T-Mobile TVision channels compared vs. Philo, Sling TV, Hulu and YouTube TV

T-Mobile, best known as a company that you pay for phone service, is gunning for your TV now, too. Its revamped TVision service comes out Nov. 1 and offers packages of familiar TV channels that you stream live. It's a direct competitor to not only traditional cable TV but also to a bunch of other similar services like YouTube TV, Sling TV and Hulu Plus Live TV.

Since it starts at $10 per month, it's actually cheaper than any other such service -- half the price of Philo, the least expensive multichannel livestreamer. But that $10 package, called TVision Vibe, lacks local channels (think ABC, Fox and NBC) as well as sports and news channels. To get those you need to step up to the more expensive TVision Live package and pay at least $40 per month. 

So what channels do you get with TVision? Glad you asked.

Top 100 channel comparison

At CNET we maintain a list of the top 100 channels available across the major streaming services. For this article we've adapted that list to add the two main TVision packages -- the $10 Vibe and the $40 Live -- so you can compare them directly to the competition. Before you dive in, however, our standard caveats apply.

• The list doesn't have every channel available on all of the services, just the top 100 as determined by CNET editors (namely, me). Sorry, AXS TV, Discovery Life, GSN, Longhorn Network and Universal HD. 
• To conserve space I didn't include FuboTV or AT&T TV Now in the chart below, but I did include them in the big Google spreadsheet upon which the chart below is based. 
• Yes = The channel is available on the cheapest pricing tier. That price is listed next to the service's name.
  
• No = The channel isn't available at all on that service. 
  
• $ = The channel is available for an extra fee, either a la carte or as part of a more expensive package or add-on. 
• For TVision Live, I used the "$" to denote channels reserved for the step-up $50 and $60 packages.
  
• Regional sports networks -- channels devoted to showing regular-season games of particular pro baseball, basketball and hockey teams -- are not listed. (TVision includes a few RSNs starting in its $50 Live Plus package; RSN coverage on the others varies widely.)
  
• ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, MyNetworkTV and The CW networks are not available in every city and availability of these local channels varies per service. (Editors' note: CNET is owned by ViacomCBS.)  
• The chart columns are arranged in order of price, so if you can't see everything you want, try scrolling right.

Features comparison

If you've ever used a live TV service to stream, you know it's a lot like cable: There's a grid guide you can choose from live channels and you can "record" shows to a cloud DVR, pause live TV and access some on-demand content. We haven't used TVision yet, but it looks similar on paper. Here's how its features stack up. 

For an explanation of these features (and a lot more) check out our guide to the best live TV streaming services for cord-cutters in 2020.

What else do I need to know about TVision?

Beyond channels and features, TVision has some similarities and major differences compared to the others. Here's a quick list of top-line stuff to know.

• This year TVision will only be available to T-Mobile subscribers.
• Some time next year it will be available to everyone, but it will probably cost more.
• Historically prices for these services increase at a regular clip anyway.
• New subscribers to the $40-and-up packages can get a free one-year subscription to Apple TV Plus and can buy an Apple TV 4K for $99, a savings of $80 from its regular $179 price. 
• Like its streaming competitors (and unlike cable) TVision doesn't require a contract (you can cancel anytime) and doesn't need special equipment to watch on -- just an app.
• TVision apps are available for many TV and mobile devices at launch but not for Roku streamers or TVs.

For more details, including exact device support and information on the $50 TVision Hub streamer, check out our full TVision writeup. We expect to publish our hands-on impressions soon.

Watch this: Live TV streaming services for cord cutters: How to choose the best one for you

02:44

Correction, Oct. 29: Chart updated to include the availability of Newsy, Starz and Epix on Philo.