Yesterday I received a special offer ( CODE AC162FS36U ) from Cox Cable to subscribe to their Contour Flex Starter for $15/month which includes all my local channels plus HBO. This fits my viewing habits almost perfectly.
Like many people, we cut the cord with cable TV about three years ago in favor of a single high-speed Internet connection. However, this left us needing to use a digital antenna to pick up local channels. We watch most local channels OTA (over the air) but there are a few where the reception is poor. Contour Flex Starter fills these gaps perfectly. Unfortunately, there are a few misconceptions about Cox Contour Flex which include wrong information given the Cox telephone representatives. Here’s what Cox Contour Flex will (and won’t) do.
The Pros and Cons of Cox Contour Flex Starter
It seems you must have an offer code to take advantage of this $15 a month offer (try OFFER CODE AC162FS36U). Prior to a recent mailing, the lowest price I’d been offered was $20/month. Sometimes the offer included HBO, and sometimes it was just for TV channels. You likely need to ONLY subscribe to Cox internet. I don’t believe the offer applies to anyone who also subscribes to Cox cable TV. If you take Cox up on the offer they email be sure they activate HBO.
When I spoke to Cox they said that their Contour 2 app would allow for streaming content both in and out of my house. This is incorrect. In order to stream LIVE content you must be connected to your home WiFi. You can use your Cox login to connect to apps for other channels included in your bundle (ex. HBO) and some of those apps may allow for streaming outside your home. The Contour 2 app requires that you are connected to your Cox WiFi.
The offer is for access to basic cable via the Contour 2 app ( iTunes) or (Google Play) or the internet.
It does not include any cable box and there is no need for a separate installation. Within 15 minutes of activating the offer, I was able to log in and view live content.
If you take Cox up on the offer they email be sure they activate HBO. I had to prompt my Cox representative to verify that they added HBO and at that point, they asked for my offer code.
Remember: The biggest drawback of Contour Flex Starter? It only works when you are using your home WiFi. You cannot leave your house and stream live television using the Contour 2 app. (Note: This is the same as the restriction that most cable companies such as Xfinity impose).
I was able to download HBO GO and create a user code/login based upon my Cox access code. HBO Go will work away from WiFi. Based upon this, I’m thinking that any of the channels included in the bundle with an app will probably let you access content away from WiFi.
A partial channel lineup for my area includes every local OTA (over the air) channel plus several cable channels including HLN, HBO:
My local channels include both regular and HD (High Definition) live feeds, and I can watch on up to 5 simultaneous devices.
To view other popular channels not included in the starter bundle we continue to “borrow” access from other subscribers who’ve lent their cable login. This provides us access to popular channels such as AMC which are not included in this Cox Contour Flex Starter bundle.
Is this a good deal? Certainly, yes, for anyone having trouble pulling down all their local channels. The limited number of included channels (there is no CNN or Weather Channel or Discovery) means that you’ll likely need to have alternate ways to view favorite shows on those channels.
This is a bad deal for anyone who wants to stream live local channels while away from home. It simply won’t work (read the app reviews for tales of woe from those who have tried).
I think this is a great option for basic viewing of local and a few basic cable channels. The addition of HBO and ability to view CBS online means that I’ll be able to cancel two services that combined I’d been paying over $20/mo for.
This offer may not be available in every region and I cannot guarantee the offer code will work for others. Also, remember that Contour Flex Starter appears targeted to those only using Cox Internet and the Contour 2 app requires that you are using your home WiFi in order to stream live content as a majority of negative reviews of the service appear to have incorrectly believed they could stream content outside their home.