iTunes
- No Lock-in Contract
- Purchase complete boxsets of TV shows or per season.
- Rent movies from £2.49 or buy from £6.99.
- Get your favourite music and podcasts too.
- Stream or download and play offline with over 60 million songs, ad‑free
- Sync your purchased apps, music, movies and TV shows from your computer to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
Basic
- No Lock-in Contract
- Watch free-to-air channels only
- Basic channels include BBC, ITV, C4 & more
- Upgrade to Premium anytime
- Watch with adverts
Yearly
- 7-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Stream on up to 5 devices
- Watch hundreds of shows and movies ad-free
- Exclusive access to BBC and ITV content
- Doctor Who
- Sherlock Holmes
- Line of Duty
- Midsomer Murders
- Prime Suspect
- Poldark
- Stream with a free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Get the hayu app to download your favourite shows
- Pick from over 6,500+ episodes of reality TV
- The Real Housewives franchise
- Keeping Up With the Kardashians
- Revenge Body with Khloé Kardashian
- Million Dollar Listing
- New customers: 7-day free trial
- 3 mos free when you buy an eligible Apple device
- No Lock-in Contract
- 4K HDR included
- Up to 6 simultaneous streams
- Original Apple shows & movies
- WeCrashed
- Shining Girls
- Ted Lasso
- Severance
- For All Mankind
- 7-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Over 5000 episodes of reality TV fresh from the US
- Includes season 16 of Keeping Up with the Kardashians
- Download your favourite shows and stream on the go
Monthly
- 7-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Stream on up to 5 devices
- Watch hundreds of shows and movies ad-free
- Exclusive access to BBC and ITV content
- Doctor Who
- Sherlock Holmes
- Line of Duty
- Midsomer Murders
- Prime Suspect
- Poldark
Min Cost - £281.99 over 24 months (incl. £29.99 upfront fees) + Broadband cost starting from £27.99
- Get £6/mth off for the first 6 months.
- 24 Month Contract
- Package includes the NOW TV Entertainment Pass (RRP £9.99 a month) and AMC.
- Watch Sky Atlantic, Sky One, Discovery, Comedy Central and more with the NOW TV Entertainment Pass
- Entertainment TV + fibre broadband
- Includes BT line rental
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- 30-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Thousands of popular movies & TV shows
- Acclaimed Prime Originals and live sports
- Stream up to three videos at the same time
- Watch offline on the Prime Video app
- FREE One-Day Delivery on millions of items
Yearly
- Save over 15% with an annual subscription
- 12 Month Contract
- Stream in HD on up to four devices
- Downloads on up to 10 devices
- Commercial-free playback
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Moon Knight
- The Book of Boba Fett
- Loki
- WandaVision
- No Lock-in Contract
- Stream on one device in SD
- Download titles to one device
- Cancel anytime
- £6.99 per month for the entry-level, single-stream basic definition package, all the way up to £15.99 for the premium, 4K quality, four-stream package.
Premium
- First month FREE
- No Lock-in Contract
- Over 70 channels, including Basic
- Catch-up on demand
- Watch on Chromecast
- Record Live TV
- PLUS Fox, MTV, E!, SYFY, Discovery, History, Comedy Central & more
- 30-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Thousands of popular movies & TV shows
- Acclaimed Prime Originals and live sports
- Stream up to three videos at the same time
- Watch offline on the Prime Video app
- FREE One-Day Delivery on millions of items
Monthly
- No Lock-in Contract
- Watch on multiple devices with the DAZN app
- Exclusive boxing
- Live, on demand and highlights
- Documentaries, weekly shows and classic fights
Monthly
- No Lock-in Contract
- Stream in HD on up to four devices
- Downloads on up to 10 devices
- Commercial-free playback
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Moon Knight
- The Book of Boba Fett
- Loki
- WandaVision
Premium+
- First month FREE
- No Lock-in Contract
- Over 80 channels, including Premium
- Catch-up on demand
- Watch on Chromecast
- Record Live TV
- Plus Comedy Central Extra, Nat Geo Wild, Vice, Nickelodeon, Baby TV, Rishtey & more
- 24 Month Contract
- Entertainment TV + fibre broadband
- Watch Comedy Central, Discovery, Gold and more premium entertainment channels
- Get 100s of hours of entertainment on demand
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- Includes BT line rental
- No Lock-in Contract
- Stream on two devices in HD
- Download titles to one device
- Cancel anytime
- £6.99 per month for the entry-level, single-stream basic definition package, all the way up to £15.99 for the premium, 4K quality, four-stream package.
