These Are the Best and Worst TV Providers, Customers Say

Editor's Note: This story comes from CableTV.com.

CableTV.com’s experts research and test TV services year-round to support our readers’ search for the right TV service.

Our opinions aren’t the only ones that matter, so we also conduct an annual customer satisfaction survey to get feedback from the people who use the services daily — and pay the monthly bill.

We asked 7,150 cable and satellite TV customers to rate their TV providers on customer satisfaction, features, and value.

Verizon Fios again emerged as the cable or satellite TV provider with the highest overall satisfaction rating (75%) and earning the highest ratings on 19 of 20 questions. Keep reading to see what’s so great about Verizon Fios — and how your TV provider fared.

Verizon Fios is the best TV provider for customer satisfaction in 2024

Verizon Fios (75%) is 2024’s best TV provider for customer satisfaction, followed by Astound Broadband (70%) and Xtream (powered by Mediacom) (65%).

Verizon Fios also dominated nearly every category, as you’ll see.

Verizon Fios dominates our survey — again

Verizon Fios nearly repeated last year’s astonishing 20-for-20 performance, topping 19 out of 20 questions in our 2024 survey. The provider also beat the next highest–rated provider by 3%-10% on 13 questions in 2024.

That’s not as impressive as last year (Verizon Fios led 18 questions by the same margin), but it’s still quite a feat.

Verizon Fios scores in key areas

• Overall satisfaction: 75%
• Customer experience: 75%
• Streaming quality: 79%
• Channels: 73%
• Customer loyalty: 71%
• Pricing: 64%
• Reliability: 71%
• User experience: 72%

Optimum TV customers say the provider still ain’t optimal

Optimum rated last overall (and dead last on 14 of 20 questions) in our 2022 survey, and the provider did it again in 2023. Only this time, Optimum rated lowest on 19 of 20 questions.

Pricing is Optimum customers’ biggest gripe — fewer than 45% of them like Optimum’s prices, while nearly 30% don’t like them.

Optimum also rated very low on customer-support interactions and customer loyalty.

Highest overall satisfaction

Customer satisfaction hinges on customer service. We asked survey respondents if their providers resolve issues quickly, effectively, and simply.

Would they recommend their providers to other people? Do they get what they expect from the service?

What is your overall satisfaction with your cable TV provider?

In our polling, Verizon Fios, Astound Broadband, and Xtream (powered by Mediacom) rated highest in overall customer satisfaction.

Verizon Fios has affordable packages, many channels, and pristine image quality — thanks to its blazing-fast fiber-optic internet connections and the best signup deals around. Verizon Fios might even beat DISH Network in the best overall TV provider category in our annual Editor’s Choice awards — if it were more widely available.

Astound performed well, too, sharing the top spot with Verizon Fios on channel offerings, topping cloud DVR satisfaction, and earning the second-best ratings on 12 other questions.

Xtream is a bit of a mystery, with the third-best rating overall, but poor ratings on nearly every other question.

Despite being our current Editor’s Choice pick for three years running, DISH (64%) missed the top three by only 1%. Since the February 2023 ransomware attack caused weeks of problems for the satellite TV service’s customers, we thought DISH would nosedive on this question. Instead, the provider’s overall customer satisfaction rating increased by 2%.

So with DISH breathing down their necks, Verizon Fios, Astound, and Xtream shouldn’t get too cocky. Especially since they’re all regional providers and you can get DISH almost anywhere in the U.S.

Full results for completely satisfied and very satisfied overall with TV providers

• Verizon Fios: 75%
• Astound Broadband: 70%
• Other: 65%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 65%
• DISH Network: 64%
• Sparklight: 64%
• Xfinity: 64%
• DIRECTV: 63%
• Cox: 62%
• Spectrum: 61%
• Optimum: 48%

How well did your TV provider services compare with the ideal cable service?

We know asking if TV providers fit our respondents’ concepts of the ideal TV provider is like asking them to compare the pie on their plate to the pie in the sky — and everybody has different ideas about pie.

