Earlier this year Ofcom ruled that Sky needed to sell on its Sky Sports channels to other broadcasters for slightly reduced prices.
This move has precipitated a major change in the sports TV market. BT and Virgin Media have taken the bull by the horns and decided to re-launch their sports packages, with BT announcing its new pricing line up today.
But the market is very complicated and the packages available include broadband and home phone services too, so comparing apples with apples is tricky. That is where our independent experts can really help!
To cut through the confusion, we answer the key questions that armchair sports fans are asking.
What’s simply the cheapest way to get Sky Sports (on its own)?
If all you want is the Sky Sports Collection (Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and Sky Sports News) for the 115 live FAPL games – Virgin Media remains the cheapest place to buy it, at £13.50 for the first 2 months then £19 thereafter for Sky Sports 1 - with their basic home phone size(M) and TV size(M+) packages thrown in. This price excludes line rental of £11.99 per month and there is a £35 set up charge. The cheapest way to buy the Sky Sports with Sky is £39 per month, for Sky 1 Mix and the Sky Sports Collection. If you want, this comes with free Sky Broadband Lite (which gives you up to 20 Mbps broadband with a small 2 Gig usage cap) and Sky Talk Freetime which gives you free evening and weekend calls.
What’s the cheapest way to get Sky Sports, if I take my broadband and home phone bills into account?
Sky remains the cheapest place to get the full Sky Sports Collection when bundled with broadband and home phone services. Sky’s most basic TV, broadband and phone bundle deal including Sky Sports costs £39 per month, excluding line rental. The Sky package has a number of attractions: it includes the whole Sky Sports Collection (Sky Sports 1,2,3,4 and Sky Sports News); there is no set up fee; you get a much wider range of basic TV channels with your Sky Sports; and you get a free Sky+ HD box, so that you can enjoy BBC and ITV in HD. However, if you want Sky Sports 1 and 2 only, plus ESPN thrown in – then BT has become the cheapest option.
You can now get BT Broadband Option 2 (up to 20 Mbps with a 40 Gig usage cap), weekend calls plan, with Sky Sports 1 & 2 and ESPN for £29.98 per month, excluding line rental. But there are some drawbacks with the BT package. First, BT does not carry the full Sky Sports Collection (which includes Sky Sports 3 and 4), so you may not see all the live football on BT, if Sky chooses to move some games to Sky Sports 3 and 4. In addition, there is a costly £64.99 set up fee. Also the package comes with a 24 month contract. And the included TV package is very basic (i.e. the Freeview channels), so you will not get popular channels like Sky 1, and you will not get any high definition (HD) channels.
What’s the cheapest alternative, if you want all the football action available from Sky Sports and ESPN?
It is important to remember that ESPN will only have 23 Live FAPL games this season, with the other 23 games moving back to Sky Sports – taking the Sky Sports total games to over 100. But if you do want ESPN and Sky Sports, at £29.98 per month, BT has now become the cheapest place to go, if you sign up to a 24 month contract.
But, as mentioned above, you will not get Sky Sports 3 and 4 with BT. So if you want Sky Sports Collection (with all the Sky Sports channels) and ESPN, you need to go to Sky or Virgin Media. The cheapest package on Sky which includes Sky Sports Collection and ESPN, is £45 per month (excluding line rental). This includes a free Sky+ HD box, as well as Sky Broadband Lite and Sky Talk Freetime thrown in, if you want them. The equivalent package on Virgin Media is cheaper, costing £34 per month (excluding line rental of £11.99 per month). For this you get Virgin Media TV size (M+) which gives a good range of channels including Sky 1 and home phone size (M) with free weekend calls.
What if I want Sky Sports in high definition?
Sky and Virgin Media are currently the only two places to get Sky Sports in high definition (but Virgin Media does not have Sky Sports 3 and 4 in HD). Virgin Media offers the lowest price alternative. Virgin Media TV (M+), Sky Sports Collection, Sky Sports 1 & 2 in HD, and home phone size (M) costs £20 for the first 2 months then £26 thereafter, excluding line rental of £11.99 per month and there is a £35 set up charge. The cheapest package on Sky, which includes Sky Sports Collection in high definition costs £49 per month. This gives you Sky 1 Mix and the full Sky Sports Collection in HD. This package comes with a free Sky+ HD box.
What if I want Sky Sports without a long contract?
BT’s state the fact that the Sky Sports 1 & 2 packages are available to BT Vision customers on a month-by-month contract. However you still need to sign up to a long contract for BT Vision in order to get Sky Sports, so this is not as convenient as it seems.
The expert’s view – The best way to get Sky Sports this summer There are so many ways to buy Sky Sports now: standalone; with ESPN; as part of a broadband and phone bundle; long contract; no contract; free set up; with HD; without HD – that it is impossible to say definitively where to go to buy Sky Sports.
It really is a question of talking to an independent expert to match your household’s needs to the best option for you.
Here is our quick summary of the pros and cons between the big players
Sky
Pros
The original home of Sky Sports
Remains the cheapest place to get a Sky Sports, broadband and home phone “triple play” bundle deal
Offers the complete Sky Sports Collection (Sky Sports 1,2,3,4 and Sky Sports News)
Comes with a free Sky+ HD box
Offers the whole Sky Sports Collection in HD
Comes with the widest choice of basic and HD channels in the UK
Cons
Not the out-right cheapest way to get Sky Sports
ESPN an extra £9 per month
BT
Pros
You can get Sky Sports with BT for the first time
Total Sports Package is good value if you want broadband and phone with Sky Sports 1 and 2 only and ESPN thrown in
Cons
You do not get Sky Sports 3 and 4, so could miss some FAPL games and you do not get Sky Sports News
You do not get any HD channels (Sky Sports or basic)
The basic TV package is very limited (and does not include Sky 1)
The set up fee of £64.99 is high
The 24 month contract is long
Virgin Media
Pros
The cheapest way to get Sky Sports on its own
The cheapest way to get Sky Sports Collection and ESPN together
Has added Sky Sports 1 and 2 in HD this summer
Offers free ESPN with its largest (XL) TV package
Cons
Does not have Sky Sports 3 and 4 in HD
Only has 12 HD channels versus Sky’s total of 42
Charlie Ponsonby, CEO of Simplifydigital concludes…
“It is a hugely exciting time in the TV sports market – for the first time BT and Virgin Media are determined to give Sky a real run for their money. As a result there is a myriad of conflicting deals, so if you are in any doubts before buying, speak to an impartial expert first.” If you would like free and impartial advice to help find the best TV sports deal for you, you can speak to the MSN Money experts for free on 0800 466 1047. Alternatively click here to compare sports TV deals online.