If you're an entertainment fan in the UK, then Sky TV is the way to go. This premium streaming service gives subscribers a wide range of live channels and on-demand videos and movies, with a subscription to Netflix and Discovery Plus bundled on top.
It's not cheap, though. 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?
The cheapest price you can pay for access to Sky TV is £15 per month, which is for Sky Essential TV.
This is a new tier created at the end of 2024, which gives you access to Netflix and Discovery Plus as well as the Sky Atlantic library. This latter feature is likely what lots of people are signing up for in the first place.
There are more tiers though, which cost you more. Here's what you're looking at:
- Essential TV - from £15 (Sky Stream, Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Discovery Plus)
- Essential TV, Sky Cinema - from £25 (Sky Stream, Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Discovery Plus, Sky Cinema)
- Essential TV, Sky Sports - from £35 (Sky Stream, Sky Atlantic, Netflix, Discovery Plus, Sky Sports)
- Ultimate TV, from £22 (Sky Stream, Ultimate TV, Netflix, Discovery Plus)
- Ultimate TV, Sky Cinema - from £32 (Sky Stream, Ultimate TV, Netflix, Discovery Plus, Sky Cinema)
- Sky Q, Ultimate TV - from £31 (Sky Q, Ultimate TV, Netflix, Discovery Plus)
So what do you get from all those different tiers? Let's dig in.
What are the key Sky TV plans?
What is Sky Essential TV?
If you're purely interested for the basic Sky TV offering, you’ll want Sky Essential TV.
This includes subscriptions to Netflix and Discovery Plus, as well as a Sky Stream streaming dongle and access to Sky Atlantic.
Sky Atlantic is a video-on-demand library which largely consists of big-budget TV shows from the US and UK. The headline-grabbers are HBO shows like Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and The Penguin but there are more like The Day of the Jackal and Sweetpea.
The Sky Essential TV plan doesn't include live channels. For that, you'll need plans that have...
What is Sky Ultimate TV?
Ultimate TV is offered in Sky's pricier plans, in lieu of Sky Atlantic, although if you're on Ultimate TV you can see all of Sky Atlantic's offerings.
The bonus with Ultimate TV is a slew of live TV channels, both Sky-made and third-party.
The Sky channels include Sky Witness, Sky Max, Sky Comedy and Sky Documentaries.
On top of that you get popular channels like Comedy Central, National Geographic and MTV. In total there are over 140 channels, 12 of which are Sky's ones.
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!
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