Sky TV Packages Review

Sky TV now bundles Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu alongside its own premium channels in the Ultimate plan - all delivered over broadband via the Sky Stream Puck or Sky Glass.

For a lighter option, Sky Essential TV starts at £15 a month and still includes Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+.

Both packages can be taken without Sky broadband, but bundling brings the price down further.

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Sky TV at a glance

Best Sky broadband deals

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Our review of Sky TV

Verdict: Is Sky TV any good?

Sky Ultimate TV has made a significant leap in value. Bundling Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu into a single subscription puts it ahead of any comparable UK pay TV package on streaming breadth alone.

The Essential tier keeps Sky accessible for budget-conscious households, with Sky Atlantic and Netflix from £15 a month - competitive against standalone streaming costs without locking customers into a full premium package.

Flexibility is a genuine strength. Sky TV works over any broadband connection, with extra savings available when bundled with Sky broadband. Rolling monthly add-ons for Sky Sports and Sky Cinema mean customers only pay for what they're watching.

The drawbacks are real but minor. Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos cost extra even on Sky Glass, TNT Sports is cheaper elsewhere, and Sky no longer holds the exclusive content advantage it once did.

Overall, Sky TV is excellent value for households that want premium channels and multiple streaming services under one roof - and a harder sell for those who only want one or two of them.

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Sky TV packages

Summary: Sky offers two main TV packages: Ultimate TV, which bundles Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu alongside premium Sky channels, and Essential TV, a lighter option with Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+.

Sky Stream Puck and Sky Glass can both be taken with either Sky Essential TV or Sky Ultimate TV, which are now the two base package options.

Both plans include over 100 live TV channels, along with Sky Originals and HBO content on Sky Atlantic, a Netflix Standard with Ads subscription, and access to Discovery+.

Sky Ultimate TV builds on this by including Sky Entertainment channels and a broader range of streaming apps as part of the bundle. This means access to channels like Sky Max, Sky Showcase, Sky Crime, National Geographic, Comedy Central and MTV, alongside bundled access to services such as HBO Max, Disney+ and Hayu. It currently costs an extra £9 per month.

Sky Essential TV is positioned as a lower-cost entry point, but it does not include Sky Entertainment channels (aside from Sky Atlantic) - and these cannot be added separately without upgrading to Ultimate TV. That's the key limitation.

However, both plans still allow customers to add premium packs like Sky Sports and Sky Cinema at the same prices. Streaming apps included with Ultimate TV can also be added to Essential individually, but at their standard standalone prices rather than as part of a bundle.

Sky TV packages also include features like personalised recommendations and Playlist, which brings together live and on-demand content in one place for easy saving and playback. The Whole Home add-on enables access to your subscription across multiple rooms without additional cables or satellite boxes.

The latest Sky TV pricing for new customers is:

These deals include the Sky Stream Puck box, which allows customers to watch Sky TV over a broadband connection, and there is no longer any need to install a satellite dish.

The Puck box is a small device, that requires a wired or wireless connection to the router, but does not need either an aerial or satellite dish feed. It's easy to add extra boxes to a home wherever there's a mains power outlet.

Sky Glass

Customers can also subscribe to either Sky Essential TV or Sky Ultimate TV when they purchase Sky Glass, which can be bought outright, or as the prices below show, taken on an interest-free repayment plan over 24 or 48 months.

Sky Glass is a flat-screen 4K TV set that houses a Sky box and Dolby Atmos soundbar in one streamlined device.

It's set to become Sky's centrepiece as the provider gradually begins to wind down their satellite-based Sky Q service. It also benefits from the provider's latest tech with the recent addition of the Sky Live camera.

Read more in our review of Sky Glass.

Sky TV + broadband

Both Sky Stream Puck and Sky Glass TV packages can be bundled with Sky broadband for extra savings on the services.

The best prices are currently on the Sky Full Fibre 100 and Sky Full Fibre 500 plans which offer average download speeds of 100Mbps and 500Mbps respectively.

The Sky Ultimate TV + Full Fibre 100 broadband plan above currently offers savings of £8 per month compared to taking the services separately, while the Sky TV + Ultrafast Broadband plan also saves customers £6 per month.

So, it's worth considering a bundle for customers outside of any minimum term on their broadband plan.

Customers taking a Sky TV package can also bundle even faster broadband speeds with Sky Full Fibre Gigafast. Find out what's available in your area.

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What content is on Sky TV?

Customers can now choose between two main Sky TV packages, Sky Essential TV and Sky Ultimate TV.

Sky Essential TV includes over 100 channels of free-to-air content, while Sky Ultimate TV adds another 42 premium live channels to the subscription.

Both packages also include:

• Sky Atlantic live and on-demand
• Netflix Standard with Ads subscription (worth £5.99/mth)
• Discovery+ Basic (worth £3.99/mth)

Both Sky TV packages include the following live channels:

Sky Ultimate TV also includes these additional channels:

There are 11 additional premium Sky Entertainment channels in Sky Ultimate TV, while customers also benefit from channels from MTV, National Geographic, Comedy Central, and U&alibi.

Sky TV packages also include popular free-to-air channels even when customers do not have an aerial connection and are streaming entirely over broadband. This includes a selection from the BBC, plus a number of regional BBC channels, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and a number of news channels as well.

Both the Sky Stream Puck box and Sky Glass TV set offer support for the widest range of apps in the pay TV market, beating both Virgin Media and BT.

Customers can access the following free and subscription-based apps:

Netflix Standard with Ads is included with most Sky TV packages as standard, and customers can upgrade to Netflix Standard for £5 or Premium for £10 if they want to.

