Telemundo
  • True Crime Network
  • UniMás
  • Univision

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

  • Cartoon Network
  • CNN
  • Discovery Channel
  • Disney Channel
  • ESPN
  • Food Network
  • Fox News
  • FS1
  • FX
  • Golf Channel
  • Hallmark Channel
  • HGTV
  • HISTORY
  • Lifetime
  • MSNBC
  • NBC Sports Network
  • PAC-12 Network
  • TBS
  • TNT
  • USA Network

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

  • Actionmax
  • BBC America
  • Cinemax
  • Cooking Channel
  • Destination America
  • Discovery Family Channel
  • Disney Jr.
  • Max
  • HBO Comedy
  • HBO Family
  • HBO Latino
  • Lifetime Movie Network
  • Moviemax
  • NFL RedZone Channel
  • OWN
  • Science Channel
  • Paramount+ with SHOWTIME®
  • Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® Family Zone
  • Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® STARZ Cinema
  • STARZ Encore Family

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

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

When you order the Preferred Plus plan, you'll get Max, STARZ, and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® in your channel lineup.

When you upgrade to Ultimate, you can get all five premium channels and every channel pack.

But if you'd prefer the Contour TV Starter or Preferred plans, check out the table below to see how much you'll need to budget.

How much do Cox's premium channels and add-ons cost?
Premium channel
Monthly price

Max

$16.00/mo.

Cinemax

$12.00/mo.

Paramount+ with SHOWTIME®

$12.00/mo.

STARZ

$12.00/mo.

MGM+$12.00/mo.

Sports and Info Pack

$10.00/mo.

Sports Pack 2

$12.00/mo.

Movie Pack

$12.00/mo.

Variety Pack

$12.00/mo.

Latino Pack

$10.00/mo.

*Data effective 04/26/2023.

The channel packs are only available if you order the Contour TV Preferred package or above, so here's a little break down:

  • Sports and Info Pack: This pack gives you about 19 sports channels, including ESPNU, ACCN, Tennis Channel, FOX Deportes, and Big Ten Network.
  • Sports Pack 2: Get about 12 more sports channels, including the NFL RedZone Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, and Longhorn Network.
  • Movie Pack: Spruce up your TV service with 14 movie channels from MGM+, STARZ, and FX Movie Channel.
  • Variety Pack: This pack is for everyone in the family. The 33 channels in this pack include Nicktoons, Disney Jr., Disney XD, BBC America, The Cooking Channel, and Boomerang.
  • Latino Pack: Good news for you and your abuelita: you'll get 38 Spanish-language channels 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.

How much is Cox's set-top box and DVR service?
Set-top box
Monthly price

Wired HD Contour Box

First box included, $8.50/mo. for each additional

Essential DVR service

$13.50/mo.

Preferred DVR service

$20.00/mo.

Ultimate DVR service

$30.00/mo.

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 only 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 HD hours of DVR storage.

Cox TV on-the-go

Download the Contour TV app in Google Play or the Apple Store to watch all of your on-demand content! We know we like to use streaming apps to distract our kids while we're busy on the phone, or to distract ourselves when we're waiting in a super long line.

Recap: Is Cox TV worth it?

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

Cox TV has a checkout experience that gives you a service tailored to you. 

Out of the four TV plans Cox offers, we recommend the Preferred plan ($115) because it has an excellent channel variety to make everyone in the family happy without breaking the bank too much. 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 TV, internet, smart home automation, and mobile services in one.

If you're not sure Cox TV is the one for you and your home, check out Best Cable TV Providers of 2023 or Cheapest Cable TV Providers.

How much is Cox TV?
Plan
Monthly price
Available channels
Learn more
Contour TV Starter$61/mo.*75+
Contour TV Preferred$115/mo.*170+
Contour TV Ultimate$152/mo.*250+
* Pricing for 1 year
Chantel Buchi
Written by
Chantel Buchi
Chantel is all about finding the best tv or streaming service to watch as many football games as possible to keep her Fantasy Football team in check. Prior to being a TV and Streaming Tech Reporter for Reviews.org, she worked for NFL Network and The Alliance of American Football. Before that, she received a B.A. of Communication at the University of Utah and an M.S. in Sports Journalism at USC. Go Utes and Fight On. Contact her at chantel@reviews.org

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