Digital TV Deals
How to pick the right package and haggle a discount

Don't overpay for Sky, Virgin, TalkTalk or BT TV. Existing customers can haggle for
£££s off with just a phone call.
Digital TV subscriptions can mount up to £1,000+ if you add up the price over the course of the contract. The top tips in this guide, with a round up of the current prices by providers, will help you slash these costs.
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How to pick the right package
TV packages are notoriously complicated, often with many optional extras and a variety of bundles – each one gradually increasing in price. Choosing which ones to opt for can be hard, but as costs can soon mount up, weighing up each decision carefully could stop you shelling out £100s/yr for add-ons you don't need.
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Already have TV? Haggle your way to a new, cheaper deal
With TV, there aren't many standout deals, but haggling is often your best way to net a bargain as the biggies are among the easiest firms across the UK to haggle with.
In our September 2018 poll, 85% of Sky customers who voted said they successfully haggled, followed by Virgin (82%), BT (80%) and TalkTalk (80%). So just call up, threaten to leave and your existing company will often offer kick-butt discounts.
Where this technique really comes into its own is for existing, out-of-contract customers. Though before we get into it, here are some successes to show you how easy it is:
Called Sky, told them I was leaving and was put through to retentions. They kept me on the same package but reduced it to £30/month, a £180/year saving.
I rang Virgin Media, as I was being charged £38/month for broadband, TV and phone before call charges. I mentioned a family member had signed up to all three for only £30/month. It immediately reduced my package by £10/month.
How to Haggle – our top tips
We've pulled out the top tips here, but for more including a full step-by-step, see our Haggle with Sky & more guide.
Current prices for new customers
To help with haggling a decent discount, we've collated the current offers for new customers from the main providers for a quick, at-a-glance comparison. TV deals are often complicated with many bundles, so understanding which channels you're willing to shell out for is key.
The below should give a brief overview, but for a better comparison try our Broadband Unbundled tool which will show you the best TV deals available in your area.
Standard digital TV offers – at a glance |
|
Provider & link | New customer offers |
BT | You can only add BT TV if you take its broadband and line rent deals. You can then choose to add the following depending on the speed of internet you have chosen. Costs below include fibre broadband + line rent:
TV Starter – £30.99/mth + £69.99 upfront, 18mth contract: Includes about 80 Freeview TV and radio channels, and comes with a basic Youview box that lets you pause and rewind TV – but not record shows. You can add BT Sport to this in standard definition (not HD).
Entertainment – £44.99/mth + £19.99 upfront, 18mth contract: Includes all the channels in the TV Starter package, plus 19 premium channels such as the Discovery Channel and MTV. It comes with a Youview+ box which lets you record up to 300 hours of TV, and you can add BT Sport in standard or high definition. Max HD – £49.99/mth + £9.99 upfront, 18mth contract: Includes the basic 80 Freeview channels plus 62 premium channels AND BT Sport. It comes with a Youview+ HD box which lets you record up to 300 hours of TV and watch in HD.
On top of these packages, there are a range of channels you can add as an extra bolt-on, including Sky Sports in SD for £30/mth, Sky Cinema for £16/mth, Netflix in HD for £7.99/mth and kids' channels for £5/mth. |
Sky | Entertainment – £22/mth + £20 upfront, 18mth contract: Its basic offering provides 350+ channels including Sky Atlantic and Sky 1.
Kids – £5/mth, 1mth contract: 11 kids channels including Nick Junior, the Sky Kids App, games and parental controls. Ultimate On Demand – £10/mth, 1mth contract: Over 1,000 shows on demand from Sky box sets and Netflix. HD – £5/mth, 1mth contract: A range of HD channels. Sky Cinema – £10/mth, 18mth contract: 11 movie channels and over 1,000 movies on demand. Sky Sports – £23/mth, 18mth contract: All 10 sports channels.
All of Sky's new TV packages now come with its Sky Q box, which allows you to record and store your favourite programmes. |
TalkTalk* | You can only add TalkTalk TV if you take its broadband and line rent deals, which start at £17.95/mth for standard speed on a 12mth contract. You can then customise your TV package by adding certain 'Boosts', which are bundles of channels on a rolling monthly contract. These include:
Entertainment – £12/mth: Includes 30 premium channels such as Fox, Gold and National Geographic. Kids – £6/mth: Includes 10 channels such as Disney and Nickelodeon. Sky Sports – £34/mth: Includes 8 Sky Sports channels. Sky Cinema – £16/mth: Includes 11 movie channels. |
Virgin Media | Mix TV – £26/mth + £25 upfront, 12mth contract: 150+ channels incl Sky One, Syfy, Fox, Comedy Central and Sky Sports Mix.
Full House TV – £49/mth + £25 upfront, 12mth contract: 230+ channels incl BT Sport HD channels, Sky One HD, History and Comedy Central. |
Prices correct as of 4 February 2019. All the links take you to our Broadband Unbundled tool to compare current deals from each provider, with the exception of TalkTalk, which takes you direct. |
Cashback sites may pay you for signing up
As an extra boon, members of specialist cashback websites can be paid when they sign up for some products. Do check that it's exactly the same deal though, as terms can be different. And remember, the cashback is never 100% guaranteed until it's in your account.
For full help on taking advantage of this and for pros and cons, see our Top Cashback Sites guide.
Get the most out of Freeview

Ask yourself: "Do I really need every channel?" If the answer's 'no', and you're not bothered about getting Premier League matches or hundreds of extra channels, Freeview may be the best option.
If you've a fairly new TV, it'll probably have basic Freeview built into it, giving you over 70 permanent channels and 15 HD channels. (If it doesn't and you want Freeview, basic boxes start from around £10.)
Some people can't get Freeview because of their location (check on the Freeview website), which means you'll need to look at one of the other options. Freeview says 98.5% of people will be able to get it, with channel line-ups dependent on area.
If you want to really get the most out of Freeview though, and be able to record, pause or rewind live TV or record whole series, you'll need a YouView+ box. These start at around £90 for a box with 500GB of memory (which records up to 250 hours of TV).
How to complain about your TV provider
If you have a problem with your TV provider and need to complain, contact it and keep a record of the date, what you said and the person you speak to. Common problems include installation dates not being met, limited service, incorrect billing and more. It's always worth trying to call your provider first, but if not, then...

Free tool if you're having a problem
This tool helps you draft your complaint and manage it too. It's totally free and offered by a firm called Resolver, which we like so much that we work with it to help people get complaints justice.
If the complaint isn't resolved, Resolver can escalate it to the free Ombudsman Services (or CISAS if you're complaining about Virgin Media).
Important: if your issue is about a voucher or incentive that was part of an MSE Blagged deal, then instead just let us know by emailing voucherhelp@moneysavingexpert.com as that's usually quicker.
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