Digital switchover - is it cheaper to stay with virgin or sky

gilligansyle

I am currently on a contract with Virgin Media, which covers TV broadband and phone. Its not the cheapest package, generally around £30 per month, but I decided to look into freeview as our analogue signal is switching off after October. Also because I don't really watch much TV.

Apart from the cost of the freeview box I will have to have a new TV aerial.

Estimates for this are in the region of £100 to £150. My current TV aerial has a booster on it as we are in a poor signal area and freeview does not work with it. According to the digital website they will increase the digital signal once the analogue is switched off.

So even if I do pay for a new aerial, I will have to have a telephone and broadband provider, so probably won't save money.

Is anyone else in the same position?

I notice that frequently when people post SOA the response is 'get freeview' but from what I can see its more expensive in the short term anyway.

terra_ferma

I too don't have an aerial in my flat, so I've been using Virgin for the first 5-6 years, and now Sky.
I have done some research and I would say the difference in cost is minimal, I'm mainly after the TV on demand and V+.

When I had Virgin broadband I had to get rid off because it was useless, towards the end a couple of years ago the downtime exceeded the times when I could use it. But some people get a very reliable service.

Sky is cheaper, you get more channels but lots of unwatchable cr.. in my opinion, which is why I desperately need TV on demand! You also get downtime when the weather is bad, while Virgin was extremely reliable. You could also rent a movie that would start when you wanted, while Sky have set times and cannot be paused if your best friend calls you with a crisis in the middle of it....

I'm going to have a mix package: Sky telephone and broadband, Virgin tv. Here's a breakdown that I've just emailed to my partner to make the final decision:

SKY:

1) £10 internet 20mb, unlimited download

2) £5 unlimited local and international calls (calls up to 1hr, as long as you remember to hung up and call again)

3) £11 phone line: £1.5 cheaper than BT which I have at the moment

VIRGIN

£27 (and some pence, probably 99): included recorder V+, TV on demand etc etc. ( £49 installation for V+)

TOTAL £53.99
£58 equivalent package with Virgin, but without international calls. Also they have a £7 discount for the first 6 months.
£48.50 with Sky TV, entertainement pack, no TV on demand and you pay £30 installation fee (on top of the same £49 for Sky+, or £199 quoted if you are an existing customer).

Next year's cost (excluding cost of V/Sky + box).
Mixed package: £647.88
Virgin: £654
Sky: £612 (+ free international calls, for comparison Alpha Telecom charges 1.8 pence to call many European countries).

Sorry for the long post, but I hope my research helps compare costs (never looked at freeview, I don't think it's worth me spending money on a new aerial because I want the additional channels and TV on demand that I can have with Virgin).

DevonGirl

You might find further info on this topic on the 'Home and Play' forum, Phones, Web & TV, Digital TV subthread. Hope this helps.

terra_ferma

just found out you can't have sky phone or broadband without tv