BT TV, the TV platform offered by BT to its broadband customers, is offering a tempting new deal on its Entertainment package, which includes a subscription to two popular streaming services – and BT’s new 4K YouView recorder box, the BT TV Pro.
The package offers a standard Netflix subscription, a NOW Entertainment subscription, and the box – and it normally costs £17/month.
For a limited time, however, BT is offering the same package for just £6/month – with a 24 months contract, and as long you’re also a BT Broadband customer.
The offer is available to both new AND existing BT customers (with a few caveats), but it’s only available until April 14, so customers will need to hurry up and check whether this is a good deal for them – and we’re here to help with that.
BT’s TV Platform Explained
BT started bundling Netflix into its TV packages a few months ago, shortly after launching its new BT TV Box Pro box.
The new box is a 4K/HDR YouView-based box with streaming apps and a lot of storage for Freeview recordings.
Its technical specifications include:
- 4K / HDR
- Dolby Atmos sound support
- 1TB of storage for recordings (Double that of the standard BT TV Box)
- 4 Tuners – Record up to 3 shows on separate channels, and watch a fourth (or a previously recorded one)
- Record, pause and rewind live TV for up to two hours
- A Bluetooth remote, so you don’t need line-of-sight to your box.
- An HDMI Port (no SCART!)
- Ethernet and WiFi connectivity
The BT TV Box Pro also has a long list of supported streaming apps – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, Britbox, BT Sport, BT Player, Milkshake and more, as well as all the standard catch-up streaming apps – BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4, My5, UKTV Play, S4C, STV Player and BBC Sounds.
BT’s “Flexible” TV packages are attached to BT’s broadband plans (you can’t get BT TV on its own, except for BT Sport, which is also available as a monthly pass).
The BT TV packages, along with BT’s broadband, come with a 24-months contract – so not very “flexible”.
However, the flexible part 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.
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 Prime Video, and more.
BT TV’s Discounted Entertainment Offer
The cheapest BT TV bundle is the “Entertainment Package”, which 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 (Only SD content, only on one screen at a time)
- The AMC Channel, which is exclusive to BT TV and includes American shows and films.
- Six free months of BritBox, the British streaming service from ITV
- The BT TV Pro Box, which lets you watch and record Freeview channels
Until April 14, 2022, you can get this package for £6/month, instead of the usual £17/month.
If you wish, you can later add or upgrade the package (change from Netflix’s Basic plan to the 4K one, for example – at an extra cost, of course).
You can also add some of BT’s other packages – if you want to add sports, for example.
Remember – you need to also be a BT Broadband customer (which incurs an additional cost), either a new one or an existing one – plus sign a 24-months contract, both for broadband and the TV package.
Is The BT TV £6/Month Deal Worth It?
Without BT, the Basic Netflix plan normally costs £6.99/month (after the recent price increase), and the NOW Entertainment membership costs £9.99/month if you buy it directly.
So, at the normal price of £17/month, you’re not really saving any money with the BT Entertainment Package – except, perhaps, if you take into consideration the TV Box Pro.
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 for “free”.
However, things are different with this limited time £6/month offer – now, you’re getting NOW Entertainment and Netflix (albeit the Basic plan) at almost a third of the normal cost of both of them together.
So looking at the price alone, it’s a good deal. BUT… 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.
So first, make sure BT’s broadband service is a good idea for you, AND you’re willing to sign a 24-months contract.
Then, the Entertainment Package, as an add-on, becomes a good deal. BUT (yes, another but) – 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.
So, with both pros and cons, this comes down to personal choice – if you see yourself watching Netflix and NOW for the next 24 months anyway – then you might as well pay less.
The T3 has Loop Out, such that you can run a male to male aerial cable from the wall socket to the T3, and then from the Loop Out on the T3, a further aerial cable (probably female to male) onward to the TV.
This will avoid the 3dB (50%!) loss that your splitter is currently causing.
The BT Pro box has the same feature, so you could daisy-chain that in as well.
Or do what Or suggests with the T3. But definitely use the Pro box RF Out and an extra aerial cable rather than the splitter. If you aerial signal is at all marginal, this should improve your PQ no end.
Hi, i have just accepted this deal, as my Broadband with EE expires soon so talking with them yesterday BT have joined together with EE and the new 2 yr contract works out cheaper than my previous one, and i will save even more as i already have Netflix and Now Entertainment saving me another £17. So for me i think its a good deal. Now i have a question i have a smart tv and i have the Manhattan T3 box for recordings etc, i run both from an indoor aeriel with a little splitter you get from Wilkinson, i have some stuff recorded on my box i havent yet watched i would like to know can i split it 3 ways and run both boxes, what is best to use to achieve this or should i just bite the bullet and use just the BT Box, we only have 1 tv as we live in a 1 bed flat, thanks, regards Will Malone.
There are 3-way aerial splitters, but why would you need to connect two Freeview recorders to one TV? If you only need the Manhattan one so you could finish watching old recordings (I’m assuming you mean the T3-R, as the T3 doesn’t record), then you don’t need to keep it connected to the aerial. Just make sure it’s still connected to the TV (via HDMI), watch the old recordings, and in the meantime record new ones on the BT Box which is connected to the aerial