Digital TV Guides

TV, broadband and phone packages

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

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If you want to save money on your digital TV package - and possibly get a few added extras - consider bundling it with your home phone and broadband services. (Updated 13/11/09)

TV, broadband and phone packages

Company	Package Name	Channels	Broadband	Home Phone
	BT Vision More Broadband	Choice of two viewing packs from: PictureBox Films, Kids, Vision Sport and Music
	Sky TV 1 Pack + Sky Unlimited Broadband + Talk Free	Choose 1 Sky Entertainment 'pack' from a selection of 6
	Virgin Media TV: L + Broadband: L + Phone: M	100 channels including Virgin 1, Sky1, Comedy Central, Bravo and many more

Last Updated: Tuesday, 16-June-2009

One of the easiest ways to save money on your monthly household bills is to take all your home entertainment and telecoms products from one provider. This will also reduce the number of bills you receive and the number of direct debits you have to pay - saving a lot of hassle each month.

Digital TV providers such as Sky, Virgin Media and BT all offer some great deals. The table below shows some of the best bundles on offer in the UK at the moment:

Bundle packages - what you need to know

There are several benefits to bundling your services, as well as several disadvantages. It’s important you know both before deciding whether to get all your services from one provider. Things you should consider are:

Advantages

1. Cost - Bundling is the best way to get all the services that you want at an affordable monthly price.
2. Add-ons - Because TV packages are so competitive, many providers now offer “free” add-ons, such as “free” digital cable TV from Virgin Media, which is included when you take a cable phone line.
3. Bills - Only having to pay one bill a month cuts down on time and effort.

Disadvantages

1. Quality - Sometimes the free services included in your bundle may not be the best products on offer, such as Sky’s Base broadband, which comes free with a Sky TV “pack”. The Base broadband comes with speeds of up to 2Mb and a 2GB download limit. It may be worth spending a little more for a higher spec broadband package - which Sky has.
2. Tempting offers - Try not to be enticed by free or discounted bundled products that you might not necessarily need, such as extra premium channels or call plan add-ons.

Overall, bundling your services with one provider can help you reduce your monthly household bills. However it’s important you bundle carefully, only choosing the products that you are actually going to use and need.

Bundling your services can sometimes also give you the benefit of free installation, though this will depend on the provider and the number of services you are taking with them and what special deals are available at any given time. Use our digital TV price comparison calculator to help you find a package that suits your and your family’s needs.

So who offers bundles? There’s more information about bundled packages below.

Sky TV, phone and broadband

Bundling your TV, home phone and broadband with Sky (www.sky.com) is one of the cheapest ways of getting all three of your services, and can save you loads of money on your household bills - as well as reduce the number of bills you receive.

Sky also offers a range of premium subscription channels, including Sky Sports, Sky Movies and ESPN, as well as all the basic channels you would find on Freeview. Sky’s channels are divided into entertainment “packs”. To find out more, read our guide on Sky channels.

• Cost - Sky’s cheapest TV, phone and broadband bundle costs £17.50 a month, plus line rental (you don’t have to take this from Sky, but Sky offers it at £11 a month). You’ll get one Sky entertainment “pack”, Sky’s basic broadband package with a 2GB download limit and Sky’s Talk Freetime service.
• Recommendation - If your family can never decide what to watch, consider subscribing to Sky Multiroom. You’ll be able to watch different programmes in different rooms for only £10 extra a month. You can get an additional standard Sky box, or Sky+ or Sky+HD box for each extra room you want Sky TV in and you can customise your Sky Multiroom set-up to suit your household.

Sky’s phone and broadband packages are only available in certain areas though, so you will need to do a postcode check first before switching.

Virgin Media TV, phone and broadband

Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) is the UK’s biggest cable TV provider. Not only can you combine your digital TV, broadband and home phone services with Virgin Media, but also a mobile broadband subscription too. You can also get a good deal on a Virgin mobile phone contract if you’re a Virgin Media customer.

Virgin Media’s cable TV is not available as a stand-alone product - it has to be bundled with either Virgin’s home phone, broadband or both.

• Cost - Virgin Media’s cheapest package costs just £19.50 a month, plus £11 a month line rental. You’ll get 60 digital TV channels, broadband with speeds of up to 10Mb and unlimited weekend calls to UK landlines.
• Recommendation - If you’re looking for a TV service with a digital TV recorder, the Virgin Media V+HD box lets you pause, rewind and record live TV. You can record 2 shows, while watching a third and watch movies on-demand in high-definition. It costs £75, plus a £5 a month subscription for size M and L customers, or free for XL subscribers.

Remember though, that Virgin Media’s cable services are currently only available in certain parts of the country, so you will have to do a postcode search first to find out if you live in a cable area.

BT Vision TV, broadband and phone

BT (www.bt.com), the UK’s biggest home phone provider, also offers digital TV and broadband packages, meaning you’ll get all three services on one convenient monthly bill.

BT Vision is a TV-over-internet service (IPTV), offering you a selection of on-demand TV channels as well as the basic Freeview ones, through your broadband connection. You can get BT Vision with or without a subscription, but you stand to save more money by subscribing to a monthly package.

• Cost - BT’s cheapest bundle - which offers BT Vision, BT Total broadband and a home phone contract - £7.34 for the first three months and £30.33 thereafter. You will also have to pay for BT line rental, which is £11.25 a month.
• Recommendation - If you’re a sports fan but don’t want to pay a hefty subscription each month, BT Vision Value Pack customers can get ESPN for free. After a one-off payment for a viewing card, you’ll have access to 46 live Barclays Premier league matches and 30 live Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches during the 2009/10 season.

Like Sky, BT Vision channels are divided into “packs”, letting you pick and choose which ones you subscribe to.

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