BT TV’s entertainment and sports discounts are back – and this time, the sports enthusiasts are getting the better end of the deal – although there are also some good discounts for entertainment fans.
All in all, with these offers, subscribers can save up to £414 across a two-year contract, depending on the plan they go for.
With its current limited-time deal, BT is offering its streaming Entertainment TV bundle, which includes several popular streaming services and channels as well as a 4K Freeview recording box, for £15/month (instead of the usual £20/m) – for the whole duration of the contract – so that’s 24 months.
In addition to BT’s ‘Entertainment’ bundle, there’s also an even better offer on the Sport bundle, which includes TNT Sports (formerly known as BT Sport), as well as Eurosport and Discovery+ Premium, so you can get those for £12/month (instead of £18/m) for 24 months.
And if you want more – the Big Sport bundle (which also includes Sky Sports) is also discounted, and the cost of the VIP bundle – which includes everything (including Sky Cinema) – has been slashed as well to just £60/month (see full details below).
This time around though, the upfront setup fee of £30 is still around for two of the plans (Entertainment / Sport), but it’s been waived for the other bundles.
As always, there are a few caveats – for example, while the discount is set for 24 months, the prices CAN (and probably will) go up in March 2024, along with the CPI rate of inflation – which is a very common (and very annoying) habit of the “traditional” broadband and TV companies.
Also, remember that BT’s TV offers are only available as an add-on for BT’s Broadband customers – so you can’t get any of it as a standalone offer (unlike Sky Stream, for example).
It’s also worth mentioning that in September, BT TV’s Entertainment plan lost its long-running exclusive channel – AMC (which aired The Walking Dead spin-offs, for example).
So, are these offers any good – and how do they compare to other recent deals from BT TV and the competition? Read ahead for my analysis.
BT’s TV Platform: What Do You Get
BT started bundling Netflix into its TV packages in 2021, shortly after launching its 4K BT TV Box Pro box.
The box is a 4K/HDR YouView-based device with streaming apps and plenty of storage for Freeview recordings.
It supports Dolby Atmos audio, has 4 tuners (so you can record up to three shows on separate channels and watch a fourth), 1TB of storage, a Bluetooth remote, and both WiFi and Ethernet connectivity.
The BT TV Box Pro also supports quite a few streaming apps – Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, NOW, BT Player, Milkshake and more, as well as all the standard catch-up streaming apps – BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, UKTV Play, S4C, STV Player and BBC Sounds.
While not as comprehensive as standalone streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV sticks or Roku (there are a few major apps still missing – such as Disney+) – BT’s box does include most of the important ones.
Recently, the Discovery+ app was also finally added to the BT TV Box Pro (and Mini box).
In addition to the streaming apps, you can use BT’s box to watch many (but not all) Freeview channels without an aerial – and even record programmes from those channels to its internal hard drive, something both Sky Glass / Sky Stream and Virgin’s Stream Box can’t do.
For those who want to watch in more rooms – BT also offers the BT TV Mini Box, which includes the same streaming apps and the ability to stream Freeview channels via broadband. But the Mini box doesn’t have any recording capabilities.
BT’s “Flexible” TV packages are attached to BT’s broadband plans (so you can’t get BT TV on its own).
It’s also important to note again that BT TV’s packages, when bundled with BT’s broadband, require a 24-month contract, which limits flexibility compared to standard streaming services.
The “flexible” part in the name comes from being able to change your TV package every 30 days – switch from Entertainment to Sports, cancel one and add another, or just get the VIP package, which includes everything (but you can’t cancel the TV contract completely until your original contract is up).
However, if (in the future) you switch from any of the discounted bundles you will most likely not be able to get them back at the current discounted price point – so be careful if you choose to do that while you’re still under contract.
In addition to seamlessly switching between packages, customers can also attach stand-alone add-ons to their packages – such as Sky’s NOW streaming plans, Amazon’s Prime Video, and more – or upgrade to Netflix’s higher tiers (to get 4K content, for example).
