Staff rating

4.0

Customer rating

4.4

(32)

Plans starting at $49.99

425+ channels

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Staff rating

3.1

Customer rating

4.0

(2)

Plans starting at $9.99

n/a channels

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Staff rating

4.0

Excellent value and customizable options

Verizon Fios TV offers an excellent value TV service. The customizable Your Fios plan is particularly attractive, but all tiers offer a lot of TV for the money. Add in outstanding internet, and it’s hard to go wrong with Verizon.

What we like

No contracts
Personalized channel lineup
Excellent fiber internet bundles

What we dislike

Limited availability
Pricey DVR storage
For TV-only customers, a Verizon router is still required

See full review

Staff rating

3.1

Easy cord-cutting, limited DVR

WOW! (short for Wide Open West) offers a compelling case for switching to internet-based TV. You get a solid channel lineup at a great rate, all using top-notch Wi-Fi gear from eero—provided you’re willing to have a chillier relationship with your DVR and you don’t mind beta-testing the WOW! tv+ app.

What we like

Low prices
Top-notch Wi-Fi gear
Good sports lineup

What we dislike

Meager DVR features
Low-rated streaming apps
Limited availability

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Value

4.5

Excellent value, especially with the customizable channel lineup

Verizon isn't the cheapest option for traditional TV—you can get TV service for less elsewhere. It’s also not the best in terms of channels per dollar—although it holds its own. However, the ability to personalize the Your Fios plan means you can get more of the channels you actually want without having to pony up for a more expensive plan. It's a fantastic feature, and relatively uncommon in the cable TV space.

Of course, if you do want all the channels, you can get that, too: the top-tier Most Fios plan comes with well over 400, which is one of the highest channel counts in the business.

Value

4.0

Solid lineups at great prices

With WOW! tv+, you can watch live TV or on-demand content, record your favorite shows, and use streaming apps like Netflix—all over WOW!’s Wi-Fi. You need to order a WOW! internet plan with a speed of at least 100 Mbps (which is inexpensive) and at least one WOW! tv+ box (which is included in most plans).

Most of WOW!’s channel lineups are decent. The Small TV plan has only 30 basic channels, but you get 120+ channels with a Medium plan and 185+ channels with a Large plan, plus 50 Music Choice channels. (1) You won’t get any premium channels (you have to add those separately), but with a Large plan, you get more sports (NFL Network and NFL Red Zone), music (CMT and MTV), and kids’ channels (all the Nickelodeons). At around $10 per month more, it’s definitely worth considering.

Features

4.0

Tons of channels and a solid DVR make for a good experience

Verizon Fios TV comes with all the features you’d expect from a fiber company. It offers a $12/month DVR with 50 hours of storage, as well as a built-in Netflix app for when you want to change things up. You can add more storage and multi-room capabilities for an additional monthly fee (or for free, if you qualify for certain promotions).

Whether you have the basic DVR or one of the advanced options, you'll benefit from top-of-the-line features. The remote offers voice control, so you can simply tell it what you want to watch. Finally, the mobile app enables on-the-go streaming of your favorite channels—and it is surprisingly well rated. (1, 2)

Features

2.0

Meager cloud storage and low-rated (beta) apps

The WOW! tv+ box and remote are pretty standard, and you can find content and set up DVR recordings using voice commands or navigating through a guide. The downside is that all three of WOW!’s plans come with 50 hours of DVR cloud storage, which is pretty low. You can jump up to 100 (for about $20 per month) or 200 (for about $30 per month) hours, but that’s a steep charge when some competitors include 1,000 hours in their top-tier plans.

The best way to use the WOW! tv+ app is with an Amazon Firestick. Its Android and iOS apps are in beta, which means they’re still working out some of the kinks. The apps have a pretty low rating on both Android and iOS (2, 3), which is a bummer. If you end up throwing your phone across the room in frustration, you can circumvent the app altogether by going to an individual channel’s website and logging in with your WOW! credentials. But you might still end up frustrated—and watching your shows through a cracked phone screen.

Equipment and installation

3.5

Installation is a little pricey (unless you order online)

The Verizon Fios TV installation fee is $99, and there’s no self-install option. However, online ordering and promotions often waive this fee, so you can save some money on your first TV bill. Apart from that, the other major setup costs are the router and the DVR. You'll need the $18-per-month router if you don't already have Verizon Fios internet, and the company recommends against using your own equipment. For the DVR, the monthly cost is $12 but you may need to pay more depending whether you need additional set-top boxes and multi-room DVR capabilities.

The overall installation process is a little more involved than some other providers. Since this is a fiber service, you need a special box called an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) installed if you don’t already have one. That said, it is quick and painless for most.

Equipment and installation

4.0

Great gear at a great price

Since WOW! tv+ uses WOW! Internet, you need Wi-Fi gear. WOW!’s modem is free for your first year ($14/month after that), and its eero Wi-Fi system ($9.99 per month) is reasonably priced to rent. It’s also some of the best, most reliable Wi-Fi gear we’ve seen. WOW!’s TV boxes can get pricey if you want more than one ($10 per month), but since you can use WOW! tv+ with Amazon Firesticks, you shouldn’t need more than one box to get your shows on multiple TVs. You just need multiple Firesticks ($29.99 and up), but these will be one-time purchases instead of a monthly rental rate.

Self-setup is free and fairly easy, but you can hire a pro to come by and get you set up for $75.

Sports and premium channels

4.0

Flexible options for premium channels

Verizon Fios TV offers a reasonable number of sports and premium options. Fios has access to all the major professional sports, including NFL Network, MLB Network, and the various ESPN channels. We think sports fans will be plenty satisfied with the options here.

You can get two of the major premium channels (HBO Max, STARZ, SHOWTIME, Cinemax, and EPIX) in any combination you like, from one channel to all five. The more you bundle, the less you’ll pay for each. Getting all five is a solid deal at around $40 per month—that’s less than $10 per channel.

Sports and premium channels

2.5

Most sports channels are included, but premiums are extra

WOW! tv+ doesn’t include premium channels in any of its plans, but you can add them to a Medium or Large plan for $11–$19 per month. We’ve seen STARZ and Cinemax for as little as $5 per month with some providers, so we’re a little bummed about WOW!’s pricing, but it’s not a deal-breaker.

When it comes to sports channels, you win some and lose some. You get the Tennis Channel in a Medium plan, whereas some providers only include it in their top-tier plans. NFL Network and NFL RedZone are both included in the Large plan, which is hit or miss among competitors. However, WOW! tv+ strikes out completely when it comes to the MLB channel, and there’s no way to get NFL SUNDAY TICKET.

Endnotes and sources

1. "Fios TV Mobile," App Store. Accessed 17 October 2022.2. "Fios TV Mobile," Google Play. Accessed 17 October 2022.

Endnotes and sources

1. "What's on TV?," Wide Open West. Accessed 7 December 2022.2. "Watch WOW!," Google Play. Accessed 7 December 2022.3. "Watch WOW!," App Store. Accessed 7 December 2022.As an Amazon Associate, Switchful.com may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Verizon Fios

4.4

(32)

5 Star

50%

4 Star

41%

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Jacobfrom Marshall , IL

Verizon Fios Customer for 4+ years

Reviewed on: 8/16/2022

Love it great service

Enricofrom East Lansing, MI

Verizon Fios Customer for 1+ years

Reviewed on: 7/17/2022

i love the deals that verizon has given me through promotion, i've had to switch from xfinity to verizon and they go hand in hand with my phone plan and i pay less than before

Richard from Fairfax , VA

Verizon Fios Customer for 8+ years