Min Cost - £14.99
- 7-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Critically acclaimed shows in Full HD
- Stream in Full HD* across 3 devices with Boost
- Entertainment Membership
- 7-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Critically acclaimed shows in Full HD
- Stream in Full HD across 3 devices with Boost
- Award-winning shows, box sets and kids TV
- Stream live channels including Sky One, Comedy Central and Sky Atlantic
- 7-day free trial
- No Lock-in Contract
- Enjoy over 1,000 movies on demand
- Includes the latest blockbusters and hundreds of classics
- Get a new premiere every day
- 24 Month Contract
- Sport + fibre broadband
- All four BT Sport channels and BoxNation included
- Watch the Premier League, every single UEFA Champions League game (exclusive to BT Sport), UFC, WWE, Premiership Rugby and more
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- Includes BT line rental
- No Lock-in Contract
- Stream on four devices in Ultra HD
- Download titles to one device
- Cancel anytime
- £6.99 per month for the entry-level, single-stream basic definition package, all the way up to £15.99 for the premium, 4K quality, four-stream package.
Min Cost - £259.88 over 12 months (incl. £50 activation fee)
- 12 Month Contract
- Included entertainment and BT Sport Lite channels
- Pause and rewind live TV & record up to 150 hrs of HD or 300 hrs of SD
- Access on-demand players such as BBC iPlayer, the ITV Hub^, All 4 & Demand 5
- Unlimited fibre extra w/ average download speed of up to 36Mbps
Min Cost - £259.88 over 12 months (incl. £50 activation fee)
- 12 Month Contract
- Included entertainment and BT Sport Lite channels
- Over 70 Freeview channels
- Pause and rewind live TV
- Access on-demand players such as BBC iPlayer, the ITV Hub^, All 4 & Demand 5
- Unlimited fibre extra w/ average download speed of up to 36Mbps
- 24 Month Contract
- Package includes the NOW Cinema Membership (RRP £11.99 a month)
- Watch everything from the Entertainment package
- Big Entertainment + fibre broadband
- Includes BT line rental
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
Min Cost - £319.88 over 12 months (incl. £50 activation fee)
- 12 Month Contract
- Included entertainment and BT Sport Lite channels
- Pause and rewind live TV & record up to 150 hrs of HD or 300 hrs of SD
- Access on-demand players such as BBC iPlayer, the ITV Hub^, All 4 & Demand 5
- Unlimited fibre extra w/ average download speed of up to 66Mbps
Min Cost - £319.88 over 12 months (incl. £50 activation fee)
- 12 Month Contract
- Included entertainment and BT Sport Lite channels
- Over 70 Freeview channels
- Pause and rewind live TV
- Access on-demand players such as BBC iPlayer, the ITV Hub^, All 4 & Demand 5
- Unlimited fibre extra w/ average download speed of up to 66Mbps
- 18 Month Contract
- Endless entertainment with over 100 channels not on Freeview plus over 500 Box Sets.
- Watch unlimited Netflix shows on any device.
- Record and store shows
- Watch on the go with Sky Go
- Includes Sky Q box
- 18 Month Contract
- Includes line rental w/ pay as you go calls
- Free TV with 88 Freeview channels (6 in HD)
- Unlimited usage with average download speeds of 38Mb
- Stream on multiple screens, download and video call
- Pause & rewind live TV
- 18 Month Contract
- Includes line rental w/ pay as you go calls
- Free TV with 88 Freeview channels (6 in HD)
- Unlimited usage with with average download speeds of 67Mb
- Do more online, with more devices, at the same time
- Stream on multiple screens, download and video call
- Pause & rewind live TV
- 18 Month Contract
- Includes line rental w/ pay as you go calls
- Free TV with 88 Freeview channels (6 in HD)
- Unlimited usage with average download speeds of 11Mb
- Pause & Rewind Live TV
- Do more online, with more devices, at the same time
- Stream on multiple screens, download and video call
Min Cost - £383 over 12 mths (incl. £35 setup fee)
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- 12 Month Contract
- Over 110 channels plus add Entertainment Picks
- M100 Fibre with average speeds of 108Mbps
- Unlimited downloads, includes the new Intelligent WiFi
- Inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles & 0870 numbers
- 18 Month Contract
- Endless entertainment with over 100 channels not on Freeview plus over 500 Box Sets.
