Sky Sports

What is Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is a group of premium channels that show elite sporting events and matches to customers with a subscription. Many of the events shown on Sky Sports are exclusive to the service and can’t legally be watched anywhere else. Sky Sports is a must-have for most sports fans in the UK, and luckily, it’s not limited to Sky customers only. BT, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and NOW all offer Sky Sports packages as part of their broadband and TV bundle deals, while you can also watch all the action on your mobile via the Sky Sports app.

Why get Sky Sports?

Sky Sports has long been the leader in sports broadcasting. Despite increasing competition in recent years from BT Sport, Sky Sports is still the go to for most armchair sports fans in the UK. Sky Sports has proven time and time again that it is a brand you can trust to bring you innovation, whether it's 3D broadcasting, adopting analysis technology like Hawkeye or being the first sports broadcaster in the UK to delve into app based viewing with Sky Go.

What can I watch on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports used to have a near-monopoly on broadcasting sporting events in the UK, although this is no longer that case with the rise of BT Sport in recent years. However, there’s still loads of exclusive sporting action to be found on Sky Sports across its various channels.

If you’re a Sky TV customer, you can choose to add a single Sky Sports channel of your choosing to your particular package, or you can pay for the whole lot. Knowing which channels are available and what they show can ensure you only pay for what you want to watch.

Sky Sports channels include:

• Sky Sports Main Event: The main Sky Sports channel, Main Event typically shows the most popular matches and events across all sports.
• Sky Sports Premier League: The home of Premier League football since its inception in 1992, Sky Sports Premier League still shows the majority of matches to this day. It shows 128 live matches every season, compared to just 52 on BT Sport.
• Sky Sports Football: Another channel dedicated to the beautiful game; Sky Sports Football shows all the non-Premier League football matches. This includes 138 live EFL matches plus play-offs, the EFL Cup, the UEFA Nations League, international friendlies and the MLS.
• Sky Sports Cricket: The UK’s best channel dedicated to cricket, Sky Sports Cricket shows exclusive coverage of England matches (test, ODI & T20), the ICC Cricket World Cup, the County Championship, T20 Blast, the Women’s Super League and more.
• Sky Sports Golf: The best place to watch live, exclusive golf events from around the world in on Sky Sports Golf. It covers all the major events including the Ryder Cup, the Open and the US Open.
• Sky Sports F1: The only place to watch live Formula 1 races in the UK is Sky Sports F1, which shows every Grand Prix race and time trials throughout the season.
• Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Arena: Although two separate channels, Sky Sports Action and Arena are usually tied under one package. They show a diverse range of sporting events from the UK and across the world, including the NBA, rugby league, darts, boxing, netball, and more.
• Sky Sports Mix: Available to all Sky TV customers, Sky Sports Mix shows a selection of live sporting events from across Sky Sports channels, as a way to promote Sky Sports to non-subscribers.
• Sky Sports News: Also available to all Sky TV customers, Sky Sports News brings you all the world’s sporting news, 24 hours a day.
• Sky Sports Racing: Previously called At the Races, Sky Sports Racing shows meetings from across the horse racing calendar all-year-round. It is also available to all Sky TV customers, not just Sky Sports subscribers.

How to get Sky Sports

Being called Sky Sports, most people might think that these channels are only available to Sky TV customers. But while Sky customers do get a range of flexible options when it comes to broadband and TV bundles, you don’t have to be a Sky customer to access Sky Sports. You can watch Sky Sports across all of the following platforms:

Sky TV

Current Sky TV customers can add their choice of Sky Sports channels to their existing package, from just the one they want, to all of them. Sky Sports subscriptions generally last for 18 months. Sky Sports Mix, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Racing are available to all Sky TV customers free of charge.

Virgin Media TV

Virgin Media customers can also get Sky Sports by adding it for an extra monthly cost. All Sky Sports channels are included on Virgin Media’s Full House Sports TV bundle, as well as the VIP bundle. Meanwhile, like Sky, all Virgin TV customers can watch Sky Sports Mix, Sky Sports New and Sky Sports Racing.

NOW

You can watch all 11 Sky Sports channels with NOW TV’s Sky Sports Membership, which are available on a rolling monthly basis or as a one-off, 7-day or 24-hour pass. You also don’t have to be a NOW TV or broadband customer to benefit, and you don’t even need a TV. If you watch sports but aren’t bothered about any other TV channels, you can get NOW TV’s Sky Sports Membership as a standalone product and watch it via an app on your mobile or computer.

BT TV

To watch Sky Sports as a BT customer, you will need to have a NOW TV Sky Sports Pass. These are included in BT’s Big Sport and VIP packages, while customers on other packages can add it for an extra monthly fee.

TalkTalk TV

TalkTalk TV packages don’t include any Sky Sports channels as standard, although the Sky Sports Boost gives you the option to add all eight premium Sky Sports channels. However, this doesn’t give you access to Sky Sports Mix, News or Racing, channels which other providers offer to non-Sky Sports subscribers.

Mobile app

The Sky Sports Mobile TV app is the cheapest way to enjoy Sky Sports, although you will be limited to watching it on your mobile or tablet. If you’re fine with that, you can get access to Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports News for just £5.99 a month, or for £10.99 a month you can add Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports F1.

How to watch Sky Sports in HD

Unlike most channels on the Sky Entertainment package, all Sky Sports channels are high-definition (HD) as standard. You can also watch most Premier League matches and F1 races in ultra HD, although for this you will need a Sky Q bundle deal including the 2TB Sky Q box, both the Sky Sports and Sky Entertainment packages, and a 4K tv.

How much is Sky Sports?

At the time of writing, if you're already a Sky customer, it's £23 per month (18 month contract, prices may change during contract term) to add all the Sky Sports channels. If you're just a football fan, a bundle containing the two football channels, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football, is currently £18 per month (prices may change during contract term). Those prices are subject to fluctuations though so be sure to use our tool to compare TV deals before you sign up to any contract!

A Now TV monthly sport pass is currently £33.99, which is significantly more expensive but allows you the flexibility of not being tied in to an 18 month contract!

How to cancel Sky Sports

If you're using Now TV, It's pretty easy to cancel. All you need to do is log into your Now TV account, click on the “Passes & Vouchers” link and then on “Cancel Pass” on your Sky Sports pass.

If you subscribe to Sky itself you'll need to email sky directly. A contact form can be found on their website. (https://skytv.custhelp.com/app/contactus/emailus). Sky do have a minimum one month cool off period for their packages however, so you'll have to get through the first month of your Sky Sports subscription before you can begin the cancellation process.