Let’s see which providers’ customers got what they expected.

• Verizon Fios: 71%
• Astound Broadband: 65%
• Sparklight: 64%

More than 2 out of 3 Verizon Fios customers find its TV service is ideal. But you knew that since we’ve already spilled the tea about Verizon Fios topping all categories except Cloud DVR.

Being regional providers, Verizon Fios, Astound, and Sparklight serve only certain parts of the United States. DISH and DIRECTV (both 61%) did almost as well as Sparklight — but the two satellite TV providers serve 99.9% of the country.

Satisfying swaths of an entire country is probably the more impressive feat. It’s even more impressive when you consider the popularity of simpler, more affordable live TV streaming services.

Full results for extremely close and very close comparisons of TV provider services with ideal cable service

• Verizon Fios: 71%
• Astound Broadband: 65%
• Sparklight: 64%
• Spectrum: 62%
• DIRECTV: 61%
• DISH Network: 61%
• Other: 60%
• Xfinity: 60%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 60%
• Cox: 59%
• Optimum: 48%

Customer experience

Customer satisfaction hinges on two things: user experience (UX) and customer support.

On the user experience tip, is using a provider’s TV service easy, intuitive, and reliable? Do customers get the entertainment they’re paying for with minimal frustration?

Regarding support, do these TV providers resolve issues quickly and effectively? Do they provide customers with reliable assistance, or something less than ideal?

Verizon Fios TV has a robust — but also clear and concise — online help guide, so customers can resolve many issues without contacting the provider. But customer contact is what we care about in this section.

When commenting on their experiences with Verizon Fios’ 24/7 phone and online tech support, and the provider’s daytime customer support line, customers praised the provider’s efficiency, patience, and effectiveness.

Thinking about your recent interactions with your TV provider, how effectively did they meet your needs?

Three of four Verizon Fios TV customers feel the provider is effective in meeting their needs.

Astound Broadband rated only one point lower than Verizon Fios, so congrats to both providers. It’s not easy to please 75% of any group, much less cable TV customers.

• Verizon Fios: 75%
• Astound Broadband: 74%
• DISH: 71%

Once more, it’s worth noting that, given DISH’s wide availability, its 71% rating might be more impressive than Verizon Fios’ and Astound’s higher ones.

And did we mention that DISH also happens to be our Editor’s Choice pick for the best overall TV provider for three years running?

Full results for TV providers effectively meeting needs: Extremely and very easy

• Verizon Fios: 75%
• Astound Broadband: 74%
• DISH Network: 71%
• Other: 69%
• DIRECTV: 67%
• Cox: 65%
• Spectrum: 65%
• Xfinity: 65% 10%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 63%
• Sparklight: 62%
• Optimum: 54%

How easy was it to work with your TV provider?

Effectiveness is one thing, but can your TV provider resolve your issue without blood, sweat, or tears? How fast — and how accurately — can its support department answer your questions?

In our survey, 73% of Verizon Fios customers said working with the provider is easy, with DISH, Sparklight, Astound Broadband, and Spectrum bottlenecking close behind.

• Verizon Fios: 73%
• DISH, Sparklight: 70%
• Astound Broadband, Spectrum: 68%

Full results for how easy it is to work with TV providers: Extremely and very easy

• Verizon Fios: 73%
• Other: 71%
• DISH Network: 70%
• Sparklight: 70%
• Astound Broadband: 68%
• Spectrum: 68%
• Cox: 66%
• DIRECTV: 66%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 66%
• Xfinity: 64%
• Optimum: 52%

How enjoyable were your interactions with your TV provider?

Do “easy” and “effective” equal “enjoyable”? Yes, when it pertains to using the service.

If you can watch TV without frustration — meaning you’re getting what you pay for and everything works like it should — then it’s enjoyable. So why did the ratings drop by 7%–13% for “enjoyable” compared to “easy” and “effective?” Hmmm …

Customer support is another area where enjoyability matters. Nobody likes contacting customer support—it means you have a problem. But what happens when you call?

