Level News is no longer available. The news-focused streaming service officially ceased operating on October 1, 2023. At present, there are no direct replacements Streaming Better can recommend.
It is no secret that live TV streaming is getting expensive. What first started out as a cheap alternative to cable has encountered multiple price increases over the last few years, and this trend has led to the cost of even the cheapest live TV plans becoming less affordable.
To be clear, streaming is still cheaper than cable, it is just you may need to work a little harder than before to find or create the right package. This is all the more true if the goal is to keep the price of a live TV plan below a certain level.
Frndly TV and Level News are both subscription services that are designed to be affordable. Their cheapest plans cost less than $10 per month each and this is made possible by having a more streamlined focus than other live TV streaming services.
On their own, the two services are somewhat limited. However, they both seem to naturally complement each other really well, making it possible to create a news and entertainment live TV package that costs as little as $13 per month.
What you get with Frndly TV
The main thing to note about Frndly TV, other than the price, is that it is totally focused on entertainment. While the main live TV streaming services look to offer bundles that strike a balance across news, entertainment, and sports, Frndly TV doesn’t.
Instead, subscribers get access to more than 40 feel-good entertainment channels. In spite of this more narrowed focus, the channel selection is pretty good for fans of entertainment-based programming. The selection not only includes all three Hallmark channels, but also A&E, Crime & Investigation, Lifetime, History, and more.
This more narrowed approach also helps to reduce the cost with Frndly TV’s plans starting at just $6.99 per month. While there are more expensive plans available, which mainly cater to those looking for additional streams or a DVR to record live TV, even the most expensive package costs just $10.99 a month.
What you get with Level News
Frndly TV doesn’t offer any news channels at all, and that’s where Level News comes in handy. Similar to how Frndly TV is primarily focused on entertainment, Level News is solely focused on new channels.
A standard subscription unlocks access to 10 live TV channels including C-SPAN and NewsNation. Even though there’s no DVR or on-demand content available, there is a catch up feature which makes it possible to watch programming from the last 72 hours.
The cost of a Level News subscription is just $5.99 per month. Unlike many other subscription services, including Frndly TV, Level News doesn’t offer any other plans or upgrades options. All subscribers pay $6 per month and get access to the same selection of news channels.
Frndly TV and Level News summary
On their own, both Frndly TV and Level News are lacking in many ways. What makes them interesting, however, is there relatively low subscription prices. These two services are cheap enough that subscribing to both at the same time costs as little as $13 per month and creates an interesting live news and entertainment TV plan.
Of course, what neither Frndly TV or Level News can help with is live sports, and that’s unlikely to change in the future. Bally Sports Plus currently offers plans with access to local live sports, so that might be a way to add sports. However, Bally Sports Plus plans are not exactly cheap and cost more than the combined price of Frndly TV and Level News.
