Sports TV Packages
Want to find the best value TV package for sports? Compare packages and current deals below.
HOW TO GET 3 MONTHS FREE ESPN ON SKY
EXCLUSIVE ESPN ON SKY SPECIAL OFFER!
New customers - Get 3 months free ESPN when you take out any Sky TV package with dual sports
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO JOIN SKY
Existing Sky customers - Get 3 months free ESPN when subscribing for 12 months.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN
| Provider | Sports Channels | HD Sports Channels | ESPN | Best Value Sports TV Package | Interested? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 £50 M&S gift vouchers online exclsuive! CLICK HERE! |
Sky Sports 1 |
Sky Sports 1 HD Sky Sports 2 HD Sky Sports 3 HD Sky Sports 4 HD SS News HD ESPN HD |
Free for 3 months with dual Sky Sports package £9 per month after | £39 per month for standard Sky Sports ESPN free for 3 months then £9 per month after |
Upgrade New Customer |
 2 Months FREE plus FREE installation! |
Sky Sports 1 Sky Sports 2 Sky Sports 3 Sky Sports 4 Sky Sports News |
Sky Sports 1 HD |
Free with Virgin XL TV Package £6 per month with Sky Sports £8 per month without on M+ or L TV Package |
£27.50* per month includes Sky Sports HD channels and ESPN HD plus a free V+ HD box worth £49 *£27.50 a month for two months and then £33 or £55 a month depending on package |
Switch and save with Virgin |
Sky HD TV Packages
Never miss a kick in glorious high definition. Get all four Sky Sports HD channels are as well as Sky Sports News HD, ITV HD, BBC HD and British Eurosport HD. ESPN HD is currently free for 3 months and the box and set up is currently FREE!
For more information on these offers, click here!
VALUE RATING:
WHAT YOU GET:
FREE £50 M&S gift card when you join online with Movies, Sports or Sky+HD.
FREE 20MB Broadband and Sky Talk Freeetime, free weekend and evening calls to landlines.
FREE HD and standard installation.
| Box Cost | Sky HD+ boxes currently FREE to all new and existing customers |
|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | Sports HD packages start from just £49 per month and includes Free ESPN for 3 months Free 20MB Broadband Free Sky Sports on your laptop and iphone until end of 2010 |
| On Demand? | Premier League & Champions League match choice via the red button plus selected free programmes on demand including movie rental from 99p |
| HD Sports Channels | Sports 1HD, Sky Sports 2HD, Sky Sports 3HD Sky Sports 4HD |
Want to find out more about Sky HD TV? Click here for more information on the Sky website.
Virgin Media TV Packages
All the Sky Sports channels are now available on Virgin except Sky Sports 3 &4 HD. Get Sky Sports 1 HD, Sky Sports 2 HD, Sky Sporst 3, & 4 and ESPN HD as well as Sky Sports News so you don't need Sky to get all the sports and get two months free!
For more information on Virgin Media, click here!
VALUE RATING:
WHAT YOU GET:
FREE ESPN with TV XL
FREE standard installation.
EXCLUSIVE super fast 50 MB fibre optic broadband and online discounts
| Box Cost | The standard box is free ta V+ HD is £49 one off payment. |
|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | Sports packages start from £27.50 a month for 2 months then £33 per month for standard definition includng ESPN and £50.50 for full HD including ESPN HD cost includes Phone line & unlimited UK landline weekend call |
| On Demand? | Free "catch-up TV" programmes and TV on demand (including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD). Movie rental from 99p |
| Sports Channels |
Sports 1HD, Sky Sports 2HD,
ESPN HD Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3, Sky Sports 4, Sky Sports News, Liverpool FC TV, BBC HD, ITV HD, Eurosport HD MUTV (£6 p/month) |
Want to find out more about Virgin Media? Click here for more information on the Virgin website.
Sky (Non-HD) TV Packages
Get all four Sky Sports channels, Sky Sports News and ESPN without the extra cost of HD. Free set up and a free box plus get fee ESPN for 3 months offer ends 31st August 2010
For more information on Sky, click here!
VALUE RATING:
WHAT YOU GET:
FREE £25 M and S gift card when you join online with Movies, Sports or Sky+HD.
FREE Sky Talk Freeetime, free weekend and evening calls to landlines.
FREE standard installation.
| Box Cost | The standard Sky+ box is free to all new customers. |
|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | Sports packages start from just £39 per month and includes Free ESPN for 3 months |
| On Demand? | Premier League & Champions League match choice via the red button plus selected free programmes on demand including movie rental from 99p |
| Sports Channels |
Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3, Sky Sports 4, Sky Sports News BBC, ITV ESPN (Free for 3 months £9 after), British Eurosport Liverpool FC TV MUTV, Chelsea TV (£6 p/month) |
Want to find out more about Sky TV? Click here for more information on the Sky website.