Do the reps seem well-trained? Do they treat you with respect? Can they solve your problem quickly so you can get back to your regularly scheduled programming?

• Verizon Fios: 67%
• DISH, Sparklight: 63%
• Astound Broadband, DIRECTV, Spectrum: 61%

Verizon Fios has a comfortable lead here, rating 4-6 percentage points higher than the five closest providers. These scores don’t indicate significant differences in the TV services’ enjoyability — but they do tell us that Verizon Fios knows how to party.

Full results for extremely and very enjoyable interactions with TV providers

• Verizon Fios: 67%
• DISH Network: 63%
• Other: 63%
• Sparklight: 63%
• Astound Broadband: 61%
• DIRECTV: 61%
• Spectrum: 61%
• Xfinity: 59%
• Cox: 58%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 58%
• Optimum: 45%

To what extent has your TV provider met your expectations as a cable service?

Expectations, like ideals, are equivalent to wishes.

It’s too bad DIRECTV — the only provider with a Genie (Haw!) — finished second-to-last this year (compared to second place last year) on this question. Maybe DIRECTV customers are salty over losing NFL Sunday Ticket.

• Verizon Fios: 74%
• Astound Broadband: 70%
• DISH Network: 68%

Since Verizon Fios dominated our customer satisfaction survey for the second year, we can safely conclude that it exceeded its customers’ expectations.

But if you want specifics, check out the next section, where the questions cover a critical customer satisfaction area: pricing and value.

Full results of TV providers completely and very much meeting expectations as a cable service

• Verizon Fios: 74%
• Astound Broadband: 70%
• DISH Network: 68%
• Sparklight: 68%
• Other: 65%
• Xfinity: 65%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 65%
• Cox: 63%
• DIRECTV: 62%
• Spectrum: 62%
• Optimum: 51%

Best bang for your buck

Money matters — aka pricing questions — prompted some of the lowest ratings in our survey.

It’s easy to resent paying any bill, but TV providers’ bills can be a special kind of hell, with tricky pricing and hidden fees.

Let’s see what customers think about their TV providers’ pricing, contracts, and subscriptions.

Given the quality of your TV provider’s service, how would you rate the price you pay for them?

When we asked customers to consider the quality of their TV service, some scores changed. Verizon Fios’ pricing satisfaction score got a 2% bump.

Sparklight dropped 2% but kept its second-place spot, and Astound Broadband dropped 3% and holds third place.

Optimum’s score improved by 2%, Spectrum’s score didn’t change, and the other six TV providers dropped 2%-3%.

Verizon Fios’ improved score makes sense, given its low pricing, massive channel count (425+), included DVR and equipment, and great sign-up deals. Optimum’s tiny bump is a mystery, considering it had the lowest ratings on all but one question.

We have to wonder if the other providers’ lower scores indicate a general dissatisfaction with traditional TV providers as hassle-free streaming TV gets more popular.

Full results for excellent and good price rates for TV provider services

• Verizon Fios: 64
• Sparklight: 57%
• Astound Broadband: 56%
• Other: 55%
• Spectrum: 53%
• Xfinity: 52%
• DIRECTV: 51%
• DISH Network: 51%
• Cox: 50%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 48%
• Optimum: 44%

Given your initial expectations, how would you rate the price that you pay for your TV provider’s services?

Our initial expectations for TV providers come mainly from channels, features, fees, and especially pricing.

But not just package prices — also taxes and fees for equipment rental, equipment and service activation, local channels, regional sports networks, and who-knows-what else.

Most providers disclose these charges at checkout, but customers may not realize some of the fees occur monthly.

• Verizon Fios: 62%
• Astound Broadband: 59%
• Sparklight: 59%
• DIRECTV: 54%

Breakdown of rating prices for TV providers’ services

Verizon Fios customers appear to experience far less of this, probably because the provider doesn’t charge a broadcast TV fee — one of the highest hidden costs.