- 8 kids channels, 5,000+ episodes on demand, plus the Sky Kids app.
- Includes Sky Q box
- Record and store shows
- Watch on the go with Sky Go
- 18 Month Contract
- Includes line rental w/ pay as you go calls
- Free TV with 88 Freeview channels (6 in HD)
- Unlimited usage with average download speeds of 145Mb
- Pause, rewind & record up to 180 hours of live TV
- 7-day catch-up
- Do more online, with more devices, at the same time
- Stream on multiple screens, download and video call
- 7-day free trial of NOW Boost
- No Lock-in Contract
- Discover Sky Originals and stream live channels including Sky Atlantic and Sky One
- All 11 Sky Sports channels
- Stream in Full HD* across 3 devices with Boost
- 18 Month Contract
- Endless entertainment with over 100 channels not on Freeview plus over 500 Box Sets.
- The home of Sky Original films
- 20% off Sky Store rentals
- An unrivalled range of the best movies
- Watch unlimited Netflix shows on any device.
- Record and store shows
- Watch on the go with Sky Go
- Includes Sky Q box
- 24 Month Contract
- Big Sport + fibre broadband
- Get everything from the Sport package
- All 11 Sky Sports channels, bringing you the Premier League, F1®, golf majors and much more with the NOW TV Sky Sports Pass
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- Includes BT line rental
- 18 Month Contract
- Endless entertainment with over 100 channels not on Freeview plus over 500 Box Sets.
- Don't miss a massive summer on Sky Sports across all 8 channels - every Lions Tour match live, The Hundred, The Open.
- Record and store shows
- Watch on the go with Sky Go
- Includes Sky Q box
- 18 Month Contract
- Up to 80 Freeview channels plus up to 15 in HD and radio channels
- BT Sport, AMC, and Freeview included
- Add HD FREE for 3 months
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- Fibre broadband average speeds of up to 36Mbps
- Get the speeds promised or £20 back
- Includes BT line rental
- Add HD FREE for 3 months then £6.50 a month
Min Cost - £623 over 12 mths (incl. £35 setup fee)
- Virgin TV V6 box included
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- 12 Month Contract
- Over 230 channels, including BT Sport in 4K Ultra HD and top Sky Channels in HD
- Pause, rewind, and record with the Virgin TV V6 box
- M100 Fibre with ultra-fast average speeds of 108Mbps
- Unlimited downloads, includes the new Intelligent WiFi
- Inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles & 0870 numbers
Min Cost - £1229.75 over 24 months (incl. £29.99 upfront)
- 24 Month Contract
- Up to 80 Freeview channels plus up to 15 in HD and radio channels
- 55 premium channels including HD
- BT Sport HD and AMC HD at no extra cost
- Multi-room viewing and downloads with 4k recordable TV box
- Record up to 300 hrs of TV
- Fibre broadband average speeds of up to 36Mbps
- Get the speeds promised or £20 back
- Seven days of catch up TV on BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Channel 4 and Channel 5
- 18 Month Contract
- Up to 80 Freeview channels plus up to 15 in HD and radio channels
- BT Sport, AMC included & 21 premium channels
- Add HD FREE for 3 months
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- Fibre broadband average speeds of up to 36Mbps
- Get the speeds promised or £20 back
- Includes BT line rental
- Add HD FREE for 3 months then £6.50 a month
- 18 Month Contract
- Endless entertainment with over 100 channels not on Freeview plus over 500 Box Sets.
- Every Lions Tour match live, The Hundred, The Open - don't miss a massive summer on Sky Sports across all 8 channels.
