WITH bills increasingly on the rise it’s no wonder people are on the hunt for ways to save money on TV and streaming.
Sports fans get hit the worst – but we can help you turn that around. We’ve uncovered plenty of hidden discounts and instant deals that could save you £100s…
Two-thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+, according to Ofcom data, and many of those will already be subscribed to traditional TV services like Sky.
Fortunately, there are ways you can enjoy all your favourite telly – yes including those all-important Sports channels – without your bank balance being hit too badly.
Here’s how to go about shaving hundreds off your bill:
#1 Save on Sky
Having Sky shouldn’t mean paying through the roof.
Over the years there have been quite a few changes to the channel line-up – most recently TLC going from premium to free.
So do you really need to pay for hundreds of channels?
Some of the best channels are Sky Atlantic and Sky Max with exclusive shows not available elsewhere, such as the new Game of Thrones spin-off and steamy new drama Heated Rivalry.
But if you only watch those channels and little else there’s a much cheaper way to get them currently with NOW (formerly known as NOW TV).
The Sky-operated service is doing a deal on its entertainment package which brings costs down to £3.99 a month instead of £9.99.
You don’t need a box – NOW is available as an app to stream from most smart TVs and devices like Fire Sticks too.
You’re locked into a 12-month contract but it’s still the equivalent of seven months free.
And it’s not only Sky channels you get, there’s also others:
- Sky Atlantic
- Sky Max
- Sky Comedy
- Sky Witness
- U&GOLD
- U&alibi
- Sky Arts
- Sky Crime
- Sky Documentaries
- Sky Kids
- Sky Nature
- Sky Showcase
- Sky Sci-Fi
- Sky History
- BSL Zone
- MTV
Check out the NOW £3.99 deal here.
If you want something a little more traditional with a Sky box, you could try Sky Stream.
This is TV also delivered by internet but with your usual interface and all other free channels like BBC and ITV in one place.
At the moment you can get Sky Essential TV for £15 a month with Sky Atlantic as the only bonus premium channel, but you do get Netflix and Discovery+ thrown in so if you use those it could be a worthwhile saving.
If you want the wider Sky channel list, with more than 140 available, there’s Sky Ultimate TV for £22 a month.
Both are on 24 month contracts.
You can check the deal out here.
#2 Hidden Virgin discounts
You might be entitled to a big discount on your Virgin TV package and not even realise it.
I recently checked my nan’s account and was surprised to see she was out of contract.
Just by logging in to her account a new offer was available instantly with the exact same product for half the price.
No need to call or haggle, just a quick saving on TV bills.
#3 Switch to Freely
Freely is the future of Freeview, relying on an internet connection to beam channels onto your screens instead of an aerial.
The advantage of this is you won’t have any pesky aerial connectivity problems but there’s also another big benefit – a lot more channels.
Technology behind Freeview has a limited amount of space to host channels on, which is why the number of traditional broadcast channels hasn’t really grown since it started.
By delivering live TV over the internet it means Freely can essentially host an infinite number of channels.
The platform already has some offerings you can’t get on other traditional TV services, like 4 Reality and a dedicated channel to The Chase.
Boxes for Freely have just started to launch and in February we’ll see the cheapest one yet at £69.99 with over 400 bonus channels, called the Manhattan Aero 4K TV.
So maybe it’s time to cut the cord and go free?
#4 Netflix
If you’re already a Sky or Virgin Media TV customer don’t forget you get Netflix included as part of your package, so there’s no need to have a separate one.
Otherwise, the best way to save on Netflix is by opting for the Netflix standard with ads plan.
This is the cheapest one available, which costs £5.99 a month.
#5 Sky Sports savings
If you’re into football then chances are you’re subscribing to Sky Sports and we all know that doesn’t come cheap at all.
For those with an existing Sky TV package it’s probably best to speak to Sky to see if you can get a deal on sports added on.
But if not, you might want to give NOW a try as well.
It has some secret discounts that aren’t openly advertised.
If you go to NOW’s website and select a day pass it’ll come up with a counter offer for only £5 extra.
For £19.99 per month you get access to Sky Sports, instead of £27.99.
It’s only available for six months but that will take you right the way through to the final of the Premier League 2025/26 season nicely.
You can go straight to the hidden £19.99 deal here.
#6 More sports discounts you’re missing
Many miss that their mobile operator offers discounts on some sports TV too.
Several EE plans have an Inclusive Extra for free that includes TNT Sports.
And Vodafone is currently dishing out 40 per cent off DAZN for two months. so it’s £14.99 instead of £24.99.
So it’s well worth checking yours out to see what’s available.
