In the UK, Sky TV is the main 'premium' streaming service, comparable in many ways to the US' live TV streaming services. It's an all-in-one entertainment bundle that serves a wide range of audiences.
You can use Sky TV to watch from its various TV channels, to stream from its busy video-on-demand library, to catch some of the biggest sporting tournaments, and also to watch Netflix as a subscription to that streamer is part of the default Sky package.
All of this isn't free, though, nor is it even cheap. The default Sky TV package is much more expensive than most standard streaming services like Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus or Prime Video due to its wide range of content. That's before you pick add-ons like sports, cinema or kids' bundles.
Plus, some new subscribers might get confused by all the various packages and bundles, especially with Sky often tweaking pricing and adding deals on the fly.
To give you a helping hand, we've taken a look at all the big Sky TV packages to help answer some of your burning questions about the service and to make it easier to find the perfect bundle to suit your needs.
What is the Sky TV price?
For its basic package, Sky Entertainment & Netflix, Sky TV costs £26 per month (a figure which fluctuates based on various Sky TV deals). But if you pay more each month, you can get extra packages:
- Sky Sports — £25 per month
- Sky Cinema — £11 per month
- Sky Kids — £6 per month
- BT Sport — £28 per month
- Netflix Standard / Premium upgrade — £4 / £8 per month
- UHD & Dolby Atmos — £6 per month
- Ability to skip ads: — £5 per month
So what do you get from all those different tiers? Let's dig in.
What is the basic Sky package?
If you're purely interested for the basic Sky TV offering, you’ll want Sky Entertainment & Netflix. You may also see it referred to as the 'Sky Original Bundle' and 'Sky Entertainment' but those have been phased out in favour of this newer name.
This is Sky's revamped core option. For £26 a month (alongside a set-up fee of up to £49), you're getting a lot for your money. The ultimate TV package offers you over 300 channels on contracts that typically last 18 months.
You'll likely recognize about half of these channels from Freeview, but you're still getting over 100 more channels than you'd have access to without a Sky subscription. As a new customer, you'll either be able to use the latest Sky set-top box, Sky Q, or you can opt for the Sky Glass TV which allows you to stream every channel over WiFi without the hassle of having a satellite dish or box installed.
You may struggle to find the option for just a Sky Signature package. That’s because the smallest TV package you can get is found with the Make It Your Own bundle and includes Sky TV — or Sky Signature — plus the Ultimate TV Add On (an upgrade that includes Netflix access).
If this is as much as you want, you can stop there and check out, but you’ll be asked to consider TV extras to customize your package. Just click through, and you'll eventually be able to stick with this £26 a month option.
Some of the channels you'll get with this package include:
- Sky Atlantic
- Sky Max
- Sky Showcase
- Sky Comedy
- Sky Witness
- Sky History
- Sky Crime
- Sky Documentaries
- Sky Nature
- National Geographic
- Discovery
- Sky Sports News
- Sky Sports Racing
- Sky Sports Mix
- Eurosport 1
- Eurosport 2
- Zee TV
- Utsav
- B4U
- MTV Base
- MTV Hits
- MTV Music
- MTV Classic
What are the extra Sky TV packages?
Sky Sports
The main package is Sky Sports, which lets you access 11 different channels with 24/7 sports coverage. They are:
- Sky Sports main event
- Sky Sports Premier League
- Sky Sports football
- Sky Sports cricket
- Sky Sports golf
- Sky Sports racing
- Sky Sports F1
- Sky Sports action
- Sky Sports arena
- Sky Sports news
- Sky Sports mix
Most of these titles are self explanatory: 'Premier League' is for Premier League football while 'football' is for other football games, 'cricket' is for cricket, 'golf' is for golf, 'F1' is for Formula 1.
Main Event is for the biggest games while racing is for non-motorsport racing, action is for combat sports, arena is for assorted arena sports (mainly American ones like NBA and NFL), news is for news shows and Mix is for things that don't fit elsewhere.
Sky Cinema
If you’re less into sports but love a good movie, the Sky Cinema package is perfect for you. It’s priced at £11 a month and gives you the benefit of over 1000 HD movies on demand, plus its where you'll find all Sky Original movies.
Sky Cinema offers cutting-edge options, including the latest cinema blockbusters and winners from major ceremonies such as the BAFTAs and Oscars, and now comes with everything on Paramount Plus at no additional cost to you, making it even greater value than before.
The Sky Cinema package comes with a number of channels:
- Sky Cinema Action
- Sky Cinema Animation
- Sky Cinema Comedy
- Sky Cinema Drama
- Sky Cinema Family
- Sky Cinema Greats
- Sky Cinema Hits
- Sky Cinema Premiere
- Sky Cinema Premiere +1
- Sky Cinema Sci-Fi and Horror
- Sky Cinema Select
- Sky Cinema Thriller
- Paramount Plus
Temporary channels also crop up from time to time, both for holiday periods (such as Sky Christmas) or themed around specific genres or themes like Sky Disney.
There's also one final benefit to being a Sky Cinema customer: Sky Cinema customers get 20% off Sky Store rentals.
Sky Kids
The Sky Q, Sky TV, Netflix & Kids package is ideal for those who want the basic option plus extra channels to help entertain the whole family. The three basic branches of this package are Sky TV (Sky Ultimate), the Ultimate TV Add-On (Netflix) and Sky Kids.
