Since Setanta’s demise there has been some indecision in the market place about which digital TV package is best for the armchair sports fan.As most people will now be aware, ESPN has stepped in and taken Setanta’s Barclays Premier League matches for the upcoming season and beyond. ESPN have also managed to secure the rights for the upcoming Scottish Premier League season onwards.
ESPN’s rights to the English and Scottish football content is set to be a core part of their new channel which by all reports is destined to be on the Sky platform. It is not known yet if the likes of Virgin Media and BT Vision will be able to broadcast ESPN’s new channel in the near future.
The channel will launch on the 3rd of August and will almost certainly replace the ESPN America channel that is currently on Sky. Pricing for Sky Sports customers and non Sky Sports customerswill be £9 and £12 per month respectively.
Away from ESPN there are still loads of options out there so whether you’re a soccer pro or a soccer mum there is definitely a sports TV package that is suited to you.
Sport available free to air
Before paying for sport, it is worth reminding ourselves what is available free to air on Freeview. The answer is not a lot more than you will get on BBC and ITV. But there is a lot to choose from on the BBC and ITV this summer. The BBC’s highlights include: the continuing Formula 1 season, the London Athletics Grand Prix, FINA World Swimming Championships and Rugby League action from the Super League. ITV also have the England World Cup qualifiers (home games) which kick off again in September 2009.
The only additional sports channel on Freeview is Sky Sports News, though Freesat, the subscription-free satellite service offers BBC and ITV in high definition, so you can watch the Hungarian F1 for example in HD.
Free to air channels offer a small dose of sport on a limited budget but the serious sports fan will have to splash a little more cash to get the full range of sport this summer, especially if you want to watch live English Premier League and Scottish Premier League matches from your living room.
ESPN are the new kids on the English and Scottish football block. Let’s hope they stick around longer than these guys did.
For the serious sports fan – the cheapest way to get Sky Sports
Sky Sports includes 92 live Barclays Premier League games (with the season beginning again on 8th August), UEFA Champions League, Live International Cricket, Guinness Premiership Rugby, live NFL, Ryder Cup and PGA European Tour Golf.
Sky Sports’ summer highlights include: the Ashes, which is already underway, US Open Golf and the US PGA Championship in August, US Open tennis and of course the start of the Barclays Premier League.
The best value way of getting Sky Sports is buying as part of a digital TV, broadband and home phone bundle. Sky, Virgin Media and Tiscali all offer Sky Sports as part of a “triple play” bundle.
Tiscali TV offer Sky Sports, as part of its TV, broadband and home phone bundle for £47.49 per month including line rental, but it does not come with high definition TV (HDTV). In addition it has a £99 upfront cost.
Sky offers perhaps the value of all as it has the great advantage of a wide choice of channels in high definition including the Sky Sports channels.
Sky+HD (with HDTV channels), Sky Sports, up to 10 Mb/s Sky Broadband; and free evening and weekend calls with Sky Talk costs £50.25 per month, excluding line rental. This includes the Sky HD subscription included within the price. The upfront cost is £49.
Virgin Media offers a similar package for £45 per month excluding line rental. For this price you don’t get as many channels as Sky’s package and it doesn’t have Sky Sports in HD, but does have the attraction of up to 10 Mb/sec fibre-optic broadband with the option of upgrading to a much higher speed if need be. If you want more channels you can also upgrade your TV package to a larger size. Virgin Media have not yet confirmed if they will be retailing ESPN.
So with the broadcasting rights drama having as many twists and turns as the actual season it’s easy to see how the everyday sports fan can get confused. If you are not sure which route to take, you can speak to our impartial experts on 0800 466 1047.