T-Mobile has rolled out a bevy of new streaming options aimed at folks no longer happy with traditional cable or satellite bills. It's all under the TVision umbrella (get it? TV, but vision?), and there are a few options with a few price points.
The new services will be available for T-Mobile subscribers starting Nov. 1. Those still on Sprint (which was purchased and absorbed by T-Mobile) will be able to get in on the TVision action on Nov. 13.
There's also a new piece of hardware available — the T-Mobile TVision Hub. It's an Android TV-based device that runs $50. You're buying it, not renting it, so that's good. But how good the device itself will be remains to be seen.
What options are available with T-Mobile TVision?
There are a bunch of moving parts here, so let's just dive on into it. Here's how things break down:
- TVision Live (starts at $40 a month): If you want news and sports, this is where you start. You'll get more than 30 channels of live TV. Or you can go for Live TV+, which adds more than 10 additional channels for $50 a month. There's also Live Zone, which bumps things up to $60 a month for another 10 channels on top of the others.
- TVision Vibe ($10 a month): More than 30 channels including the best of comedy, lifestyle and drama.
- TVision Channels ($5.99 a month to $10.99 each): This will bring together services like STARZ, Showtime and EPIX, all in one place. It's unclear what other services may be available in the future.
Do I have to be a T-Mobile subscriber to get T-Vision?
Yes. You're going to have to be a T-Mobile wireless customer to get any of those plans. They'll be available starting Nov. 1; Sprint customers who recently came under the T-Mobile umbrella will be able to sign up on Nov. 11.
What channels are available on TVision Live?
Remember that there are three options available, and your options may vary a tiny bit depending on where you live. Here's what you get with the basic TVision Live TV for $40 a month:
- ABC
- Fox
- NBC
- Telemundo
- ESPN
- ESPN2
- FS1
- FS2
- NBCSN
- ABC News Live
- CNBC
- CNN
- Fox Business Network
- Fox News
- HLN
- MSNBC
- NBC News Now
- Bravo
- Cozi TV
- E!
- FX
- FXX
- National Geographic
- Oxygen
- Syfy
- TBS
- TNT
- truTV
- USA
- Cartoon Network
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- Freeform
TVision Live+ adds these additional channels for another $50 a month total:
- ACC Network
- Big Ten Network channels
- ESPN College Extra channels
- ESPNews
- ESPNU
- Golf Channel
- NFL Network
- Olympic Channel
- SEC Network
- Nat Geo Wild
- FXM
- TCM
And TVision Live Zone adds these additional channels to everything above, for a total cost of $60 a month:
- ESPN Deportes
- Fox Deportes
- Longhorn Network
- MavTV
- NFL RedZone
- Outside TV
- Universo
- Boomerang
- Universal Kids
What channels are on TVision Vibe?
This package runs just $10 a month and gets you a pretty deep lineup. It's not everything, but it may be a great addition to the TVision Live options. (Which undoubtedly is what T-Mobile is hoping for.) Here are the channels you'll get:
- AMC
- Animal Planet
- BBC America
- BBC World News
- BET
- BET Her
- CMT
- Comedy Central
- Discovery Channel
- DIY Network
- Food Network
- Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Drama
- Hallmark Movies and Mysteries
- HGTV
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- MotorTrend
- MTV
- MTV Classic
- MTV2
- Nick Jr.
- Nickelodeon East
- Nickelodeon West
- Nicktoons
- OWN
- Paramount Network
- SundanceTV
- TeenNick
- TLC
- Travel Channel
- TV Land
- VH1
- WE TV
What is TVision Channels, and what services are available?
TVision Channels takes premium subscription channels and puts them all in one place, with T-Mobile handling the billing.
Only three channels will be available at launch. They are:
- 34 channels of STARZ for $8.99 a month
- 16 channels of Showtime for $10.99 a month
- Four channels of EPIX for $5.99 a month
What is the T-Mobile TVision Hub?
TVision Hub is a full Android TV device — a dongle that dangles from your TV's HDMI port. Because it's running Android TV it (theoretically) should be able to run other streaming apps, too — not just TVision.
It's got a built-in guide for all the TVision Live channels, and everything works seamlessly with the TVision app on phones and tablets.
The dongle costs $50, and it's yours. No rental fees or any of that nonsense.
What about free Apple TV+?
If you sign up for TVision Live, TVision Vibe, or TVision Channels by Dec. 31, 2020, T-Mobile will throw in a year of Apple TV+, the streaming service from Apple that normally runs $4.99 a month.
What's this I hear about a cheap Apple TV 4K?
You heard that right. Sign up for TVision Live or TVision Vibe and you'll have the opportunity to snag an Apple TV 4K for just $99. That's not a bad price for what we consider to be the best streaming hardware you can buy — but know that it's also three years old and we're expecting a refresh soon.
