Are you paying too much for your TV services?

If you enjoy watching TV, you probably have subscriptions to all kinds of different streaming services to ensure that you can get all the channels, movies, box sets and sports that you want to watch. But have you ever stopped to add up the cost of all these different services, and consider whether there may be a cheaper way to get what you want?

In this article we take a look at different kinds of TV services, and how much they are likely to cost.

Ways to watch live TV

The four main ways to watch live TV are via TV aerial, cable, satellite and internet.

• TV aerial and Freeview

Watching TV via a television aerial is still the most popular way to view live television. A television aerial will send a digital signal to your TV set which must then be decoded. All newer TVs are able to do this, but if not, you are able to purchase a plug-in Freeview machine for under £30.

Freeview enables you to watch around 70 TV channels and 30 radio stations, making it the cheapest way to watch live TV. The only potential disadvantages are that the signal can occasionally be patchy, and there may be other channels that you want to view which are not available on Freeview.

• Satellite

To watch satellite TV you will need to have a satellite dish attached to your home. This can be purchased and installed by a satellite TV provider such as Sky. You can then buy a Freesat receiver, which delivers more channels than Freeview and also a range of on-demand services, such as BBC iPlayer.

Another option with satellite TV is to subscribe to an additional package that provides the channels you want to watch. Prices for Sky services vary depending on whether you are a new customer and the kind of package you want, but you could currently expect to pay around £33 a month for Sky Freeview and broadband.

The main potential disadvantage of satellite TV is that you have to have a dish installed, which could be difficult on some properties. There may also be occasional problems with atmospheric conditions affecting your TV signal, but this is now rare.

• Cable

Cable TV is provided via underground fibre optic cables. To use a cable TV service it needs to be installed at your home, then connected to the nearest network cable point belonging to the provider. The two main providers of cable TV in the UK are currently Virgin Media and BT.

Virgin Media offers high-speed broadband and up to 230 TV channels. BT offers fewer channels than Virgin and Sky but can be a cheaper option. Its entertainment package includes Freeview channels and membership of NOW Entertainment (see below). Both Virgin and BT provide set top boxes that enable you to record live TV.

Typical prices for cable TV start are currently around £30 per month and – similar to satellite TV – the exact price will depend on the combination of services that you require.

Potential disadvantages of cable TV are that not all areas of the UK are covered, and some satellite TV channels are not available on cable.

Be aware that both satellite and cable companies tend to offer better deals to new customers than existing companies. You may also find that you are on a fixed term deal and the price of your contract will increase at the end of that deal. In both these situations it is well worth contacting your provider to explain that you are considering leaving them to get a better deal elsewhere. Your provider may be able to put together a better deal for you to persuade you to stay with them.

• Internet

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of options to watch TV via the Internet. To do this you either need to have a Smart TV, or a device such as a smart set top box, Roku streaming video player, Amazon Fire Stick or a games console.

Any of these will enable you to watch the TV channels you want over your home broadband. But bear in mind that you will need fast broadband to be able to stream without interruptions, and if others are also using broadband at the same time, it could affect the quality of your TV service. 

Once you have your Internet TV set up, you should be able to watch Freeview via Freeview Play, and also access the main channels such as BBC, ITV and Channel 4 via dedicated websites or apps. You will also be able to view catch up channels such as BBC iPlayer. 

Over and above this, you can subscribe to additional TV streaming services such as:

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• Now TV
• Apple TV
• Disney+
• Britbox

To get the best value from your Internet TV, it is worth spending time working out the additional channels, movies and box sets that you really want to be able to view, and then seeing which streaming services are going to provide the best combination for you. When you do this, you may well find that you are paying for one or more services that you don’t really need, so there is an opportunity to save money by reducing the number of services you are paying for.

TV licences

Remember to add a TV licence into the cost of your TV viewing. If you watch or record anything on live TV, or watch anything on BBC iPlayer, you will need a TV licence. You do NOT need a TV licence if you only watch on-demand movies or TV shows via the Internet, for example Netflix or YouTube.

A TV Licence costs £159 per year unless:

• You are aged over 75 and either you or your partner receive Pension Credit : you may be eligible for a free licence.
• You live in care or sheltered accommodation: you may be entitled to a discounted fee of £7.50.
• You are blind or severely sight impaired: there is a discounted fee of £79.50.
• You have a black and white TV: the licence fee for this is £53.50.

You can either pay for your TV licence in full, via direct debit or debit/credit card, or you can set up a monthly or quarterly direct debit.

We hope that this article has provided some useful information as to the relative costs of different TV services and helps you to find the best combination for you and save money in the process..

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