If you don’t have Sky what do you I have instead?

[Haleso]

Just that really. Trying to cut back on expenditure and wondered what people have? We pay for Netflix and Disney plus separately and have Amazon prime.

So the good news is I called Sky and although I’m in contract until the end of September they’ve downgraded my package to the essentials until then. So that’s £39 less and I can cancel it completely in August. I plan on getting a cheap Now Tv basic pass. Thanks so much to everyone for their advice and suggestions!

We have Netflix, Disney Plus (entirely funded by Tesco vouchers) and Amazon prime (mainly for next day delivery, the video element of it is just a perk)
Why would we want Sky as well? (I guess some people have that for sport, but thankfully we aren't afflicted by that in our household)

Sorry to hijack -

I've just ordered a Amazon fire stick during the prime sale!

I currently have a virgin package, which cost me £76pm that's basic package with broadband and Netflix. I'm thinking of cancelling when it comes to renew as we rarely watch live tv - usually Netflix, prime or YouTube or catch up on bbc player, all4 etc.

Can I get all the above with the Amazon fire stick and just pay for the subscriptions to Netflix/prime (and we have access to someone else's Disney+) ??

If I can cancel virgin I can save myself almost £1000 a year. Would still get a broadband package but you can get those relatively cheap these days.

Currently trying for a baby so every penny will count when on maternity leave. So future planning on cutting cost effectively..

Any help/advice appreciated!

Yes, the firestick will let you do Prime and Netflix and Disney+ (you just log in with your email and password once you have signed up for those services) and Youtube, plus all those catchup services should be on there already (think you have to log into them these days, but they are free) so BBC and All4 and ITVX etc should be on there or if not can be installed on there.

once you have spent maybe half an hour getting logged into everything then it just works forever, and its really handy if you go away on holiday because you can take it with you and plug it into the TV where you are staying (within the UK everything works as expected, but if you plug it in abroad then you wont be able to get the iPlayer stuff I think, and Netflix, Disney plus etc have different rights in different countries, so there is a chance you wont be able to watch quite the same things. We went to Bulgaria last year and Disney Plus just said "Nope sorry, we aren't in Bulgaria yet" but some of the other services worked ok :)

I personally think Amazon Prime is invaluable just for the free deliveries alone. Netflix I have but only because ds insists upon it. Still with Sky at the moment but may well give it up at the end of its contract Dec 2024.

Hi @Haleso I have a very elderly relative who is currently paying Sky £80 per month for her phone line, internet and a very basic Sky TV package. I fear she may be overpaying and she hasn’t negotiated as she is hearing impaired and it’s difficult for her to talk on the phone. Would you mind giving an indication of what you were paying and the package.

Actually I think she is paying £90 pcm

100% this!
Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video (which you get as part of Prime anyway so is practically free if you have Prime for the free delivery), and YouTube (the standard free version). Never run out of things to watch.

No TV license and no TV subscription like Sky, BT, NowTV.

Prime does have a lot of stuff for the money IMO. I tend to go in waves with prime, ordering lots of stuff. So cancel it then restart again.

I have the sky sports via NowTV. BT sport I get for the football, but only on a month by month basis, sometimes cancel it.

I think some of the free streaming apps are great. Obviously iplayer, ITV and channel 4.

But I think Channel 5 is actually getting a lot stronger recently with the shows it has on.

There is also a lot of decent stuff on 5 USA that I like - NCIS and Blue Bloods. for example and I will watch the odd Law and Order as well.

Interested to know what now/bt are like for sports. Do you get all the sky sports channels (arena etc) and the red button matches?
We have sky primarily for sports coverage and always negotiate down the price but although the other providers can look cheaper it's always vague about what sky channels they actually carry.

We have subscribe to Netflix and Disney+, then I'll subscribe to Amazon/Apple TV/Now TV for the odd month when there's something on that I want to watch. I don't see the point in Sky unless you're really into Sport, but then I haven't had it in over a decade so there may well be something I'm missing.

TiVo on package from Virgin Media. All we need, although we do have Prime.

I was wondering when someone would actually name the obvious!

Also Freesat.

We have Virgin Media and DH has an Amazon prime subscription but I would get rid of VM if we needed to cut back.

Free view and Prime.

We used to.have Netflix but stopped about a year ago as we hardly used it, and we haven't missed it.

I bought a Roku stick (like a Firestick) for about £25 I think...it allows me to watch everything I need (incl all the normal BBC/ITV/C4 etc channels). Just plug it into the TV and all the apps appear (Netflix, Apple TV, Disney etc). If you subscribe to them you then just log on as you would normally. It's just a one off payment, so no monthly Sky bills for me anymore 🙌🏻 Haven't missed it at all!

I have Netflix and Disney plus a free 12 month Apple (can't remember why I got that...think it was when I upgraded my phone!) There's loads of free apps on the stick too but I've not really looked at these.

Just coming back to the thread. When we bought our now TV box we got a free trial of movies or entertainment. However now I get an email every so often with offers. I've just signed up to the movies package for £1 a month for three months on an offer. There were a few films we wanted to watch anyway and we will make use of it over the next couple of months - especially school hols. I've had the same for the entertainment package previously.

There always seems to be some offer available, and by cycling through all of the various ones we never seem to have nothing to watch. You just have to remember to cancel. I always put it in my phone calendar when I sign up so I don't forget.