How can I get all of the 2014/15 Premier League games on Sky, Virgin Media, BT TV and TalkTalk TV for the least amount of money? That’s the question we answer here.
The new season is almost upon us and if you’ve not sorted out your sports TV package, now’s the time to start thinking about it.
We’ve taken a look at all of the Premier League football offerings from all of the major providers – BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media – and zeroed in on the cheapest deals possible.
Dicarding bundles (unless they work out better value for money), limited time introductory offers (we’re comparing the standard prices here) and only adding things like broadband and line rental where they’re required purchases, we’ve drilled down on all of the packages and come up with the cheapest Premier League football deals going.
How can I find out which games are on Sky Sports and BT Sport?
Sky Sports will once again show 116 games live and exclusive this season while BT Sport will show the other 38. In the first leg of the season, Sky Sports will broadcast 43 games while BT Sport will show 12.
The fixtures for the 2014 portion of the season have been released. As was the case with the last season, Sky Sports coverage ranges from games kicking off at 1:30pm to 8:00pm whereas BT Sport games all kick off at 12:45pm, with the exception of the Manchester United vs Everton game which starts at 12:00pm on Sunday, October 5.
Can I watch the Barclays Premier League in HD or 3D?
Sky Sports and BT Sport film all of their games in SD and HD, so provided you’ve got the right package and an HD TV, you’ll be able to watch all of the games in high definition.
Note that not every provider has all (in BT’s case) of the games in HD or (as in TalkTalk’s case) any of the games in HD.
Only Sky currently broadcasts live games in 3D, for customers who take either the Sky Family Bundle (£33) and the premium HD pack (£5.25) with Sky Sports (£24.50): a grand monthly total of £62.75/month.
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League on Sky?
To get all Premier League games on Sky TV you’ll need a Sky Sports subscription and a BT Sport subscription.
In order to get Sky Sports, you’re required to take out one of Sky’s basic TV bundles. There’s the entry-level Original Bundle (£21.50/month) Variety Bundle (£28/month) and the Family Bundle (£33/month).
Existing customers can sign up for Sky Sports 1, which willl show the majority of Premier League games, for £13/month.
To get every Sky Sports channel – Sky Sports 1-5 plus Sky Sports F1 – Sky Sports itself is £24.50/month. If you want Sky Sports in HD as well (we’re guessing that you will) then that’s £5.25/month extra.
There’s two ways of getting BT Sport with your Sky TV package.
Firstly, you can pay BT directly. The BT Sport channels – BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN – in SD (standard definition) cost £12/month. To get those same channels in HD will cost you £15/month on top of your Sky Sports subscription.
Paying for BT Sport directly with Sky TV and Sky Sports
| Sports Packages | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports in SD (£46), BT Sport in SD (£12) | £58/month |
| Sky Sports in SD (£46), BT Sport in HD (£15) | £61/month |
| Sky Sports in HD (£51.25), BT Sport in SD (£12) | £63.25/month |
| Sky Sports in HD (£51.25), BT Sport in HD (£15) | £66.25/month |
Alternatively, you can get BT Sport in SD for free if you take BT Broadband which starts at £16.99/month with line rental. The BT Sport HD channels with BT Broadband costs £3/month extra.
Note that Sky Sports customers currently qualify for two years of free broadband from Sky, something you might want to consider when thinking about your broadband provider.
Paying for BT Broadband with Sky TV and BT Sport
| Sports Packages | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports in SD (£46), BT Sport in SD (free), BT Broadband (£25.99) | £71.99/month |
| Sky Sports in SD (£46), BT Sport in HD (£3), BT Broadband (£25.99) | £74.99/month |
| Sky Sports in HD (£51.25), BT Sport in SD (free), BT Broadband (£25.99) | £77.24/month |
| Sky Sports in HD (£51.25), BT Sport in HD (£3), BT Broadband (£25.99) | £80.24/month |
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League on Virgin Media?
Virgin Media customers can also sign up for both Sky Sports and BT Sport.
Sky Sports 1 or 2 can be added to all Virgin Media TV packages for £1/month each, with the exception of the basic Virgin TV M service, where Sky Sports 1 or 2 cost £27.50/month.
It’s much better value for money to instead take out the Sky Sports Collection, which gives you Sky Sports 1 and 2 and Sky Sports 3, 4, new channel Sky Sports 4 and Sky Sports F1.
This costs £27.50/month with all Virgin TV packages, apart from Virgin TV M, where it costs £34.75/month.
You’ll have to pay an extra £7/month if you want to get Sky Sports in HD.
BT Sport is available with all Virgin TV packs. This gives you all of the BT Sport channels in SD and HD channels. There’s currently no option to just take BT Sport in SD from Virgin Media. BT Sport costs £15/month with all Virgin TV packages, with the exception of Virgin TV XL, which includes BT Sport for free.
It’s worth pointing out that taking More TV (£16) with BT Sport HD (£15) costs £31/month. That’s the same monthly price as Virgin TV XL. While this has no bearing on the sports channels, it’s worth bearing on mind that for the same money you can get a load of extra entertainment channels.
