Is PlusNet TV any good?

AuronGrande

I've been eyeballing PlusNet TV. My mum has TalkTalk TV and it's not so bad.

From looking at the PlusNet website, I can see what channels are provided in what TV packages. I'll simply list what channels I tend to watch on Sky.

Animal Planet
Discovery Channels
Nat Geo Channels
Sky1
Plus some Freeview channels like BBC.

I would like movies as a bonus, but I not keen on Netflix.

Any suggestions? Is PlusNet TV any good?

JJ_Egan

is it not just BT TV .

AuronGrande

I don't know. However, I have negative interest in Sports channels, so BT Sports is something I don't want.

[Deleted User]

I'm guessing you need an aerial so wouldn't work for me, only have a satellite dish. And poor internet speed less than 6mb. Thanks Open Reach.

Robin9

AuronGrande wrote: »

I don't know. However, I have negative interest in Sports channels, so BT Sports is something I don't want.

BY Sports is now an optional extra.

Bigphil1474

I have Plusnet TV and it's pretty good. The youview + box is excellent - does what you need - record, series record, reminders, pause, rewind etc. It has built in apps - BBC, Netflix and Now TV are the ones I use mostly (subscription is separate).
You should note that the basic PlusNet TV doesn't include the HD version of the extra channels, you pay a bit extra for that. I've been with PlusNet a few years, and they offered me the TV free for 12 months on an 18 month contract - normal price is £5 a month. They also provided the box free (refunded P&P) and no activation fee. So worth haggling. Far as I know, you can only get it with the fibre deal.
The extra channels are pretty good, I record a lot of NatGeo, Discovery etc. My package doesn't include Sky 1 - not sure if they do it tbh. The sport is only basic with the basic TV package - BT1, and Eurosport. The full BT sport package is extra, but if you don't need it, you don't need to pay for it.

AuronGrande

craigr98 wrote: »

I'm guessing you need an aerial so wouldn't work for me, only have a satellite dish. And poor internet speed less than 6mb. Thanks Open Reach.

Fortunately for me, a year after the digital switch over, our Council Housing updated our aerial system. We now have a rather large sattelite dish and an equally large aerial on the side of the building.

AuronGrande

Bigphil1474 wrote: »

I have Plusnet TV and it's pretty good. The youview + box is excellent - does what you need - record, series record, reminders, pause, rewind etc. It has built in apps - BBC, Netflix and Now TV are the ones I use mostly (subscription is separate).
You should note that the basic PlusNet TV doesn't include the HD version of the extra channels, you pay a bit extra for that. I've been with PlusNet a few years, and they offered me the TV free for 12 months on an 18 month contract - normal price is £5 a month. They also provided the box free (refunded P&P) and no activation fee. So worth haggling. Far as I know, you can only get it with the fibre deal.
The extra channels are pretty good, I record a lot of NatGeo, Discovery etc. My package doesn't include Sky 1 - not sure if they do it tbh. The sport is only basic with the basic TV package - BT1, and Eurosport. The full BT sport package is extra, but if you don't need it, you don't need to pay for it.

Two days ago I got in touch with BT to find out how much it would cost in cancellation fees if I switched. They said I wouldn't be charged. So I ordered PlusNet. When they checked my address, they would only offer me Fibre, not regular Broadband. Doesn't matter anyway as I need the higher speeds. So early next month I will be switched over to PlusNet.

I also got in touch with Sky to find out how much on cancellation. Well, after repeatedly telling them that I won't accept any offer they give me (they wanted to offer me everything I have at a reduced price for 6 months. That's reduce £44 down to £33.) I've now cancelled Sky and being charged £12 cancellation fee.

I will get PlusNet TV once my Internet is switched over (they don't allow you to order the TV at the same time. You need to order seperately when your Broadband is active.) Looks like I'll be paying £5 a month for the Youview+, then add £6 a month for Entertainment Plus and HD.

In total I am saving this much.

BT £60pm
Sky £44pm

PlusNet package £30pm
PlusNet TV will be £11pm

In total, I will save £63pm

Hands up who doesn't think that's a good amount? :T

AWB70

I have been on Plusnet TV for a while and like the above poster saved a fortune from Sky. Basically PN is the BT package re-branded as they are basically a sister company selling BT products at a lower price and their customer support is excellent, I've been with them 15years on broadband and never had in issue resolved straight away even though there have been few.

The box you get is great but definitely needs a standard aerial as that's how you get your freeview channels. The paid for channels are I.P channels so they need to come down your internet hence why you have to have fibre first and your line tested. I don't think they will activate TV unless you can get a minimum of 15mbps otherwise you'll have a bad experience especially with HD channels.

Another thing worth pointing out is you need to have a set of home plug adapters which you can either buy from PN or get your own so you need a spare 240v socket spare near your PN box and one near your router as the box has no wifi. Best plugged directly into a socket and not extensions as this can degrade the signal.

A bonus is you can add/cancel your packages with a months notice and each package is about £2 or £3. Basically it's like Sky entertainment pack but cheaper and you can pick and choose which ones you want. Downside is you lose Sky box sets but I use Netflix for those.

Another bonus is the referral scheme, if you get someone else to sign up they knock money off your bill. I always recommend PN to anybody I know because I haven't had any issues with them regardless of referrals so for what its worth if you fancy it my user name is awb70uk so don't forget to give me a mention if you sign up. Someone might as well benefit.

Definitely worth a haggle as well. Phone them up and see what they can offer, generally speaking you will get a better deal off the sales team than on the site even though they are quite competitive to start with. One thing I do like about PN is they usually phone you as you are coming out of contract to offer you something rather than you having to threaten to cancel. The retentions team are quite flexible.

I got free activation which is usually £50 and free HD channels for 6 months.