TV without Virgin, Sky, BT etc 7 August 2018 at 4:07PM in TV MoneySaving 3 replies 1.1K views

onesixfive

Good Afternoon,
Please forgive my naivety but we are thinking of abandoning the big TV providers & using the newer options.
I am just a little unsure about what's out there.

I'm told when I make enquiries after using uswitch etc that we dont have fibre (whatever that may be) so that limits packages available anyway;
Also it seems I'd simply be paying for

freeview,
plus a box,
plus a one or two premium channels (ie: BT sport).

Whilst hubby likes his sport, I can see alternatives to getting this cheaper.

Forgive me if I've got this wrong:

We have a smart TV.

(dont usually watch movies, but record & watch most TV later)

We are currently on a netflix 30 day trial

(set up by our 12 year old godson!!!) & can already see the benefits for £6 a month.

In preference to the £75 month quoted by virgin to replace our Sky - incl sport (albeit that included phone/broadband, which I've now replaced seperately at £18 with plusnet)...I'd rather have a one-off outlay then cut my monthly spending.

One off fees

Get an aerial £80 (which we dont currently have - assume we'd need).
add something like a NOW TV box/Stick £50
plus a FreeSat Box to record Live TV / Freeview? £200

then
Monthly

Freeview (Nil)
Already have NetFlix £6 month
Sport Pass – monthly £20?

Does all this sound correct?
or do we need more/less - I don't want to sound dim when I go shopping for these items !!

[Deleted User]

Freeview = Aerial
Freesat = Satellite

If Sky from Satellite Disk -

You say you have a working Sky system currently so you can just cancel Sky and buy a Freesat Recorder box which will just replace the old Sky box. Like the Humax HDR-1100S https://www.freesat.co.uk/get-freesat/boxes/hdr1100s-humax
(I did this 9 years ago and is a simple case of unplugging Sky box and plugging in the Freesat box using the same cables as Sky used)

If Sky by Virgin cabe

Then use you will need to pay for an aerial to be installed first, Then purchase a Freeview Recorder like the Panasonic DMR-HWT150EB or Humax FVP-5000T

And finally

Then you can use the Netflix subscription on the Humax or Panasonic as it has a Netflix app built-in.

And if you require sports from Sky then, as you said, buy the Now TV box and a sports pass.

Bigphil1474

OP, your smart TV may have the Now TV app - so you don't need a box. The Now TV sports pass is normally £32 a month - I think £20 may be a special offer, unless you mean BT sport. You can get deals with them, so try and avoid paying full price.


As you are with PlusNet, look at their TV offerings. PlusNet TV was £5 a month when I had it, which includes their YouView box (can record TV and has built in apps) It includes some extra channels like Dave HD and others which aren't on freeview. Their BT sport basic is a bit extra, and full BT sport is more. There is some decent sport on their, plus good football coverage. You also have to pay extra for extra HD channels as well. Probably still cheaper than Sky sports. I would have kept with PlusNet but needed faster BB so went to virgin network.

JJ_Egan

Key is what actual sports you want .
Sport on Freeview

BT Sport
Sky Sports .
Now TV had a half price years Sky Sports last week .


Must admit i could not find a reasonable way to get BT Sports and Sky Sports .