Sky now too expensive? Best options from experience?

LeightonP72

Hi,
We are paying £88 per month for Sky TV and have been with them for over 20 years.  My broadband and landlines are with EE.
I'm now looking to cancel Sky as we are not watching any of the less conventional channels and in Sky Sports I watch the Sunday football matches only when there is a 'big' game.
I have a freeview TV so am assuming with a decent indoor aerial I can get some  channels through that. Also I could pay for the odd football game through a one-off NOW TV subscription?
We play a lot of films/TV series on the YouTube or BBC I Player apps from a mobile so we wouldn't lose out there.
The only thing would be recording and storing some good TV programmes.
Any advice on this please?

Neil49

I have a Manhattan pvr for recording freeview based programmes and it works well. It also includes iplayer itv x and other mainstream apps as well. 

Ideally you should consider an external tv aerial to ensure that you get the best possible signal and high definition channels through freeview where available.

Brie

Freeview or Freesat.  We've been perfectly happy with those.  Added in Netflix a few years back because I like some of their series and the ease of picking a list of movies I might want to watch.  

oldernonethewiser

LeightonP72 said:

Hi,
We are paying £88 per month for Sky TV and have been with them for over 20 years.  My broadband and landlines are with EE.
I'm now looking to cancel Sky as we are not watching any of the less conventional channels and in Sky Sports I watch the Sunday football matches only when there is a 'big' game.
I have a freeview TV so am assuming with a decent indoor aerial I can get some  channels through that. Also I could pay for the odd football game through a one-off NOW TV subscription?
We play a lot of films/TV series on the YouTube or BBC I Player apps from a mobile so we wouldn't lose out there.
The only thing would be recording and storing some good TV programmes.
Any advice on this please?

An outdoor aerial would be much better if possible.  

A Firestick, or similar, might be a worthwhile investment. 

ididgetwhereiamtoday

If you're in the apple eco system then an apple tv 4k would be an option. There's an app called TV launcher which is supposed to be really good (I think it's about £4.99 one off payment) that gives you an EPG. Messing about with ariels and the like is APITA and can be costly to set up. All you would need is decent broadband.
I'm sure google/android have a similar option but the Apple TV 4k is very highly regarded. Check youtube for reviews.

molerat

IMO $ky has never not been too expensive !

poppasmurf_bewdley

It's cheaper to go to the pub, buy a pint and watch the match there than buy a daily pass. 

TheNorthStar

ididgetwhereiamtoday said:

If you're in the apple eco system then an apple tv 4k would be an option. There's an app called TV launcher which is supposed to be really good (I think it's about £4.99 one off payment) that gives you an EPG. Messing about with ariels and the like is APITA and can be costly to set up. All you would need is decent broadband.
I'm sure google/android have a similar option but the Apple TV 4k is very highly regarded. Check youtube for reviews.

Apple TV is a slick system, although a lot of the apps are available on most smart TV's it's a convenient interface and simple remote. It's just a shame you can't record to the Apple TV. 

flashg67

I've just swapped Sky for a freesat recorder  - essentially sky without their channels, and plugs straight in to the sky dish leads - so far we haven't missed it. If you have an aerial then freeview recorders do the same and are a bit cheaper. Consider a NOW TV streaming subscription if you're missing some of the Sky channels

GrubbyGirl_2

No need for aerial is you already have a dish, just get a freesat box.  I don't miss sky at all

HaroldWhistler

Depending on your internet speed, you could effectively get a lot of Freeview via the internet using a Streaming box and for the Football you do choose to watch you can subscribe as and when to NOW Sports as you said.

You could go for a Firestick and access the Channel apps manually.

Alternatively, the Apple TV 4K Box is a really quick and great system. It operates smoothly with a very clean interface. You can do a one off purchase of a very useful app called TVLauncher which gives you a TV guide as well. Then you can select programmes from the Guide and the system should open up the respective App and channel feed automatically. 

Even without the TVLauncher, you can also use the Voice assistant on the Apple TV's remote and say a Channel name (e.g. "BBC Two Live", or "ITV1 Live") and the system should open up the Channel feed for you. 

If you have two of them in two different rooms, you also have a "Watch now/next" feature row on your screen from which you can resume what you were watching in the other room if both Apple TV boxes are set up on the same Apple ID.