All Sky TV customers get Discovery+ Basic for free, while those who subscribe to TNT Sports get Discovery+ Premium.

Customers who take the Sky Cinema pack also get Paramount+ included at no extra cost as well, which is worth £6.99 per month, as well as two free Vue cinema tickets each month.

Sky TV packs

To watch even more content, Sky TV customers can subscribe to premium packs on either 24-month or 31-day rolling contracts.

Here are the latest prices for customers on Sky Stream:

The rolling monthly terms are a major benefit of Sky's new streaming service over the traditional Sky Q plan, as previously customers could only sign up to Sky Sports or Sky Cinema on long 24-month contracts.

The advent of streaming platforms, which have now been adopted by both Sky and Virgin Media, has increased the flexibility of pay TV services, as they generally don't tie customers down.

While they do cost a little more, the new 31-day packs from Sky allow customers to only pay for what they're watching. For example, customers can now subscribe to Sky Sports during a particular sporting season, and then cancel when they no longer need it.

Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos

While Sky Stream Puck, and particularly Sky Glass, both support Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos surround sound, customers have to pay more to access this upgraded content.

It's cheaper on Sky Stream than Sky Q, but customers will still need to pay £6 per month for the Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos pack to gain access to 4K content and improved sound.

UHD content is also fairly limited too, but will include:

• Sky Originals in Ultra HD
• Sky Cinema films in Ultra HD (for customers with Sky Cinema)
• Sky Sports Ultra HD (for customers with Sky Sports)
• TNT Sports Ultimate (for customers with the TNT Sports pack)

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Sky TV boxes

Sky are beginning to move away from their traditional satellite-based service, although they recently signed a deal to extend their satellite contract until 2028, so Sky Q customers don't have to worry just yet.

However, Sky customers can now choose alternative ways to watch by signing up for a Sky Stream Puck Box or even a Sky Glass TV set.

Sky Stream Puck Box

Most households will likely sign up for Sky TV with a Puck box, setup is currently free and installation is easy, with customers simply needing to connect the Puck box to their router.

The Puck box is a small device, with no internal storage, but has the ability to stream all of Sky's content in full 1080p HD, and even 4K Ultra HD with additional subscriptions.

It's possible to connect a soundbar with Dolby Atmos surround sound supported by connecting the Puck through the TV HDMI port. As with UHD content however, Dolby Atmos requires the UHD & Dolby Atmos pack for £6 per month.

Sky Stream Puck has the same app support as both Sky Glass and Sky Q, which means access to 30 free and subscription-based apps including Prime Video, Disney+, Paramount+, Discovery+, Apple TV+, and Hayu.

Getting a Puck box is the cheapest and easiest ways to subscribe to Sky TV, and customers can even choose from rolling 31-day contracts for extra flexibility.

Read our full review of Sky Stream Puck here.

Sky Glass

Initially launched in October 2021, as Sky's first streaming platform, Sky Glass is a 4K QLED flat screen TV set with a Sky box and soundbar built-in.

Sky have recently released a 2nd generation Sky Glass, which sports upgrades to both the picture and sound quality, with a brighter picture and additional built-in speakers.

While Sky Glass depends on a Sky TV package to work, it's gaining its place as Sky's flagship product, with exclusive new devices, like the 4K Sky Live camera, which allows customers to interact with their TV set for the first time.

Sky Live offers motion detection so customers can control games with their body, do home works with monitoring and form improvements, and video call friends and family with Zoom. The new Watch Together feature also allows two or more customers to watch films and sports events together remotely.

Sky Glass offers all the same premium content as Sky Stream Puck and Sky Q, and can be purchased on an interest-free credit basis to help spread the cost.

Read more about Sky Glass in our full review.

Sky Q

Sky Q is the latest satellite-based service from Sky, having taking over from Sky+ HD back in 2016.

At the time, the new Sky Q box was a leading device, offering a voice controlled remote for the first time, 4K Ultra HD, and the ability to record six shows while watching a seventh.

Sky Q also bundles 1TB of storage, with boxes for existing customers available with up to 2TB, giving customers the ability to record 150 hours of HD content or more.

However, while Sky Q is still available to new customers, it's starting to be priced above that of Sky Stream, so customers will be paying more for the same content.

Sky understandably want to make the move to a more future-proofed content delivery service, especially as the UK is now rolling out gigabit-capable broadband with aims to cover 99% of the country in the next seven years.

Read more about Sky Q and the Sky Q box.

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Verdict: Are Sky TV packages worth it?

Sky TV offers one of the most premium TV services in the UK, and their move to offering content over broadband has also modernised their platform while making it accessible to even more customers.

Sky TV packages can be taken with or without Sky broadband, which gives them the edge over Virgin Media and BT for flexibility, although customers will save more with a Sky bundle.

Overall, Sky TV is great for customers who:

• Want to watch exclusive programming like Sky Originals on Sky Atlantic
• Want to pause and rewind live key sporting moments on Sky Sports and TNT Sports
• Want access to a wide range of extra apps, including Discovery+, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Hayu, Disney+, and many others

Customers might want to look elsewhere though if:

• They want to watch just TNT Sports, which is often cheaper with Virgin Media or BT
• They don't live in an area with broadband faster than 25Mbps available, while this is very few places, people in remote areas may be better with Sky Q which is delivered using a satellite dish

Sky seem set on staying ahead of the competition, with the Sky Live camera offering an immersive viewing experience for the first time, and the recent announcement of a Sky Glass Air TV set coming later in 2025.

For customers on a budget, the Sky Stream Puck box offers a flexible way to watch Sky's best content without lengthy contracts, and the new Sky Essential TV plan helps to bring down the cost of Sky home entertainment even further.