EE TV has shaken up its TV packages this month, introducing a cheaper Netflix and Sky (NOW) bundle from £10 a month while dropping Big Entertainment from sale.
The changes apply to both BT and EE broadband customers, with a new entry-level Entertainment package sitting below the renamed Entertainment Plus, currently on offer for £18/month. Sports customers on BT broadband also get an HD upgrade.
But the cheaper starting price comes with compromises, including the loss of recording on the supplied box. Furthermore, these are also promotional prices, with increases already scheduled during the two-year contract.
And with Sky packing more streaming services into its own bundles, how does EE’s new line-up compare? For some viewers, subscribing to Netflix and NOW separately could make more sense – so is this still a good deal?
What Is EE TV?
EE TV is the service that used to be called BT TV. It supplies a box for your television and bundles live channels with subscriptions to services such as Netflix and sports, depending on the package you choose.
Unlike Sky, EE’s entertainment offering is not built around its own range of TV channels. Much of it comes from Sky itself, through NOW, Sky’s streaming service. That is how you get channels such as Sky Atlantic, with Sky Sports and Sky Cinema available in other packages or as extras.
You also get familiar free-to-air channels, such as BBC One, ITV and Channel 4. Depending on the box, you can watch Freeview through an aerial or stream a selection of those channels over broadband, alongside catch-up and streaming apps.
The other big difference from Sky is who can subscribe. You can take Sky TV without Sky broadband, but EE TV is tied to an EE or BT broadband subscription.
The advertised TV price is an extra charge on top of that broadband bill.
What Has Changed?
The new line-up took effect on September 3.
Until this refresh, Entertainment was the starting point for EE’s main entertainment bundles. It included Netflix Standard with Ads and, following the HBO Max changes earlier this year, NOW Entertainment & HBO Max.
That package still exists, but it is now called Entertainment Plus. Its standard price remains £22/month, currently reduced to £18.
The new Entertainment package sits below it, at £17/month before offers. It pairs Netflix Standard with Ads with the cheaper NOW Entertainment membership, and comes exclusively with the EE TV Box Edge.
The Cheaper Box Cannot Record
For years, BT TV, and then EE TV, built its box-based offering around the 4K Box Pro: a device that combined streaming apps with a hard drive for recording live TV.
Alongside it was a smaller box, originally called the Mini and now known as the Edge. When BT launched the Mini in 2022, it was intended for extra rooms.
You had the Pro recorder on your main television, and could add the smaller streaming box for a bedroom or another TV.
The Mini had no aerial connection or hard drive. It streamed channels and apps over broadband, but could not record programmes.
With the new Entertainment package, that extra-room box effectively moves from the bedroom to the living room. The Edge is now the main box supplied with the cheapest bundle, connecting over Wi-Fi without an aerial or satellite dish.
And it still cannot record.
That removes one of EE’s advantages over streaming-only devices. The Pro can save programmes from supported live channels to its hard drive, including in its aerial-free internet mode. You can keep a programme to watch later rather than depend entirely on whether it is still available in a catch-up app.
For plenty of our readers, that is an important difference. Streaming is convenient, but it does not make recording redundant.
On the BT broadband route, the Box Pro is supplied with Entertainment Plus, Sport, Sport Plus and Full Works.
The new entry-level Entertainment package gets the non-recording Edge instead. Eligible EE broadband packages also offer other device choices, including Apple TV 4K (which also can’t record), but the new cheapest tier is Edge-only.
There is some uncomfortable history here, too. Back in 2022, BT’s main Entertainment package normally cost £17/month, and the Pro recorder was included.
Today, £17 is the standard price of the new, more limited starting package.
The subscriptions have changed since then, so this is not an identical bundle being sold again. But paying that amount used to get you the recorder as part of the deal.
Keep in mind, EE has not announced the end of recording. The Pro remains available.
Still, for new customers choosing an entertainment package, recording has become a reason to move up a tier. That might be a concerning direction for a service whose hardware helped it stand out.
Entertainment Versus Entertainment Plus
Both packages include Netflix Standard with Ads, the version of Netflix with advert breaks. The main subscription difference is which NOW membership you get.
NOW sells separate memberships for entertainment, films and Sky Sports. Its entertainment offering is now split into two versions: NOW Entertainment, and NOW Entertainment & HBO Max.
HBO Max is Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, home to HBO series such as Game of Thrones and The Last of Us, as well as Warner Bros. films. Some returning HBO shows also remain on Sky Atlantic, so you do not necessarily need the full HBO Max subscription just to watch their latest season.
That is the distinction behind EE’s two packages. The cheaper Entertainment plan includes NOW Entertainment, with Sky’s entertainment programmes and selected returning HBO series, but not the full HBO Max library.
For example, NOW currently lists Euphoria season three on its cheaper Entertainment membership, but seasons one and two require Entertainment & HBO Max.
A new subscriber wanting to start from the beginning needs the higher membership.
Entertainment Plus includes the higher NOW Entertainment & HBO Max membership. The HBO Max part is its Basic with Ads tier: HBO series and older Warner Bros. films, but not the newest films arriving after their cinema run.
Our full HBO Max guide explains the differences between subscribing directly and getting it through a bundle.
There is also a difference between having HBO Max content inside NOW and using the separate HBO Max app. Eligible EE customers can activate an HBO Max account through NOW and watch in that app instead, with Full HD and two simultaneous streams included.
That does not require NOW Boost, the paid add-on that improves picture quality and removes on-demand adverts when watching in NOW. Boost’s benefits apply to the NOW app; they do not turn your separate HBO Max Basic account into an ad-free subscription.
There is now another option for film fans: HBO Max lists a £1/month Standard with Ads upgrade for customers receiving Basic through providers including BT/EE.