Astound’s TV plans are among the most affordable we’ve found — if the provider sold standalone TV plans.

Astound’s bundling requirement means a higher monthly payment. Also, Astound’s broadcast TV fee (up to $28 monthly) raises customers’ monthly payments by at least 20%.

Even after instituting a two-year price guarantee and more transparent pricing, DIRECTV remains one of the most expensive TV providers.

The satellite TV provider’s customers must appreciate DIRECTV’s included TV box (a Genie receiver/DVR or Gemini streaming device), 365+ channels (behind Verizon Fios’ 425+ and Optimum’s 420+), and solid roster of sports channels and add-ons, even losing NFL Sunday Ticket.

As for Sparklight, we’re not sure why its customers rated it so high here, since the provider’s pricing is pretty high compared to its low channel count.

Full results for excellent and good price rates for TV services given initial expectations

• Verizon Fios: 62%
• Astound Broadband: 59%
• Sparklight: 59%
• DIRECTV: 54%
• DISH Network: 53%
• Other: 53%
• Spectrum: 53%
• Xfinity: 53%
• Cox: 52%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 50%
• Optimum: 42%

Given competitors’ prices, how would you rate the price that you pay for your TV provider’s services?

Price questions always get lower scores because who enjoys paying any bill? That said, what are some Verizon and Astound customers thinking?

We don’t expect survey respondents to make cost comparisons before responding, but these results seem based more on feelings than actual numbers.

• Verizon Fios: 60%
• Astound Broadband: 58%
• Sparklight: 57%

Verizon Fios is hands-down the best value of any TV provider we cover on CableTV.com, and its score — while 4% lower than on the previous question — is still the best.

Astound Broadband is one of the most affordable TV providers, and it has a high channel count. Its 2% bump might indicate its customers realize that when comparison shopping.

Finally, Sparklight’s static score may indicate that its customers don’t feel competing TV services offer better deals.

Full results for excellent and good price rates for TV services given competitors’ prices

• Verizon Fios: 60%
• Astound Broadband: 58%
• Sparklight: 57%
• Other: 53%
• Spectrum: 52%
• DISH Network: 51%
• Xfinity: 50%
• Cox: 49%
• DIRECTV: 48%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 47%
• Optimum: 42%

Highest customer loyalty

Do easy, effective, enjoyable customer support interactions and high-value lead to enthusiastic customer recommendations?

Yeah, for the most part.

How likely are you to continue subscribing to your TV provider for cable service?

Again, if we could get Verizon Fios where we live, we’d be satisfied with the provider’s low-cost, high-value TV service.

And, barring any unforeseen changes, we’d be loyal Verizon customers — 71% of whom are ride-or-die with the provider.

Astound Broadband is just a little behind, with 70% of customers pledging loyalty.

DIRECTV’s third-place rating may be due to the satellite TV provider’s new, more transparent (though still high) pricing and price guarantee.

That’s excellent news for DIRECTV since the changes have made them more competitive with DISH, our (so far) perennial Editor’s Choice pick for best overall TV provider.

Xfinity customers probably stick around for the provider’s excellent user experience.

Full results for completely likely and very likely to continue subscribing to TV providers for cable service

• Verizon Fios: 71%
• Astound Broadband: 70%
• Other: 68%
• DIRECTV: 63%
• DISH Network: 63%
• Xfinity: 63%
• Cox: 62%
• Sparklight: 62%
• Spectrum: 62%
• Optimum: 54%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 54%

How likely are you to recommend your TV provider to a friend or colleague?

Verizon Fios muscled up to the top here, with 68% of respondents saying they’d tell their friends to sign up for Verizon TV packages — but the provider’s score is 2% lower than last year.

• Verizon Fios: 68%
• Astound Broadband: 61%
• Sparklight: 59%

Astound’s score didn’t change this year, but it did jump into second place, replacing DISH, which dropped to fifth place (tying with Spectrum and the mysterious “Other”), perhaps because DISH customers still feel the sting of the ransomware attack from earlier this year.