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BT Vision TV Packages
An OK choice of football channels are available with BT Vision, plus you can record and pause important games with the BTVision+ box. Sadly, the Sky Sports channels are not available with BT Vision.
For more information on BT Vision, click here!
WHAT YOU GET:
FREE BTVision+ box, to pause and record live TV.
ESPN free after an initial payment of less than £10.
EXCLUSIVE discounts when ordering online.
| Box Cost | FREE BTVision+ box for new customers signing up to a package (not pay-as-you-view). |
|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | Packages start from only £7.50 per month |
| On Demand? | Free on-demand programmes, plus a vast library of pay-as-you-view shows and movies. |
| Sports Channels |
BBC, ITV
ESPN (FREE to view after a small initial payment). |
Want to find out more about BT Vision? Click here for more information on the BT website.
What is HD TV?
High definition (HD) offers picture quality with four times more detail than standard definition (SD) TV delivering vibrant colour, stunning detail and incredible depth. It is the ultimate way to watch your favourite movies, TV programmes and sporting events and it is going to blow you away! Viewers will be able to see individual blades of grass on a football pitch and the details of faces at the back of a crowded stadium.
The Cost of HD TV
To enjoy the majority of live football on TV you will need to get either a Sky HD box, (currently free to new and existing subscribers!) or a Virgin V+ box (cost varies depending on the package you subscribe to - click here for more information). Both boxes also work like a VCR and allow you to record, pause, and rewind TV programmes.To watch football on the HD channels you will need to pay a monthly subscription on top of your TV package deal. This will set you back an extra £5 to £10 and for this you will get the full range of HD channles including BBC and ITV.
Another option is to sign-up to Freesat - for an initial cost of £50 to £200 (for a DigiBox and a Satellite dish if you don't already have one), you can receive a number of HD channels (in addition to other freeview channels), with no subscription fee! Interested? Click here for more information!
Is It Worth It?
If you have a HDTV, and are wanting to get the best out of it, then definatley!If you can afford the monthly cost then what are you waiting for? The quailty differnce is amazingly clear so much so you will never be able to watch live football in poor old standard resolution again. It is worth it too for the movies with many of the being filmed in HD these days as well. The only down point is that ESPN games are still only available in standard but we are sure it is just a matter of time before the launch their HD channel.
Sky Television HD
"Sky HD is amazing, its quality is far superior to standard quality. The sharpness, colours and details are all amazing."- Taken from www.reviewcentre.com.
Freeview HD (Freesat)
"Everyone who's come round to see it has been very impressed and can clearly see the difference between HD and SD. There is definitely a great sense of depth to the image. Sometimes you do actually feel as if you can reach out and touch it!"- Taken from www.hdtvuk.tv.
Are HDTV programmes on air now?
Owning a HD-TV does not mean that you will automatically be able to watch high-definition television. In fact high-definition broadcasts will be limited for some time to come. Sky and Virgin Media are preparing to transmit HD programmes to their paying subscribers who have signed up for the service and bought a box that can decode the signals for an HD-ready television.A full Freeview service of HD broadcasts is not possible at present because there is not enough bandwidth space in the transmission spectrum. Only when all analogue channels are turned off between 2008 and 2012 will there be enough space to accommodate HDTV channels.
How does HDTV work?
High-definition screens are higher resolution - they have more picture elements or pixels per square inch - giving clearer pictures that contain about four times as much detail than existing television images. They do this by packing in more horizontal lines on the screen. Existing standard definition TVs have 576 horizontal lines but HDTVs have between 720 and 1,080 lines. Most HDTV sets being sold now in Britain are of the 720 format.This results in a significantly improved picture quality, clarity and colour definition. HD also uses millions more colours than SD TV, increasing the richness and intensity of everything you watch. Most HD programmes and movies are also created with cinema-style surround sound, that you can experience in full with a compatible surround sound system although a few can screen the 1.080 format.
Is HDTV Best on A Big Screen?
In a word, yes. Don't expect to see a dramatic difference if you go for a HDTV with a screen smaller than 32 inches (TV screens are measured along the diagonal). One study of people watching television at various resolutions concluded that at normal viewing distances and normal-sized screens, people did not easily discriminate better resolutions than those currently used. To get any benefit from high-definition TV you need a bigger screen (or to sit much closer to it!)Is Now the Time to Buy HD TV?
If you need a new TV now, be sure to get one that is marked "HDTV ready"!