PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

PCMag UK

Sprint TV

Sascha Segan
 & Sascha Segan Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
- Sprint TV
3.5 Good

The Bottom Line

Pricing plans are confusing, but there's a lot of programming.

Pros & Cons

    • Lots of content, including live channels and clips.
    • Smooth delivery.
    • Confusing pricing plans.
    • No program guide.
    • No full-screen mode.

Sprint's Sprint TV streaming service has a vast number of channels, which is why it received an Editors' Choice in PC Magazine's previous mobile-TV roundup last year. But its confusing pricing plans and difficult navigation are looking less and less state-of-the-art, resulting in a lower rating now.

Sprint has three basic packages. One combines live, streamed channels provided by MobiTV (many simulcasts of basic cable channels) and, sometimes, baskets of on-demand video clips. The Sprint Power View channel has exclusive sports shows and concerts. Sprint TV Live, the best package for live-TV enthusiasts, costs $9.99 a month for 20 live channels.

Beyond that, there are dozens of other content providers buried in Sprint's system, everything from familiar TV names such as Noggin, VH1, and ESPN to made-for-Sprint specials such as "Swimsuit TV" and a comic-book channel sponsored by Marvel Comics impresario Stan Lee. Each of those extra channels costs, well, extra, usually $3 to $5 a month. This strategy lets you build an entertainment package to fit your tastes, but it can quickly run up large monthly bills. Unfortunately, there's no program guide to tell you what's on now or next.

Sprint's channels buffer quickly and play much more smoothly than MobiTV on Cingular, but its media player still has no full-screen mode. There's definitely plenty in here to keep you busy, but the system isn't nearly as easy to use, or the video as high-quality, as Verizon's Mobile TV.

More mobile service reviews:

Final Thoughts

- Sprint TV

Sprint TV

3.5 Good

Pricing plans are confusing, but there's a lot of programming.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

  • US and Canadian mobile networks
  • Mobile phones released in the US
  • iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
  • Mobile hotspots
  • Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services. 

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

Read the latest from Sascha Segan

Read full bio