Sparklight was second last year. But in 2024, 3% fewer Sparklight customers remain likely to recommend the provider than stick with them.

Full results for completely likely and very likely to recommend TV providers

• Verizon Fios: 68%
• Astound Broadband: 61%
• Sparklight: 59%
• Cox: 57%
• DISH Network: 56%
• Other: 56%
• Spectrum: 56%
• Xfinity: 55%
• DIRECTV: 53%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 51%
• Optimum: 44%

How likely are you to increase the amount you purchase from your TV provider?

What?! They want more money? We expected low numbers on this question because TV service is already pricey, and the U.S. economy is experiencing inflation.

And, even in a more stable economy, we think it’s more common to downgrade than upgrade TV service.

• Verizon Fios: 45%
• Sparklight: 40%
• Spectrum: 37%

Still, we’re not surprised that Verizon customers would likely add service, given the provider’s affordable, value-packed plans.

To a lesser extent, we’d say the same about Spectrum (for its reasonably priced add-ons) and Xfinity (for the high internet speeds available in bundles).

Full results for ‘completely likely’ and ‘very likely’ to increase amount purchased from TV providers

• Verizon Fios: 45%
• Sparklight: 40%
• Spectrum: 37%
• Astound Broadband: 36%
• Xfinity: 36%
• Cox: 35%
• DIRECTV: 31%
• Other: 27%%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 27%
• DISH Network: 24%
• Optimum: 24%

Most reliable

Reliability matters, especially if you watch a lot of live TV. An unexpected service outage can spoil your Super Bowl or TV series finale party in an instant.

Are you satisfied with your TV provider’s reliability?

The top-rated TV provider for reliability was Verizon Fios (71%, fiber optic/streaming), followed by Astound Broadband (69%, cable) and Xfinity (66%, cable).

Technically speaking, cable TV is more reliable than satellite TV (which can be affected by weather). Streaming TV reliability can vary widely, too, since it depends on the strength of your internet connection.

But Verizon’s fiber-optic network is the fastest and most reliable since fiber networks are passive, meaning the lines aren’t subject to electrical failures and interference.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with TV providers’ reliability

• Verizon Fios: 71%
• Astound Broadband: 69%
• Xfinity: 66%
• Cox: 63%
• DIRECTV: 63%
• Sparklight: 62%
• Spectrum: 61%
• Other: 60%
• DISH Network: 59%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 59%
• Optimum: 52%

Best features

In this survey section, we asked respondents to consider their TV providers’ actual products.

Do they like certain features? Do those features function properly and reliably?

Are you satisfied with your TV provider’s overall channel offering?

Verizon has 425+ channels. That’s the highest channel count of any provider.

Optimum has the next highest (420+) — but the provider finished dead last (53%) on almost every question in our survey.

Astound Broadband has a respectable 287 to 304+ channels. That’s more than DISH (290+) and fewer than DIRECTV (340+), yet DIRECTV didn’t make the top three.

But quantity isn’t quality, and not all channel lineups are equal. Cox’s (250+) channel roster could be more quality-dense. Ditto Cox (250+).

Xfinity (185+) and Spectrum’s (150+) trim the fat, offering fewer filler channels.

So, where quantity once ruled with traditional cable and satellite TV, we think modern TV consumers prefer smaller, simpler lineups of popular channels — like the ones offered by live TV streaming services.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with overall channel offerings

• Verizon Fios: 73%
• Astound Broadband: 73%
• Other: 66%
• Spectrum: 66%
• Xfinity: 66%
• Cox: 64%
• DISH Network: 64%
• DIRECTV: 62%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 62%
• Sparklight: 58%
• Optimum: 53%

Are you satisfied with your cable TV user experience (e.g., channel guide, on-demand menu, suggested shows)?

• Verizon Fios: 72%
• Xfinity: 71%
• DISH Network: 69%

User experience — how easy it is to use a product — is essential.

