No Aeriel - Am I stuck with Virgin?

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Bunnylaw
Bunnylaw Posts: 21 Forumite
in TV MoneySaving
Just wondering if anyone is or has been in a similiar position as us. We've been with NTL/Virgin Media for a little over 10 years now. We pay around £40 for our telephone, BB and TV (all pretty basic stuff, we have a phone add on for Evening and Weekend Calls).

I know of some reasonable deals with BB and phone however, I think we are really stuck for the TV element. We would ideally like something that is anti subscription, or well, cheap - Just because we don't really watch it, just news in the morning and kids TV after school. But as the topic states, we don't have an aeriel, we've had a quote of £160 for an install and while I'm not against shelling out, I was wondering if anyone knew of any alternatives which might suit - There are so many about now, Freeview, Freesat, NowTV, TopUp TV - I haven't got a clue if we actually need the aeriel or not, and if not, whether it's worth the investment).

Thanks in advance
L
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. -Abraham Lincoln
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Comments

  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215 Forumite
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    Freeview is terrestrial needs an aerial.
    Youview is terrestrial needs an aerial and an internet connection.
    Freesat needs a satellite dish, some also have an internet connection.
    Now TV is an internet service.
    That gum you like is coming back in style.
  • Cycrow
    Cycrow Posts: 2,639 Forumite
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    You may be able to drop the price of virgin abit, if you drop down to thier TV M service, which is basically freeview. This with phone and BB should be around £30.

    For the BB, have you already checked what is available to you?
  • Kurtis_Blue
    Kurtis_Blue Posts: 2,217 Forumite
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    Bunnylaw wrote: »
    But as the topic states, we don't have an aeriel, we've had a quote of £160 for an install and while I'm not against shelling out,

    Get a few more quotes, whilst that may not be an out of range quote, you will probably get it a bit cheaper for a standard property install some installers are struggling post DSO.
    Stay away from the national company's and call a few locals from CAI or RDI.
  • Fruit_and_Nut_Case
    Fruit_and_Nut_Case Posts: 4,617 Forumite
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    Kurtis_Blue wrote: »
    Get a few more quotes, whilst that may not be an out of range quote, you will probably get it a bit cheaper for a standard property install some installers are struggling post DSO.
    Stay away from the national company's and call a few locals from CAI or RDI.
    For those unfamiliar with the abbreviations...
    Are you for real? - Glass Half Empty??
    :coffee:
  • socks_uk
    socks_uk Posts: 2,813 Forumite
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    edited 14 April 2014 at 10:03AM
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    We currently don't have a working TV aerial (my husband laid loft boards and we think he has cut/unplugged the cable!)

    We watch free TV through our Sky box which is still plugged in even though we stopped our Sky contract a while ago. We also have a little NOW TV box which I pay £4.99 (a month) but 'when I choose to' for the entertainment package. When I don't pay the £4.99 I just use it for catch-up for BBC iplayer, 4OD and 5 on Demand. I do believe ITV Player is coming later in the year.

    I also have a cable that plugs from my laptop to the TV so I can watch anything that can be viewed online but on my TV so everyone can see the screen.

    ETA: If you cancelled Virgin TV, would you still get the 'free' channels on the box like we do with the Sky box?
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 26,612 Forumite
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    socks_uk wrote: »
    If you cancelled Virgin TV, would you still get the 'free' channels on the box like we do with the Sky box?
    Virgin don't provide any service to non-subscribers, so the answer is no.


    In your case, it's the satellite dish receiving the Free-To-Air channels via your
    non-subscribed Sky box.

    Virgin simply cut the feed and no channels are available to non-customers via cable.
  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215 Forumite
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    Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »
    For those unfamiliar with the abbreviations...
    Nothing like a good TLA, three letter acronym.
    That gum you like is coming back in style.
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,098 Forumite
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    Even a new aerial at around £100 will earn the investment back in just 2.5 months.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • Cycrow
    Cycrow Posts: 2,639 Forumite
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    macman wrote: »
    Even a new aerial at around £100 will earn the investment back in just 2.5 months.

    Thats not actually true, for 2.5 months would mean a saving £40 a month.

    But the £40/month they are paying is for phone, broadband and tv, not just for TV.

    They will still have to pay for the phone/broadband
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,098 Forumite
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    Correct. But the same prinicple applies nevertheless. It's daft to pay for a subscription TV service for ever, rather than invest in an aerial or sat dish, if you don't watch the subscription channels.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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