This bundle costs £32 a month plus set-up and nets you the whole gamut of Sky Kids content. With the Kids package,you get 8 Kids channels, 10,000 on-demand episodes of Kids shows and hours of educational content to boot.
Plus, you get access to the dedicated Sky Kids App, which allows your little ones to stream shows and play games on the go. You can also create individual profiles for each child on the app, and keep them from accessing inappropriate content with Kids Safe Mode.
The 8 Kids Channels are
- BabyTV
- Boomerang
- Cartoonito
- Cartoon Network
- Nickelodeon
- Nick Jr.
- Nick Jr. Too
- Nicktoons
BT Sport
While BT Sport is soon to be folded into TNT Sports, for now you can still subscribe. It offers separate channels to Sky Sports:
- BT Sport 1
- BT Sport 2
- BT Sport 3
- BT Sport 4
- BT Sport Ultimate
Each has an assorted mix of whatever sport BT Sport has licensing rights to, including some international football, cricket and US college basketball.
BT Sport Ultimate is for high-resolutino and high-quality-audio streaming of live sports.
Netflix Upgrade
The Netflix Upgrade package is simple. While the base package has Netflix included, it's for the Basic tier.
You can upgrade to Standard for £4, which gets you 1080p streaming and extra screens to stream on, or Premium for £8, which offers 4K streaming and even more screens.
UHD & Dolby Atmos upgrade
For £6 per month on top of your package, you unlike the ability to stream in UHD and with Dolby Atmos.
UHD is a video resolution which equates to 4K, so if you have a 4K TV or screen this option will let you make the most of it. Dolby Atmos is for high-quality audio that'll let your new soundbar shine.
Ad skipping
Finally, for £5 per month you can buy the ability to skip ads, so you don't have to watch through them when you'd much rather be watching TV or a movie.
FAQs
Is there a free trial?
Although there is not a Sky TV free trial, you will be making savings on your monthly entertainment subscriptions by combining Netflix with on-demand Sky Originals and box sets. There aren’t many providers out there which provide such a diverse range of content in mix-and-match bundles.
Can you get Sky without a dish?
If you order a Sky TV package with the Sky Q set-top box (the newer version of the older Sky TV box), you will be prompted to book an installation when you check out. On the day of your installation, the engineer will bring along the Sky Q box, the satellite dish, remote, cables, and so on.
However, if you don’t want to get Sky with a dish, you have some alternative options. One is going for a Sky Glass TV package — the Sky Glass is a special TV that has Sky included, so all you need is a WiFi connection.
Another choice is NOW, Sky’s subscription-based internet TV streaming service. You can buy access using passes — for example, the Entertainment pass is £9.99 a month and provides both live and on-demand TV.
With NOW, you can stream content from your smartphone, tablet or laptop — or cast it to your smart TV. If you really don't want (or can't) have a Sky dish on your building then alternatives to consider are BT or Virgin Media.
Do I need a Sky box if I have a smart TV?
The only smart TV which will connect to Sky without the Sky Q box is the Sky Glass, which has been specifically designed to stream Sky content. Any other smart TV will require both the Sky Q box and a satellite dish in order to get your package up and running.
Why should I become a Sky TV customer?
Sky is a top choice for consumers across the UK, and for good reason. It provides a convenient and all-encompassing range of packages to suit every taste, whether you prefer the latest cinema releases or in-depth live sports coverage. You can adjust your package based on how much or little you want at your disposal, and the brand has decades of experience and trust behind it.
Are Sky TV deals available to existing customers?
If you want to upgrade your package, you may be able to do so with the same savings a new customer would get. For example, if you want to get an offer that provides two months of Sky Kids, HD, or similar for free, you can click on the deal on the Sky website, then log into your account.
From there, you will see if the deal can be applied to your account. When it comes to promotions such as Black Friday deals, you could be eligible but with some contracts, a fee may apply.
What happened to Sky One?
Those of you who have grown up with Sky One will most likely be wondering where it’s gone. As of September 2021, the channel was replaced with two new Sky-branded ones called Sky Showcase and Sky Max. These are available to watch with the Sky Go app or as part of your Sky TV package.
How to subscribe
- Navigate to sky.com/deals.
- Choose your package and click on Get Started.
- Select any add-ons, then click on Continue.
- Click on Continue with just TV if you don’t want to add broadband.
- Fill out your details - Title, First name, Last name, Date of birth, Phone number and Email address.
- Enter your postcode and click on Find Address.
- Select your address from the drop-down menu. Specify if there are any parking or access restrictions using the subsequent drop-down menus.
- Book an appointment for an engineer to come and install your equipment. You will be presented with a calendar so you can choose a time and date which works for you.
- Download the Sky Go app so you can begin watching while you wait for the appointment.
- Download the My Sky App in case you need to change your appointment.
- Enter your payment card details for the one-off payment to cover set-up costs.
- Type in your Direct Debit details to set up monthly payments, or opt to use the same card you just entered the details for.
- Confirm that you are authorized to make payments from the bank account.
- Confirm you have agreed to Sky’s Terms and Conditions.
- Click on Confirm Order. You’re now ready to start watching!
All the latest Sky TV packages and deals