It’s also worth mentioning that according to recent reports, BT is planning to move both its broadband and TV platforms to EE (which is also owned by BT), possibly along with an Apple TV box given as part of the package.
This will likely happen sometime in early 2024 – but there are no definite dates yet.
BT TV’s October Offers
From now until October 19, 2023 (though they often end up keeping the deal until the end of the month) you can get most of BT TV’s bundles at a discount – including the VIP Plan, and there are additional discounts for broadband bundles.
The Entertainment bundle is available for existing BT customers as an add-on, or for new customers who sign up for BT’s broadband. It includes:
- Sky’s streaming service – NOW – with its Entertainment Membership, which includes Sky’s TV channels such as Sky Atlantic and Sky Max.
- Netflix’s Basic Plan – This plan lets you watch on one device at a time, with 720p picture quality. Note that this isn’t Netflix’s Standard with Ads tier – so you won’t see adverts.
- Discovery+ (The ‘Basic’ tier only, which includes lifestyle, factual, and reality shows – without sports)
- The BT TV 4K Pro Box (which lets you watch Freeview over broadband)
As mentioned, the AMC channel – which used to be a part of BT’s Entertainment bundles – no longer exists.
You can now get this package for £15/month (instead of £20/month), for the entire duration of your contract – 24 months.
Also, there’s a one-time, £30 upfront activation fee.
A few months ago, this plan was on offer for £10/month, and last month it was available for £12/month – so the discount isn’t as good as it used to be – but you can still save £120 with it.
The Sport bundle doesn’t include any of the entertainment streaming services, but it does include:
- All 4 TNT Sports channels
- Eurosport 1 and 2
- Discovery+ (Premium – which also includes the streaming versions of Eurosport and TNT Sports)
- The BT TV 4K Pro Box
You can now get this package for £12/month (instead of £18/month), for the entire duration of your contract – 24 months.
And again, there’s a one-time £30 upfront activation fee.
This plan was also available for just £10/month a few months ago – but last month it was £15/month (albeit without an activate fee) – so it’s a better discount than last time.
The Big Sport bundle has even more sports channels, including:
- All 4 TNT Sports channels
- Eurosport 1 and 2
- NOW Sky Sports (with all 11 Sky Sports channels)
- Discovery+ (Premium – which also includes the streaming versions of Eurosport and TNT Sports)
- The BT TV 4K Pro Box
You can now get this bundle for £35/month (instead of £43/month), for the entire duration of your contract – 24 months.
And – there’s NO upfront fee with this bundle.
And last but not least, the VIP bundle includes, well, everything:
- NOW Entertainment Membership, which includes Sky’s TV channels such as Sky Atlantic and Sky Max.
- NOW Cinema Membership which includes Sky’s live and on-demand movie channels
- NOW Boost which adds Full HD (1080p) and removes the adverts from on-demand content.
- Netflix’s Standard Plan (Not the Basic one! This is the one with Full HD and no adverts)
- All 4 TNT Sports channels
- Eurosport 1 and 2
- NOW Sky Sports (with all 11 Sky Sports channels)
- Discovery+ (Premium – which also includes the streaming versions of Eurosport and TNT Sports)
- The BT TV 4K Pro Box (which lets you watch Freeview over broadband)
You can now get this bundle for £60/month (instead of £76/month), for the entire duration of your contract – 24 months – and without an upfront fee.
This represents a discount of £414 over the two years (if you also count the waiver of the upfront fee).
BT also offers a ‘Big Entertainment’ bundle, that includes NOW Entertainment and NOW Cinema – but there’s no discount on this one. Its regular cost if £30/month (currently without an upfront fee).
BT’s October Broadband Offers
Customers who aren’t yet signed up for BT’s broadband, can get discounts on most of BT’s broadband plans as well – with the current “bonus” being a £50 Mastercard Virtual Card that you get with some of the packages.