How easily can you find something to watch when your TV package has hundreds of channels? Is the remote control intuitive, with well-placed and clearly labeled buttons?

Verizon Fios edged out Xfinity in this year’s survey, but Xfinity is our Editor’s Choice for best user experience — with DISH (our pick for best overall TV provider) close behind.

Unsurprisingly, all three providers have excellent on-screen guides, menus, and programming recommendations.

Also, Xfinity’s XR15 voice remote and the DISH Voice Remote are two of the best clickers in the business — both have backlit keypads, voice control, point-anywhere functionality, easy pairing, and excellent accessibility features.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with cable TV user experience

• Verizon Fios: 72%
• Xfinity: 71%
• DISH Network: 69%
• Cox: 68%
• DIRECTV: 68%
• Spectrum: 68%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 67%
• Other: 65%
• Sparklight: 64%
• Astound Broadband: 59%
• Optimum: 55%

Are you satisfied with your TV provider’s local channel selection?

Most TV providers carry the same local channels — it’s in their best interests because customers want to keep up with local news and other programming.

Satisfaction is high in this category, with 9 of 10 providers scoring 67% or higher. Verizon Fios (77%) crushes the next three, which include Astound Broadband (72%), Cox (71%), and Xfinity (71%).

Optimum, unfortunately, scored only 60%.

• Verizon Fios: 77%
• Astound Broadband: 72%
• Cox, Xfinity: 71%

If customers are unsatisfied with a provider’s local channel selection, it could be because their provider dropped a particular channel due to a dispute over carriage fees.

That said, we’re unaware of any such conflicts at the moment.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with local channel selection

• Verizon Fios: 77%
• Other: 74%
• Astound Broadband: 72%
• Cox: 71%
• Xfinity: 71%
• DIRECTV: 70%
• Spectrum: 70%
• DISH Network: 68%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 68%
• Sparklight: 67%
• Optimum: 60%

Were you satisfied with your TV provider’s add-on channels and packs?

Here’s another question where price factors into satisfaction. With a high-value provider like Verizon Fios, or an inexpensive provider like Spectrum, low plan prices leave lots of room for extras. But we also consider the availability and quality of add-ons.

• Verizon Fios: 69%
• Spectrum: 59%
• Xfinity: 58%

All providers have basically the same premium channels and streaming service add-ons, like Max™, SHOWTIME®, STARZ®, STARZ ENCORE®, EPIX, The Movie Channel, or CINEMAX®. Most of the time, providers charge the same price as a direct subscription, but sometimes slightly more or less.

With add-ons, what sets providers apart are channel packs that have additional entertainment, international, kids, or sports channels. Most providers offer from one to three such packs; others have more.

Among the providers in our survey, Xfinity stands out with a whopping 60+ add-ons, including premium channels, streaming services, channel packs, adult content, and sports league subscriptions.

Most cost $4.99 to $29.99 monthly (NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice have seasonal pricing). Given Xfinity’s score on this question, we wonder if their customers know about all of this.

It’s worth mentioning that DIRECTV (55%) dropped out of the top three. That’s probably because YouTube intercepted NFL Sunday Ticket from the satellite TV provider when the massively popular sports add-on became a free agent.

Full results of ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with add-on channels and packs

• Verizon Fios: 69%
• Spectrum: 59%
• Xfinity: 58%
• Cox: 57%
• Other: 57%
• Astound Broadband: 56%
• Sparklight: 56%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 56%
• DIRECTV: 55%
• DISH Network: 54%
• Optimum: 50%

Are you satisfied with your cable TV streaming quality?

We’ve heard for years that streaming is the future, and it is. Cable and satellite TV providers now offer streaming via mobile apps or streaming devices.

Several TV providers now let you choose a streaming device instead of a receiver/DVR or TV box.

• Verizon Fios: 79%
• Astound Broadband: 75%
• Cox, Xfinity: 69%

The TV provider mobile apps are free with your channel package.

