Frndly Skinny Bundle Streaming Service Raises Prices; Save With Annual Subscription
The increasingly challenging economics of streaming are leading to price changes across the entertainment landscape and the latest round of rate hikes have finally hit Frndly TV, the skinny-bundle live TV streaming service. All three of the service’s subscription plans increased by $1, however, with the most expensive plan coming in at $11.99 monthly, the streamer is still the cheapest way to watch live, cable channels.
“Since our launch, Frndly TV has been committed to delivering feel-good programming and friendly service, at an even friendlier price,” the company said in a letter subscribers. “We’ve worked hard to avoid increasing our price in spite of rising costs and the investments we’ve made in the service.”
The service’s lowest-priced option raised its rates from $6.99 per month to $7.99. The Basic plan allows viewers to stream channels just on one screen at a time and only in SD video quality. The middle tier in Frndly’s pricing plan is the Classic option. This package went up from $8.99 to $9.99 monthly. The Classic plan improves the video to HD quality, lets viewers watch on two screens simultaneously, and includes an unlimited DVR that keeps recordings for three months.
The most expensive option, the Premium plan, went from $10.99 per month to $11.99. This tier allows customers to keep titles recorded on their DVR for nine months and to stream on four screens at any given time. Despite the price increases, Frndly has kept its seven-day free trial in place for all three of its plans.
While Frndly has raised its prices across the board, it is still giving consumers options to save. If you sign up for an annual subscription, you will receive an additional discount over the monthly rate. The annual Basic plan will run $83.88 (12.5% discount), the Classic plan will be $95.88 (20% discount), and the Premium plan will be $119.88 (16.7% discount).
Frndly is able to keep its prices down because it doesn’t include any of the expensive news and sports channels that drive up the price of most cable and live TV streaming providers. Instead, the service focuses on family-friendly entertainment options. Earlier this week, the streamer became the first national distributor for MeTV+, the sibling channel of the popular classic television channel MeTV.
Currently, Frendly’s channel lineup includes A&E, BabyFirst, Court TV, Crime & Investigation, Curiosity Channel, Decades, Dove Channel, FMC, FETV, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Faith & Living, GetTV, Grit, GSN, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Family, Hallmark Mystery, Heroes & Icons, History, INSP, Ion, Ion Mystery, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Local Now, MeTV, MeTV Toons, Outdoor Channel, PixL, QVC, Sportsman Channel, Start TV, Story Television, The Weather Channel, UPtv, and Vice TV.
Frndly TV
Frndly TV is a live TV streaming service with over 40 channels for $7.99/month. Each plan is designed to provide a skinny bundle of family-friendly channels at a reasonable price. The service will appeal most to fans of Hallmark channels. It does not offer news, sports, or local channels.