It’s difficult to compare broadband prices and offers directly, since prices often depend on your location and the type of plans and speeds you can get (check here), but a few examples of the current discounts are:
- Fibre Essential (36Mb) at £27.99/month for 24 months.
- Fibre 2 (67Mb), for £29.99/month for 24 months, and you also get a £50 reward card.
- Full Fibre 100 (150Mb), for £29.99/month for 24 months, with a £50 rewards card.
There’s also a £9.99 upfront fee with these offers. And, once you sign up for broadband, you can of course also add any of the discounted TV offers.
Are BT TV’s Offers Worth It?
The main attraction of these new discounts is that they last for the whole duration of your contract – though, of course, that also means you’re locked in with BT for 24 months.
Also, as mentioned, keep in mind that the prices will go up every year due to the annual inflation-based price increases.
So let’s start with the Entertainment bundle:
Without BT, the Basic Netflix plan used to cost £6.99/month, and the NOW Entertainment membership costs £9.99/month if you buy it directly – so £16.98/month in total (and that’s without taking into account the fact that you can almost always find cheaper NOW deals).
However, Netflix recently discontinued its Basic plan as a standalone offer – even though you can still get it as part of BT’s plan. Therefore, a direct comparison is a bit tricky.
If you’re willing to watch adverts though – Netflix has a cheaper plan, the Standard with Adverts plan – which costs £4.99/month – so £14.98/month in total.
And then, we also need to factor in Discovery+ Basic, which you now get as part of the BT TV bundle. If you sign up to Discovery+ directly – the Basic plan costs £3.99/month – which comes down to a total of £18.97/month.
So, at the regular BT price of £20/month, not only are you not saving money with the BT Entertainment Package – you’re paying slightly more – but you’re getting Netflix’s ad-free tier, and you’re getting the BT TV Pro 4K box.
A similar Freeview recorder, which also includes streaming apps, like the Humax Aura (see our review), costs around £250. So you’re basically getting an expensive recorder/streaming box at no extra cost (but you have to give it back if you leave BT).
With the current October offer, however, you’ll be paying £15/month for 24 months. So looking at the price alone, it’s certainly a discount, though not a very big one.
And remember – you’re also signing up for BT’s broadband service, which may not necessarily be the cheapest or the best in your particular situation/address.
Furthermore – you’re signing up for 24 months. I’m not a big fan of long TV contracts, and you lose the flexibility that cord cutting normally gives you, when you sign up for a Netflix/NOW package for 24 months.
And, there’s one more thing to consider: if you can wait a month – at this point, I would wait for BT’s Black Friday deals in November, when the Entertainment Bundle will – very likely – be even cheaper (which isn’t necessarily true for the Sports Bundles…)
Is The BT Sport Bundle Discount Worth It?
The Sports bundle is even harder to compare – since every pay-TV service offers it at different price points and with constantly changing deals.
If you look at the standalone Discovery+ Premium streaming subscription, which includes TNT Sports and Eurosport – it costs £29.99 – so of course, if you’re a TNT Sports fan, getting it for £12/month (along with Discovery+ and Eurosport) is a no-brainer.
It’s also a good price when compared to TNT Sports’ price on Sky Stream – where it’s currently priced at £28/month.
Also, Virgin Media recently removed TNT Sports from its traditional TV bundles – so it will now cost extra for new Virgin Media subscribers.
However, BT’s offer doesn’t beat Virgin Media’s streaming offer – where you can currently get TNT Sports for just £10/month (but only with Virgin Media’s broadband and its Stream box).
The Best Discount: The BT VIP Bundle
If you want to maximize your discounts, the VIP Bundle – which isn’t discounted often – offers the best value at the current £60/month and no upfront fees.
But, as always, my main issue with it is that you’re locking yourself into BT for 24 months – which is something to take note of.
And – will we see even cheaper prices on Black Friday next month? That’s certainly possible.
If you’re in a position to wait, then that might be the best idea – but if your contract is ending, and you really want to renew it now – then you might as well get it with a discount.