They allow customers to stream their channel packages, on-demand libraries, DVR recordings, rentals, and purchases. Astound, Cox, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, and Xfinity all offer these (the DISH Anywhere app is pretty snazzy, too).

Verizon’s at-home streaming quality is top-notch thanks to its fiber optic internet connection.

However, your streaming quality outside the home will depend on your mobile data connection and device. But Verizon mobile customers won’t experience as much of this since Verizon’s mobile network is tops.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with streaming quality

• Verizon Fios: 79%
• Astound Broadband: 75%
• Cox: 69%
• Xfinity: 69%
• Spectrum: 68%
• DISH Network: 67%
• DIRECTV: 66%
• Other: 66%
• Sparklight: 63%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 63%
• Optimum: 51%

Are you satisfied with your cable TV provider’s Cloud DVR?

While some providers still offer physical set-top receiver/DVRs with hard drives and additional features, cloud DVR storage has become more common. Cloud DVRs often have lower storage capacities than physical DVRs, shorter keep times (some physical DVRs let you keep recordings forever), and more simultaneous streams (unlimited in some cases).

Two of the top three TV providers have cloud DVR; one has only physical DVR service. So we’re looking at both DVR types here.

• Astound Broadband (cloud): 74%
• Verizon Fios (cloud): 67%
• DISH Network (physical): 65%

Astound Broadband cloud storage plans include a TiVO converter box and cost $0.00-$31.99 monthly for 125-250 hours, 90-365 day keep times, and unlimited simultaneous recordings. We like the features, but not some of the pricing — especially in Pennsylvania — but at least Astound customers are happy.

Verizon Fios customers probably love the provider’s affordable DVR, which is $0-$30 monthly for 50-200 hours, depending on your plan. (Note: Verizon Fios does have cloud storage, but only for its internet products, not TV.) We think this is a better deal than Astound offers.

The DISH Hopper 3 is the best receiver/DVR in the business, with 500 hours, 16 simultaneous recordings, and tons of features for $10-$15 a month.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with Cloud DVR

• Astound Broadband: 74%
• Verizon Fios: 67%
• DISH Network: 65%
• DIRECTV: 64%
• Cox: 62%
• Other: 62%
• Xfinity: 62%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 61%
• Spectrum: 60%
• Sparklight: 56%
• Optimum: 54%

Are you satisfied with everything else your cable TV provider offers?

We’ve already covered overall satisfaction, value, customer support, and features, so now we’ll talk about “everything else,” which could be anything beyond channel lineups, DVRs, pricing, and customer service.

Since we don’t ask for specifics, let’s say 73% of Verizon Fios TV customers think the provider has a certain quality we can’t quite name.

• Verizon Fios: 73%
• Astound Broadband: 67%
• DIRECTV, Sparklight: 64%

All kidding aside, this question is a chance for customers to reflect one last time on how they feel about their TV providers.

We compared these results with those for overall satisfaction, which are about the same — go figure.

Full results for ‘completely satisfied’ and ‘very satisfied’ with everything else TV providers offer

• Verizon Fios: 73%
• Astound Broadband: 67%
• DIRECTV: 64%
• Other: 64%
• Sparklight: 64%
• DISH Network: 63%
• Spectrum: 63%
• Cox: 62%
• Xtream (powered by Mediacom): 61%
• Xfinity: 60%
• Optimum: 50%

Final take

There’s a reason we do both an annual customer satisfaction survey and Editor’s Choice Awards. Our TV experts’ research and testing provide hard facts showing which TV providers are tops, but that’s only part of the picture.

Customers use these services daily and pay for them monthly. That makes their experience and opinions equally important to having the highest-resolution image of a TV provider’s overall value.

And it’s hard to argue with them when Verizon Fios dominated our survey for the second straight year.

Methodology

We surveyed 7,150 people across the U.S. to measure their satisfaction with their internet provider.

Our sample reflected broader U.S. demographics (i.e., gender, race, age, etc.) and was analyzed using prevailing industry standards by our data experts.