Digital TV for Sports
With so many of the best live sporting events disappearing from free to view channels, sports fans are subscribing to digital TV services. This guide gives you the low down on what exactly digital television offers to sports fans, and what is the best value way to get it.
Top 3 Digital TV Sports Packages
| Cheapest for Sports Sky: £35.50 a month |
Sky Sports HD Sky: £55.75 a month |
Virgin Media Sports £40.50* a month |
|
|
|
£25 Tesco gift card when you join online and half price Sky+ box |
£25 Tesco gift card when you join online and £101 off Sky+ HD box |
£20 credit when ordered online and half price V+ HD Box installation |
* when you take a Virgin phone line at £11 a month
Sports coverage
Unfortunately, few of the best live sporting events are shown on the free to view tv channels these days. If you’re a sports fanatic you will want a digital TV service that offers the best coverage of the sports you are interested in. Which sports channels do digital TV providers offer and which is best value for you?
Sky Sports or Setanta Sports?
Sky Sports offers 4 channels – Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Sky Sports Xtra, give live coverage of some of the biggest and best sporting events from around the world. Over 100 sports are covered, including Grand Slam Tennis, the European Golf Tour, Motor Sports, live International Cricket, Premiership Rugby and of course, Premier League Football.
Setanta Sports offers 11 channels covering a range of sports including Barclays Premier League Football, Golf, American Sports, Boxing and Rugby. Their main channel, Setanta 1, is covering some live Premiership football matches, the US PGA Tour Golf and live European football.
So which providers offer which Sports Channels?
The sports channels you can access depend on which provider you choose to get your service with. Most do offer you the option to add on either Sky Sports or Setanta, or even both, if you want complete sports coverage. Below is a summary of which services each provider offers, and how much it could cost you.
Sky Digital
Sky offers the Sky Sports Mix, which includes the 4 Sky Sports channels. If you do have high definition TV and want to subscribe to Sky’s HD programming, then you will also get access to two Sports HD channels.
The packages shown below are to give you an indication of the cost of getting Sky Sports, remember you can build your own package to suit your needs.
| 2 Mixes & Sport | 6 Mixes & Sport | 6 Mixes, Sports & Movies |
|---|---|---|
| Choose any 2 of Sky’s 6 mixes All the Sky Sports channels Option to add Sky broadband base and Sky talk freetime (both free) £35 per month |
Get all 6 Sky mixes All the Sky Sports channelsOption to add Sky broadband base and Sky talk freetime (both free) £38 per month |
Get all 6 Sky mixes All the Sky Sports and Sky Movies channelsOption to add Sky broadband base and Sky talk freetime (both free) £45 per month |
|
|
|
Know you want? Visit Sky’s site to choose your mixes with Sky Sports
Already have Sky and want to add Sky Sports? Visit Sky’s site and update your service.
If you are an obsessive Manchester United fan you can subscribe to MUTV for £6 per month on top of your normal Sky subscription, and be one of the first to know what’s happening at Old Trafford. Alternatively if you’re a blue subscribe to Chelsea TV for £6 per month in top of your normal Sky subscription.
Do you already have Sky Sports and want even more sporting channels? You can add Setanta Sports to your service, giving you 46 live Barclays premier League matches and the best boxing, among other sports coverage. It costs £12.99 to set up, and £9.99 per month. Click here to order Setanta Sports online
Virgin Media
With Virgin Media you can sign up to either Sky Sports or Setanta Sports, or even both if you want.
The packages shown below are to give you an indication of the costs, remember you can customise the package according to which TV size you want.
| TV Size M & Sky Sports | TV Size L and Complete Sports | TV Size XL and Setanta Sports |
|---|---|---|
| Over 40 TV channels 4 Sky Sports channels Phone Size: M (includes line rental) £37 per month  |
Over 85 TV channels 4 Sky Sports channels and 6 Setanta Sports channels Phone Size: M (includes line rental) £54 per month |
Over 140 TV channels 6 Setanta Sports channels Phone Size: M (includes line rental) £31.50 per month |
Know you want? Visit Virgin Media’s site to choose your Sports channels
BT Vision
BT Vision sport brings you a range of sport for you to enjoy live and on demand, so you can watch what you want, when you want. They offer two packages:
- Standard Sports – £6 per month on top of your BT broadband subscription. Offers 242 full Barclays Premier League games shown a few hours after kick off, plus an archive sport to view
- Total Sports – £12 per month on top of your BT broadband subscription. Gives you Setanta Sports 1 and BT Vision’s standard sports pack.
BT Vision does offer a pay per view service, so if you only want to watch matches occasionally, you can do so for £1.99 per view.
Want to get BT Vision with Sports? Visit BT’s site to order online
How do I choose?
Ultimate Sports Packages:
If you want total sports coverage, then you need Sky Sports and Setanta Sports, so this leaves you with a choice of two providers – Sky Digital or Virgin Media. If you already have Sky TV with Sky Sports and want to add Setanta Sports, click here to order online.
Just want Sky Sports:
Great for football, cricket, golf and rugby. You can get Sky Sports with Sky digital, Virgin Media or Tiscali
Just want Setanta Sports:
You can get Setanta Sports with most digital TV providers. If you already have Sky digital, click here to add on Setanta Sports.