- The home of Sky Original films
- 20% off Sky Store rentals
- An unrivalled range of the best movies
- Record and store shows
- Watch on the go with Sky Go
- 24 Month Contract
- Watch all the Sky Cinema channels with the NOW TV Sky Cinema Pass (RRP £11.99 per month)
- Get everything from the Big Sport and Big Entertainment packages
- Full HD channels from BT, plus full HD channels from NOW TV including Sky Sports HD and Sky Atlantic HD
- VIP + fibre broadband
- Record up to 300 hours of TV on the recordable TV box
- Includes BT line rental
Min Cost - £815 over 12 mths (incl. £35 setup fee)
- Virgin TV V6 box included
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- 12 Month Contract
- Over 260 channels including Sky Sports HD & BT Sport in 4K Ultra HD
- M100 Fibre with average speeds of 108Mbps
- Unlimited downloads, includes the new Intelligent WiFi
- Inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles & 0870 numbers
Min Cost - £1223 over 12 mths (incl. £35 setup fee)
- 2 Virgin TV V6 boxes included
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- 12 Month Contract
- Over 280 channels, including BT Sport in 4K Ultra HD
- Includes the Kids Pick, Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema HD
- New M500 Fibre with ultra-fast average speeds of 516Mbps
- Unlimited downloads, includes the new Intelligent WiFi
- Inclusive weekend calls to UK landlines, Virgin Mobiles & 0845/0870 numbers
- Extra V6 box, pause, rewind, and record in different rooms with 2 V6 boxes
- Plus the New Truly Unlimited SIM with unlimited data, calls, and texts
more terms
- No Lock-in Contract
- 11 Sky Sports channels for 24 hours & 5 months Mobile Month Membership
- You'll receive your Mobile Month Membership within 10 working days
- 5 channels including Sky Sports Premier League, Action, Arena, Racing and News on your smartphone
- Register up to 6 devices on 1 account
Show all plans
Compare Pay TV plans UK
The way we Brits consume TV and movies in recent years has shifted dramatically to include live TV streaming services, on demand streaming services and catch up TV.
As well as the well-known paid-for subscription juggernauts like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus, the very best of British TV channels have launched their own on demand and live TV streaming services to boot, meaning pretty much all the sports, TV series, movies and reality TV you could ever want is available at the touch of a button.
While live TV subscriptions such as Sky and Virgin Media are still widely subscribed to in the UK, there are now more ways than ever to consume the content you want, when you want.
It’s also easier than ever to subscribe on a cost-effective level, too, so you have the option to only pay for the services you want to pay for, with the content you want.
Best paid streaming services
The best streaming services money can buy are only getting better and better, with the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video able to plunge millions of their own money into exclusive original programming, TV series and movies for their customers.
The likes of Stranger Things on Netflix, The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime Video and the Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian on Disney Plus are all examples from recent years of these services offering their own modern classic shows.
Netflix
Netflix has become one of the biggest streaming services in the world thanks to original programming such as Stranger Things and documentaries like Making A Murderer drawing an audience from across the globe.
Constantly updating its programmes and shows, Netflix is accessible on demand on web browsers, Android TV, Apple TV and game consoles like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and more.
Amazon Prime TV
A rival for the best streaming service currently operating in the UK, Amazon’s subscription offers customers certain features that not all services can offer, such as unlimited access to its next-day delivery service for online goods, unlimited photo storage, Amazon music access and more – in addition to its video streaming services.
What’s more, in recent years Amazon has added live sports to its network, so international sports fans can enjoy live and on demand highlights of football, rugby and tennis. In 2019 it acquired English Premier League football rights, showing midweek games such as Thursday night football in the past few seasons.
UK viewers can also catch some of the TV shows from popular American streaming services such as Hulu live TV channels, as Hulu is unavailable in the UK.
Even better, new customers can try everything that Amazon Prime has to offer with a 30-day free trial offer.
Disney+
One of the more recent launches of a streaming service in the UK, Disney’s giant library of classic animated films finally has a permanent home on the web. Adding both Marvel and Star Wars universes to the Disney and Pixar collections, and Disney has a huge draw for customers.
But it doesn’t stop there. Disney recently launched Star TV, where they show a huge range of TV series and movies from 20th Century Fox.
A Disney Plus plan allows you to watch up to four simultaneous streams at once, meaning there’s enough for the whole family. From time to time, Disney Plus also offers deals that’ll save you big bucks.
BFI Player
One for the real cinema fan, the streaming service from the British Film Institute offers the very best of British film and arthouse classics from around the world. Working a little different from the bigger entertainment channels, the BFI Player offers a subscription service, free films and the opportunity to rent movies for cheaper than other services.
