The least expensive live TV streaming app is probably Frndly TV. Although live TV started off as an affordable way to watch popular channels, the costs have been continuously increasing over the years. At the same time, however, the selection of live TV services to pick from has also increased, with some options considerably cheaper than others.
Hulu Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV are some of the more popular services for accessing live TV channels over the internet. However, both Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV are fairly expensive, with the cheapest plans costing $69.99 and 64.99 per month, respectively. In fact, many of the major live TV streaming services hover around this same price point, making it difficult for homes looking for an affordable way to watch live TV.
With plans start from as little as $6.99 per month, Frndly TV is certainly one of the cheapest live TV streaming services around. Even the most expensive Frndly TV subscription only costs $10.99 per month, which is still notably cheaper than the other live TV subscription services. What’s more, none of the Frndly TV plans actually differ in terms of the channels. With all three plans providing access to the same channel lineup, consumers only have to choose between the number of simultaneous streams, the level of cloud DVR needed for recordings, and the general playback quality.
Of course, there are a number of free services that currently offer access to live TV and on-demand content, but these services don’t tend to open up access to traditional live TV channels. Instead, free services typically focus on delivering twenty-four hour streaming of title/genre-specific channels. For example, a channel with a specific history show rather than the actual History channel. If looking to access traditional channels, then consumers are unlikely to find a more affordable live TV streaming service than Frndly TV right now.
The catch with the cheapest live TV service
As to be expected, there are some caveats with what is effectively the cheapest live TV service around, and the channel lineup is arguably the biggest hurdle to overcome. When Frndly TV first launched, it was very limited in the selection of channels. Over time, the service has been frequently adding channels but it still only offers access to around 30 live TV channels, and this might be too few for some homes. For reference, the number does make it somewhat similar to Sling TV considering the Sling Orange plan comes with 32 channels while the Sling Blue package takes the number up to 42.
Sling TV is actually a good way to highlight the other major caveat – the selection of channels in general. Frndly TV does place a very specific focus on the channels it adds to its subscription. While this does impact on the quantity, it might also impact on the quality for some households. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with the selection, which not only includes all three Hallmark channels, but also A&E, History, and Lifetime among others. It is just that some homes may find the selection not suitable for their individual or household’s live TV needs.
To explain, Frndly TV places a focus on “feel good programming” and this does mean that many popular channels and networks are automatically excluded from the lineup. Unless the service changes its approach in the future, this not only means that these channels are not available now, but they are unlikely to be added to the channel lineup at a later date. Of course, for homes specifically looking for feel-good content, this may actually be an additional reason to give Frndly TV a try.
Cheapest live TV service summary
With plans starting from only $6.99 per month, Frndly TV is arguably the least expensive live TV streaming service at the moment, and it becomes even cheaper when signing up to an annual plan. Although there are free live TV services, they typically don’t include access to popular traditional channels. In contrast, Frndly TV subscribers can watch more than 30 live TV channels including A&E, Hallmark, History, and Lifetime. In addition, there is more than one Frndly TV plan available and the channel lineup is exactly the same whether paying for the least or most expensive subscription.
Although this is a highly affordable solution for live TV, the general selection of channels might not suit every individual subscriber or household. Frndly TV does place a focus on feel-good content and this directly affects the channels that are included with a subscription. Considering this is an intentional decision by the company, the channel selection might continue to be limited in this way in the future. Still, for those that are happy with the channel lineup, consumers can sign up and pay as little as $6.99 per month to watch their favorite live TV channels.
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