BT broadband and TV deals offer flexible add-ons, live Premier League and Champions League games and 4K set top boxes with all packages. But what else have they got to offer? And how do they compare to Sky and Virgin? Let's take a close look.
BT TV packages
BT TV compares well with the Virgin Media, Now Broadband and Sky, whether your criteria is the range of channels available, the quality of its set top boxes or price.
One of the best things about BT TV is that it's very flexible. Provided you sign up for a 24-month BT broadband contract, you can you can add or subtract 'packs' of channels and streaming services on a month by month basis.
That's great if you only want BT Sport for the duration of the football season, for example. Or just want to get more children's channels while the kids are home for the summer holidays.
Below we take a look at each of the BT packs of channels, with a precis of what each one's got to offer:
Entertainment - BT's cheapest package includes full complement of Freeview channels, as well as Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, Comedy Central, AMC and 300 box sets on-demand from Now TV.
Big Entertainment - Full range of Sky Cinema channels and over 1,000 movies on demand, as well as everything on Entertainment pack.
Sport - All four BT Sport channels and Box Nation. Highlights include 52 live Premier League games per year, plus Champions League and Europa League.
Big Sport - Gets you everything that's in the Sport pack, as well as all 11 Sky Sports channels offering 128 live Premier League games, Formula 1 and The Ashes.
VIP - BT's top-of-the-range pack combines everything in the Big Sport and Big Entertainment packs, as well HD versions of Now TV, Sky and BT Sport channels.
BT also offers the Classic Entertainment pack, which is priced broadly in line with the Entertainment pack.
This differs from its other packs in the respect that it's only available on a 24-month contract and doesn't allow you to upgrade or downgrade on a monthly basis.
BT TV Bolt Ons
For an additional monthly charge, BT allows you to add extra channels and streaming services to your bundle. All of which work on a rolling-contract basis.
That means that like BT's TV packages, you can add and subtract them from month to month. If you choose not to cancel, they'll roll over to the following month.
The list of bolt-ons includes:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Netflix
- Now TV Kids Pass
- Now TV Hayu Pass
- BT Kids Pass
- BT Sport
- Now TV Sky Sports Pass
BT YouView boxes
All BT TV customers get a 4K YouView + box as standard. Key features include:
- Room for 300 hours of recordings
- Option to watch in 4K Ultra HD (4K TV set required)
- Set recordings and watch output on the go with BT TV app
- 7-day catch-up and on-demand services, including iPlayer, ITV Hub and All 4
BT TV app
Provided free of charge to all BT TV customers, the BT TV app lets you watch channels you've subscribed to on your phone, tablet, laptop or any other internet-enabled device.
However, it's worth noting you're limited to registering two devices at any one time and that you can't watch Sky Sports or Sky Movies.
BT TV multiroom and BT TV App Extra
If you want to watch BT on TVs in more rooms around the home, you've got two options. The first is to sign up for a BT Extra Box for an additional charge of £5 per month per box (at the time of writing).
To get this service, though, you'll need a minimum broadband speed of 23Mbps. So realistically that means you'll need to be on one of its fibre broadband packages.
Your other option for multiroom is BT TV App Extra. For a monthly charge that's in line with an extra box, this add-on lets you watch TV in multiple rooms around the home by casting to TVs.
But you'll need a Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Amazon Fire TV or Samsung Smart TV to do so.
The BT TV App Extra also lets you register up to four devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) so you can watch on the move.
BT broadband packages
Here's a snapshot look at each of BT's broadband packages and what sort of service you can expect...
- Broadband - BT’s cheapest broadband service gets you an average speed of 10Mbps and can be bundled with BT TV. It's fast enough for streaming TV, if you like alone or with one other person. However, if you live in a house full of people you’ll be better off with one of BT's faster, more reliable fibre packages, which support BT multiroom TV.
- Fibre Essential - The cheapest BT broadband package that supports multiroom TV, this service provides an average speed of 36Mbps. So it's a good bet for homes with 2-3 people, all of whom are frequently watching movies or playing online games simultaneously.
- Superfast Fibre - Superfast Fibre is a great option for gamers who take their hobby seriously and for anyone who prefers to stream TV or download 4K content rather than in standard definition. Like Fibre Essential, Superfast Fibre is good option for busy households, such as large family homes or student houses.
- Superfast Fibre 2 - BT’s fastest widely available broadband service with an average connection speed of 67Mbps, Superfast Fibre 2 is tailored for homes where multiple occupants are often to be found downloading and watching HD TV and playing games simultaneously.
How much is BT broadband and TV?
The cheapest way to get BT broadband and TV as a bundle is to sign up for its ADSL Broadband service or Fibre Essential product and team it with a Classic Entertainment, Entertainment or Sport package.
For any of these combinations you should expect to pay £35-£45 per month.
If you'd prefer its top of the range fibre broadband service with a widest possible range of channels, budget for about £90 per month.
As we've mentioned, though, because BT's TV bundles are so flexible your monthly bill is by no means set in stone.
So if you find you're spending too much, you can cut your bills by unsubscribing to one or all of your TV packs or add-ons.
Is BT TV and broadband any good?
There's a lot to recommend about BT's TV and broadband bundles. Its standout selling points are:
- TV add-ons are pretty flexible. Although you do have to sign a 24-month broadband contract
- BT Sport's range of live football and other sports is excellent
- YouView box is easy to use, supports 4K and comes with all packages
- Broadband speeds are pretty good. And critically, BT is available almost everywhere
- AMC is exclusive to BT in the UK and comes with all packages
- Plenty of channels and add-ons to choose from, including Sky Sports and Netflix
The less good things about BT TV and broadband are:
- Now Broadband TV and broadband bundles are more flexible, with the option of no-contract broadband and 30-day TV passes
- Sky Q and Virgin Media's set top boxes offer more features. Albeit for a price.
- Virgin Media's broadband is a lot faster. With the caveat that it's much less widely available than BT.
What's the contact number for BT broadband and TV packages?
You can get in touch with BT with broadband and TV queries on: 0800 800 150.
Alternatively, you can reach BT on Twitter or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BTUK/).
Our latest BT broadband & TV deals
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*Average speeds are based on the download speeds of at least 50% of customers at peak time(8pm to 10pm). Speed can be affected by a range of technical and environmental factors. The speed you receive where you live may be lower than that listed above. You can check the estimated speed to your property prior to purchasing.