CHILI TV
Another streaming service with a twist, CHILI TV has no paid subscription option – rather you pay for whatever you want to watch, whether you rent or buy. Giving you more power with your money, there are frequent deals in their flash sales so you can purchase films for as little as 99p.
They’ll even point you to your nearest cinema screenings if the film you want isn’t yet on their service.
Pay TV services
Having a set top box in your home has become the norm for many Brits, with Sky and Virgin Media both enjoying huge subscription numbers in the UK.
Sky TV
In recent years, Sky has added to its huge hoard of TV channels with Sky Atlantic (showing exclusive content from HBO Max) showing popular shows such as Game of Thrones, and are one of the biggest broadcasters of global sports in the country. With Sky Sports channels showing football, golf, tennis, NFL games and more, Sky is the place to be for sports fans.
Sky launched Sky Go, meaning their customers can access their live TV as a streaming service, showing live TV channels, live sports and on demand programming on mobile devices and web browsers at no additional cost.
Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV is Amazon’s foray into pay TV, meaning if you have a Fire Stick you can turn your TVs into Smart TVs by simply plugging in your dongle. Fire TV enables you to access a whole host of apps and TV channels, live TV streaming services and on demand services.
Apple TV
Apple TV is another similar route to Amazon’s Fire TV, where you pay for an Apple TV box that turns TVs into Smart TVs, with the added benefit of being able to access Apple TV through a paid subscription, too with Apple TV Plus.
Catch various news networks, live streams, ESPN channels and various entertainment channels through your Apple TV box.
Best free on demand and live TV streaming services
Looking for the best streaming services that are free? You’re in luck. Local channels such as the BBC iPlayer, All4 and the ITV Hub are all completely free to access in the UK.
While All4 and ITV Hub offer a paid subscription service so you can view ad-free, there’s no need to pay to watch your favourite TV channels – all you need is an internet connection (and a TV licence for BBC channels).
Catch all your favourite soaps, reality TV, documentaries and breaking news with streaming live channels from Britain’s long-running free to air TV networks.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is another popular way to stream some local channels and live TV – but it really does depend what and where you are. YouTube offer a premium, paid-for service which allows you to watch YouTube TV with no ads, but the subscription TV service from YouTube TV that is akin to Amazon Fire TV is currently unavailable in the UK.
Some sports channels offer free events on their respective YouTube channels, such as the final of the football UEFA Europa League via BT Sports.
How to choose your live TV streaming services
There are multiple factors that will determine what is the best streaming service for you to subscribe to – and often many people have more than one subscription to fulfill their TV needs.
Depending on where and how you consume your media, whether that’s on mobile devices, a smart TV or tablet, different services offer different features.
Sports fans will want to access live sports channels, whether that’s through a cable TV subscription like Sky or Virgin Media, NOW TV or individual channels like NBA TV.
Content
This one is probably the most obvious, as different services provide different content. If you’re looking to keep your traditional TV channels and programmes on the go, live TV streaming services like the BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and All4 are great starting points. Paid TV subscriptions like Sky TV and Virgin Media also offer their live TV channels via their respective apps, available on iOS and Android TV devices.
If you’re more of a TV series binger or movie buff, you can’t go wrong with the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+. While each have their own monthly cost, you aren’t tied into a lock-in contract with any and can benefit from being able to cancel at any time.
Price
Another pretty obvious factor to consider when choosing your streaming services is your budget. While your live TV subscription service such as Sky or Virgin Media involves a lock-in contract over 12-24 months, they do offer you access to all your channels free of charge on any compatible devices with Sky Go.
Another alternative is NOW TV, where you can pay for your chosen channels (such as sports pack) on a monthly basis.
If you don’t necessarily need live TV streaming services, you can subscribe to any and all of the other TV and movie streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime video, with all three potentially a cheaper option than a live TV subscription.
Data Usage
Data usage is an important factor when considering your streaming services, especially if you’re video streaming on the go. It’s important to remember that the more data you use streaming, the more you may end up paying if you go over your allocated data for the month.
Extra features
Other factors to consider when choosing your streaming service are the additional features on offer. Alternative streaming TV platforms like CHILI TV allow you to only pay for what you watch and provide you with your nearest cinema and listing times, while an Amazon Prime membership gives you unlimited next-day delivery on Amazon shopping channels, Amazon Music and more.
