When it comes to TV sport, Sky Sports sits at the top of the table. Not only does it show the biggest competitions and events in the most popular sports, it’s led the way in making sports on television a bombastic artform in itself.
Although owned by Sky, it’s not exclusive to that TV service. In fact, you can get access to Sky Sports from almost every pay TV provider in the UK, and even on demand services.
Read on, and we’ll take you through how to find the best Sky Sports deals, what sports you can watch, and loads more useful information.
How do I get Sky Sports?
The quickest way is to compare deals. Simply put your postcode into the box below, and we'll show you deals that include Sky's sportiest of services:
Compare broadband deals in your area
You'll notice that Sky Sports is available through a few different providers:
- Sky TV
- Virgin Media TV
- TalkTalk TV
- BT TV
- NOW TV (day, week and monthly passes)
Precisely what you get, and what you'll have to pay, differs depending on which provider you choose. We'll go into that below.
What can I watch on Sky Sports?
If there's one thing that sets Sky Sports apart from its competition, it's sheer quantity. Sky's picked up the rights to a lot of championships and events. It spreads them over a number of channels:
- Sky Sports Main Event: highlights the biggest sporting events, including high profile Premier League matches.
- Sky Sports Premier League: shows Premier League coverage, as you may have guessed. Sky shares Premier League rights with other services, but has more live matches than any other.
- Sky Sports Football: shows EFL, SPFL, Carabao Cup and UEFA Nations League coverage
- Sky Sports Cricket: shows England home Test Series, ODIs, T20 matches, the IPL and county cricket.
- Sky Sports Golf: live coverage of events from the PGA, European and LPGA Tours, as well as major events like The Open, Masters Tournament and Ryder Cup.
- Sky Sports Racing: formerly Attheraces, shows live coverage of horse racing, including major races like Ascot.
- Sky Sports F1: shows full coverage of every Formula One race, practice and qualifying sessions.
- Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Arena: show boxing, rugby, tennis, WWE, darts… basically, any sport or series that doesn’t fit into the above categories.
- Sky Sports News: all-day news and clips from the world of sport.
- Sky Sports Mix
These channels are available from all providers, usually in HD, along with a wealth of catch-up and on-demand content too.
How much do Sky Sports packages cost?
We've highlighted some Sky Sports deals here so you can see how much they cost:
- 67Mb average* speed
- 176 TV channels
- £31.99 Setup costs
- 24 month contract
- £81.99 per month
- £81.24 Avg. monthly cost
*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.
To see a full list of current prices, use our comparison service and we'll show you deals from BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and NOW, so you can compare them side by side:
What's the cheapest Sky Sports package?
Honestly, that depends on when you're looking. Special offers can change the landscape considerably, so the only way to definitively see the cheapest is to compare packages available in your area with our postcode checker.
Generally speaking, however, the cheapest way to get Sky Sports full stop is by subscribing to the app. It's low cost, but it does mean you can only access sports through your mobile or tablet - not through your TV set.
In our experience, Sky typically works out as the most affordable way to get Sky Sports - and the add-on rolls monthly so you can cancel and restart at any time.
The same goes for NOW, which offers day, week and month Membership passes. They're great value, and you can access your sports any way that you can access the NOW app - be that through your TV box, smart TV, mobile or tablet, games console, and so on.
Sky Sports on Sky
Sky itself presents one of the cheaper ways to get its sports service (though Sky TV itself isn't necessarily cheap). All channels can be watched on TV or online via Sky Go.
The add-on rolls monthly too, so you can chop and change any time.
Sky Sports on TalkTalk
If you have TalkTalk TV, you can subscribe to an add-on that contains all Sky Sports channels. It actually operates via the NOW app, meaning you can get it on a daily, weekly, or rolling monthly basis. So you're not locked into any long-term commitments.
Sky Sports on Virgin Media
You can add-on a pack containing all Sky Sports channels to any Virgin Media TV package. It's also included as standard in some of its bundles, or as a combo package with Sky Cinema too - which could mean an extra special deal.
As a subscriber, you can also watch Sky Sports on the go via the app.
Bear in mind, however, you may have to pay extra to get your sports channels in HD.
Sky Sports on BT
If you have BT TV, you can get Sky Sports through the NOW app - easily accessible via the YouView set top box.
You can fold a subscription into your BT bill, or even enjoy it as part of a BT TV bundle, which can mean extra savings.
Sky Sports Membership through NOW
NOW TV offers a number of Sky Sports passes, which can be bought alongside its NOW Broadband packages, or standalone. It lets you watch all Sky Sports channels online, via its website, smartphone and tablet app, some set top boxes (including YouView), smart TVs, games consoles, streaming sticks like Apple TV, and few other devices.
Three passes are available:
- Sky Sports Day Pass: full access to all Sky Sports channels for 24 hours
- Sky Sports Week Pass: seven days of Sky Sports access
- Sky Sports Month Pass: watch Sky Sports whenever you want for a month. This pass automatically renews each month, so you'll have to remember to cancel if you only want if for a particular event or series.
Can I get Sky Sports with no contract?
Yes you can. You can get contract-free Sky Sports from Sky, and any service that lets you take out a NOW Sports Membership.
In both cases, Sky Sports channels are available on a flexible rolling basis. Essentially, they auto-renew each month, but you can cancel if you don't want them anymore. (Daily and weekly membership passes from NOW don't always auto-renew, however.)
But even so, in many cases you do have to sign up to a TV package for a year or more. So even though you can cancel your Sky Sports channels whenever you want, you'll still have a basic TV package to pay for.
The only true contract-free Sky Sports then is a NOW TV Membership.
Sky Sports deals for existing customers
If you're already a Sky customer, the provider will be only too happy to let you upgrade to Sky Sports. To find out more, check out our full guide:
Can I get Sky Sports and BT Sport together?
You can! It's possible to get some form of BT Sport and Sky Sports with most providers, with the exception of NOW TV.
- Virgin Media - The only way to buy BT Sport and Sky Sports in one package. BT Sport can be added to any TV deal, and is included as standard in some of the provider's bundles.
- Sky - Once your TV service is up and running, you can add BT Sport - you just have to get it from BT directly. Here's how you do it.
- TalkTalk - Like Sky, your service will need to be active before you can get BT Sport. Once it is, you can request the channels from BT directly. Here's how you do it.
- BT - BT Sport can be added to BT TV, and is included already in some packages.
- NOW TV - BT Sport is not available.