I’ve just cancelled Sky, what’s a good alternative?

[RockStarMartini]

I don’t watch enough TV to justify keeping it as I need to tighten my belt a bit. I would like something though - is Freeview worth it? It has most of the channels I like - Sky Arts and Food Network and some garden/lifestyle stuff but not Gold. If so do I need to get a new TV (mine is old and basic but I think it’s ’smart’) or is a box ok? Are there any others worth looking into? Really clueless about this sort of thing 😳

We had Virgin for many years but cancelled 18 months ago. Very happy I did. We had a new TV aerial installed which allows Freeview (I also wanted Sky Arts). Our TV is about 10 years old and is not Smart. I use apps on my phone to cast to the TV, using a Chromecast plugged into the back. Am so glad to have changed and now don't have to pay Virgin an obscene sum every month. I don't even miss "recording" on a Virgin box. Everything I want is available on catchup.

Thanks this is really interesting, I had no idea about Chromecast.

Edited for typo

Just done exactly the same but using a Firestick rather than Chromecast. Pay a couple of subs like Apple TV, Netflix. Sky was astronomical, glad to have got rid!

I didn't even slightly miss sky when I cancelled it and I thought would. I rotate through subscriptions now. I've paid for ITV for a year so there's no adverts and more content and there is absolutely loads of good stuff.

Have you got an aerial? I shoved one in the loft and have a cable connected to the TV for Freeview channels which you don't pay for.
TV is smart so it's connected to the internet for access to iPlayer and ITVx etc.

I also pay £20.00 for sky sports via NOW TV.

We did the same 2 months ago and use freeview on smart TV. I occasionally miss the opportunity to record but we're managing with catchup instead. We also have Netflix and Amazon subs. The savings we're making more than make up for the loss of recording (we can always get a Humax if we feel the need in the future but not sure we will) and having to sit through the adverts.

We have NOW, netflix and Amazon prime.
The Amazon prime we only have because we pay for prime, wouldn't bother otherwise.

I really like NOW but we only get it when it's on special offer. At the moment we are paying £2.99 a month for 6 months. Then we often cancel it for a bit. Thats just for the entertainment package we don't ever bother with the movies. Sometimes we pay a premium to watch a movie on prime if it's a new one but that's seldom.
Netflix is the only one we have consistently but we have the one with ads. Tbh all the stations have ads now so it's no biggie and we've got used to it.

No I don’t have an aerial. Sorry to sound so clueless but how would I physically get these different channels - do I need some kind of box or stick? I’m fine with subscribing to different things but could someone please explain what I’d need to do? All I’ve got is a tv, I think it’s Smart but now I’ve removed the Sky box I’m a bit stuck 😳

Have you got an HDMI button on your remote?

https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/what-is-amazon-fire-stick-how-works/

https://www.stuff.tv/features/what-is-a-chromecast-and-how-does-it-work/

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/chromecast.htm

There are both baisically stick you plug into ports on your TV and then use internet to access - so you might need to look at what plug sockets you have on current TV set. You can then buy access to the apps like Disney, Apple, Amazon TV - paramount - netflicks

A smart TV should be able to connect to internet and apps by itself - so you may not need the sticks.
https://www.samsung.com/uk/tvs/tv-buying-guide/what-is-smart-tv/?srsltid=AfmBOooOSyyE5u6XLj9IbM9Stc7ZhTGq6v7aTuIsxdn0LAte5A9dC0LI

Great thank you, I’ll have a look at the tv and remote because it’s ancient so I’m unsure what it’s got.

@Rockstar, what I did was have an aerial installer come round to advise on the options. It cost around £200 to have the aerial installed but that was soon offset by not paying Virgin every month. We don't have a Freeview box - it just works from when the TV was tuned into the aerial.

Same, we cancelled Virgin TV years ago, as soon as I bought Chromecasts for all the televisions in the house. We do pay our TV licence fee and use iPlayer and BBC Sounds a lot. We also subscribe to Prime as we get Morrisons delivery that way as well as the films and programmes. That along with the other "free" TV players - All4, My5, ITVX, YouTube and YouTube Music, and free streaming radio players, I find we've plenty to watch and listen to, plus free audiobooks from the library via the Libby and BorrowBox apps.

This