Purchased separately from HBO Max, it adds the full HBO Max film library and downloads in the HBO Max app. It does not remove adverts or give you NOW Cinema.
The New EE TV Line-Up
For sports viewers, there are two separate services to keep track of: TNT Sports and Sky Sports.
EE’s Sport package covers TNT; Sport Plus adds Sky Sports through a NOW Sports membership.
The entertainment packages do not automatically include either.
So the five packages now on sale are:
- Entertainment: NOW Entertainment and Netflix Standard with Ads, with the non-recording Box Edge. Standard price £17/month; currently £10/month.
- Entertainment Plus: NOW Entertainment & HBO Max Basic with Ads, plus Netflix Standard with Ads. This is the former Entertainment package. Standard price £22/month; currently £18/month.
- Sport: TNT Sports channels 1-4 in HD, TNT Sports Ultimate, its 4K sports channel, and TNT Sports access through HBO Max. Currently £5/month for three months, then £27/month.
- Sport Plus: The former Big Sport package, combining TNT Sports with NOW Sports and NOW Boost. Currently £55/month.
- Full Works: NOW Entertainment & HBO Max Basic with Ads, Netflix Standard without adverts, NOW Cinema, TNT Sports, NOW Sports and NOW Boost. Currently £88/month.
For BT broadband customers, Sport and Sport Plus now include HD as standard. TNT Sports Ultimate (4K) is also included, although BT specifies a broadband speed above 40Mbps for it.
NOW Cinema is Sky’s film membership, with its movie channels and on-demand catalogue. Big Entertainment, which combined that with the entertainment subscriptions, has been withdrawn from sale.
That removes the ready-made entertainment-and-films option from the main line-up, although NOW Cinema is still listed as an optional extra. You do not have to jump straight to the £88 Full Works package just to add it.
There are price differences beyond the names, too. When we covered EE TV in June, the standard Sport price was £25/month and Big Sport was £51. Today’s prices are £27 and £55 respectively.
The Offers And The Price Rises
The current Entertainment, Entertainment Plus and Sport promotions are advertised with a September 24 deadline. That is the deadline for taking the offer, not the date your new monthly payment suddenly jumps to the undiscounted price.
The offers also do not freeze your bill for two years, and like most broadband and TV providers, EE applies annual increases even during your contract. Therefore these TV packages go up by £2/month each March 31.
So, BT’s current pricing shows:
| Package | Starting monthly price | From March 31, 2027 | From March 31, 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | £10 | £12 | £14 |
| Entertainment Plus | £18 | £20 | £22 |
| Sport | £5 for 3 months, then £27 | £29 | £31 |
| Sport Plus | £55 | £57 | £59 |
| Full Works | £88 | £90 | £92 |
All five are advertised on 24-month contracts, with £0 upfront. Broadband costs extra, and its charges are separate from the TV prices above.
EE describes the packages as flexible because you can switch between them every 30 days, until the final three months of your contract. That can be useful if you want sport for part of the year and entertainment at another time.
It does not mean you can cancel the whole TV subscription whenever you like. You are still making a two-year commitment.
How Does It Compare With Sky And Going Direct?
At £10/month, the new Entertainment offer is a tempting add-on if you already want BT or EE broadband and have no interest in recording. At the standard £17 price, the argument is weaker.
Following Netflix’s September price increase, Standard with Ads costs £7.99/month. NOW Entertainment costs £7.99/month on its rolling option, which you can cancel from month to month. That makes £15.98/month for the two separately, without a two-year TV contract.
For the closer equivalent to Entertainment Plus, Netflix with ads and the £9.99/month rolling NOW Entertainment & HBO Max membership come to £17.98/month. That is almost identical to EE’s £18 offer, and below its £22 standard price.
Those direct subscriptions do not supply a recorder or a TV box. If you already have a suitable smart TV or streaming device, though, that may not matter.
NOW also offers lower prices in return for a six-month minimum term, so EE is not the only provider with discounts.
Sky makes the comparison more awkward. Sky Stream is its small plug-in TV box, delivering live channels and streaming apps over broadband without a satellite dish.
Its current Ultimate offer is £24/month on a 24-month minimum term, with Netflix Standard with Ads, Disney+ Standard with Ads, HBO Max Basic with Ads and the reality-TV service Hayu, alongside its entertainment channels. Prices may change during the contract.
As we explored in our look at whether Sky is now good value, combining several services can make sense if you would otherwise pay for them separately.
And Sky’s Hayu inclusion is now the full catalogue of more than 250 shows, following July’s rollout. NOW’s entertainment memberships offer selected Hayu programmes instead. Sky’s version is watched through Sky rather than a separate Hayu account, and can contain adverts.
Compared with EE Entertainment Plus at its standard £22, Sky’s current £24 offer adds Disney+ and that full Hayu catalogue for £2 more. That is a standard-price-versus-offer comparison, of course: while EE’s £18 promotion is available, the difference is £6.
Sky Stream also works with other broadband providers. You do not have to move your broadband to Sky, whereas EE TV requires BT or EE broadband.
But Sky Stream does not have a hard drive for recordings. EE’s Pro box remains a reason to prefer Entertainment Plus if recording matters to you. The new Edge-only Entertainment package gives up that advantage.
There is another comparison coming soon. Vodafone TV launches in October, combining Netflix and HBO Max with Freely, the free service that delivers live channels from the BBC, ITV and other broadcasters over broadband without an aerial.
It will be available to eligible Vodafone customers, but the company has not announced the price yet. That is the missing piece we need before judging how it compares with EE and Sky.
A cheaper EE TV option is welcome. It just needs to be judged on what it actually includes, the broadband commitment and the bill after the introductory price.
If recording was the reason you were considering EE in the first place, the new cheapest package will not do the job.