Until September 1, football fans will be able to take advantage of a money-saving Season Ticket deal. This sees you getting access to the Sky Sports channels for less if you pay £150 in advance.
| Sports Packages | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Virgin More TV (£16), Sky Sports Collection (£29.25) | £45.25/month |
| Virgin More TV (£16), Sky Sports Collection (£29.25), HD (£7) | £52.25/month |
| Virgin More TV (£16), Sky Sports Collection (£29.25), HD (£7), BT Sport (£15) | £67.25/month |
| Virgin TV XL (£32), Sky Sports Collection (£29.25), HD (£7), BT Sport (free) | £67.25/month |
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League on BT TV (BT Vision+)?
Both Sky Sports and BT Sport are available with the BT Vision+ box – provided you can get BT Infinity.
BT Infinity is BT’s FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet)-based broadband service. According to the most recent figures from BT, Infinity is available to over 20 million UK premises. If you’re living in one of these places, then you’re in luck. If not, then you can get BT Sport with BT Vision+ and BT Broadband, but not Sky Sports.
If superfast broadband is available in your area, here’s how the cost of Sky Sports and BT Sport works out.
Both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 on their own cost £15.50/month with BT Vision+. Combined with the required TV Essentials package (£5/month) and BT Infinity 1 – the cheapest fibre-based service – plus line rental (£30.99/month) this works out at £51.49/month.
If you want both channels, which you probably will given that Sky Sports 2 shows Premier League games on Super Sundays, then you can get them together for £21/month.
Sky Sports 1 and 2 with BT Vision+ and BT Infinity 1 together is £56.99/month.
BT Sport is included free with BT Infinity as standard. You get BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN in SD for no extra cost. If you want the HD channels, that’ll cost you an extra £3/month.
Currently, you can’t get Sky Sports 1 or 2 in HD with BT Vision+ nor can you get Sky Sports 3-5 or Sky Sports F1.
There’s also a one-off £35 activation fee whichever combination of channels you go for.
| Sports Packages | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| TV Essential (£5), BT Broadband (£25.99), BT Sport (free) | £30.99/month |
| TV Essential (£5), BT Infinity 1 (£30.99), BT Sport (free) | £35.99/month |
| TV Essential (£5), BT Infinity 1 (£30.99), Sky Sports 1 & 2 (£21) BT Sport (free) | £56.99/month |
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League on BT TV (YouView+)?
Sky Sports 1 & 2 are currently not available with the YouView+ box.
The BT Sport channels are bundled free with BT Broadband and BT Infinity.
The cheapest way to get BT Sport with BT Broadband and a BT TV YouView+ box is to get TV Essential (£5/month), BT Broadband with line rental (£25.99/month), which works out at £30.99/month.
You can get BT Sport 1, 2 and ESPN in HD for an extra £3/month, provided you can get BT Infinity fibre-based broadband. You can’t get the HD channls with standard ADSL BT Broadband.
The cheapest BT TV with BT Infinity deal – TV Essential (£5), BT Infinity 1 with line rental (£30.99), which totals £35.99/month. With the HD channels this rises to £38.99/month.
All BT TV packages require a one-off £35 payment.
| Sports Packages | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| TV Essential (£5), BT Broadband (£25.99), BT Sport (free) | £30.99/month |
| TV Essential (£5), BT Infinity 1 (£30.99), BT Sport (free) | £35.99/month |
| TV Essential (£5), BT Infinity 1 (£30.99), BT Sport (free), HD (£3) | £38.99/month |
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League on TalkTalk TV?
You can add the Sky Sports Boost to TalkTalk’s Essentials TV package – a digital TV and broadband bundle – for £30/month.
Essentials TV is £20.20/month on its own – the combined cost of unlimited ADSL broadband, TV and line rental – which brings the total to £50.20/month.
The Sky Sports Boost gives you access to Sky Sports 1-4, new European channel Sky Sports 5, and Sky Sports F1.
You currently can’t get Sky Sports in HD with TalkTalk TV.
| Sports Packages | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| TalkTalk Essentials TV (£24.45), Sky Sports (£30) | £54.45/month |
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League on Freeview, YouView and Freesat?
There’s currently no way to sign up for any Premier League football channels or packages on Freeview, Freesat or if you’ve bought your YouView box outside of a BT or TalkTalk broadband bundle.
It’s possible that Sky or BT might try to dazzle and tempt subscription-free viewers over to the world of pay TV with one off like last year, but apart from that, you’re not going to be able to get any Sky Sports or BT Sport action on Freeview, YouView or Freesat this season.
How can I watch the Barclays Premier League for less than Sky or BT Sport costs?
It’s one of the worst-kept secrets in the world, but you can get European satellite TV subscriptions in the UK, including Premier League matches. The EU is a single market, so even if the broadcaster isn’t supposed to let people watch outside its own borders, they can’t refuse your business. There are also increasing numbers of streaming services online. For our own safety, we can’t tell you any more.
This ‘grey market’ also lets you watch 3pm kick-off games, because foreign broadcasters aren’t affected by the restriction.
While it’s safe for you watch these services in your home, chances are you won’t be able to watch them in your local boozer think again. Last season the Premier League vowed to crack down on pubs that show games that didn’t come from Sky Sports or BT Sport. They’re covered by rules which don’t affect private viewing at home.
What happens in the 2015/16 season?
Sky and BT both have the same broadcast rights for the next two years, meaning it’s likely the 2015/16 season will shape up much like this one has.
In the meantime, we could see Sky and BT come to an agreement which would let BT TV customers get all of the Sky Sports channels, in HD, on a BT TV box and TalkTalk TV customers might one day be able to watch BT Sport alongside Sky Sports.
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