Charter's Skinny Bundle Experiment Isn't Quite What It Seems

Charter Communications is the latest cable TV provider to experiment with a so-called "skinny bundle" package. Like Dish Network's Sling TV, Charter's "Spectrum" offering includes a small number of television channels at a reduced price. But there are some big problems with the idea, at least in its current incarnation.

Spectrum is currently being Beta tested in the company's St. Louis market and the package is obviously targeting viewers who don't have cable television. The Spectrum offer includes a free Roku 3 and it's being advertised as costing as little as $12.99 a month. But as it turns out, that price isn't quite accurate.

The base Spectrum service includes the local TV channels plus HBO or Showtime for $12.99/mo. You can add on some additional cable TV channels for an additional few bucks (bringing the package price to $19.99). Except that it really costs customers more than that, since a $5.19 per month "local broadcast TV charge" is added to the bill. Which means that the $12.99/mo base price really only pays for HBO or Showtime.

Like Sling TV, customers can only stream to one device at a time and access seems to be limited to the Roku 3 app. And when compared to the Sling TV lineup, while Spectrum does include local channels along with FX, Hallmark, Discovery, Net Geo, and TLC, it doesn't include some channels carried by Sling, including ESPN2, TNT, El Rey, Cartoon Network, IFC, Disney, CNN, Bloomberg TV, Galavision and Travel. Sling TV also allows customers to add other tiers of programming for an additional $5 per month per tier.

Charter's Spectrum is a good alternative to Sling TV, if you realize what it's going to cost you. A package with local channels, some cable and HBO or Showtime is going to run close to $30 a month. Which is a good deal overall and the programming certainly fits the definition of a "skinny bundle." But whether it's complete enough for the needs of its target audience remains to be seen.

Charter Communications has declined to discuss further plans for Spectrum and has no immediate plans to discuss subscriber numbers.