BT TV Packages and Deals Compared: Full TV Channel, App Info

With six different BT TV packages, it can be hard to decide on which one to go for. Various BT TV deals will have overlap when it comes to BT TV channels but there will also be some big gaps depending on what you go for. Check out the details below to see what the BT TV reviews say before you sign up.

BT TV is currently only available to BT broadband and home phone customers, so if you don’t intend to switch internet provider you won't be able to benefit from BT TV. If you have any further questions about BT TV packages you can also contact BT if you need to.

BT TV Packages

BT TV Packages come in six different varieties. BT TV aims to provide a pretty complete selection for prospective customers to choose from. Not all BT TV packages come with BT Sport as standard, something that used to be the case. The following table is a summary of BT TV packages, what they offer and their current pricing:

Prices and Details last updated on 23/04/2021. These prices and details are provided for illustrative purposes only.

*does not include upfront £20 activation fee. All prices above are for 24 month contracts

It's worth noting that the above BT TV packages are offered only on 24 month contracts. They don't include the cost of BT broadband, which is extra. Be aware that prospective BT TV customers have to contend with a £20 activation and equipment fee as well.

Additionally, the BT TV Classic Entertainment Package is losing the two channels. There are currently no channels slated to be added in order to replace them.

1. Syfy
2. E!

BT TV prices are going to increase by 4.5% on March 31st. While the CPI inflation rate is only 0.6%, BT TV is adding a further 3.9% increase on top of that. The following table shows which BT TV deals will be affected by the price increases and by how much.

Prices and Details last updated on 23/04/2021. These prices and details are provided for illustrative purposes only.

For most people, the price will add at least an extra £2.64 to their yearly BT TV bill. However, BT TV sport fans will have to pay £8.04 on top of what is already a fairly expensive TV package price. What all BT TV customers can expect is increases like this on a yearly basis. When you take into account that some BT TV deals have monthly promotions that run out, BT TV prices can increase by a significant amount from one month to the next.

BT TV Deals

There are three main BT TV deals bundled with broadband available to new customers. As mentioned before, each will tie you down to a 24-month contract, which is important to bear in mind before signing up. This is how much it will set you back and what you’ll get for your money:

Prices and Details last updated on 23/04/2021. These prices and details are provided for illustrative purposes only.

Included with these BT TV deals is a £70 reward card, and Classic and Entertainment Bundle customers can upgrade to HD for free for 3 months (later rising to £6.50 monthly). This jump in prices after a period is a recurring theme with BT and most major TV package providers. In fact, after the initial 24 months of each of the above contracts, all see substantial rises. Here is what you’ll pay once you’re out of contract in each:

1. BT TV Classic Entertainment Bundle - £52.99/month
2. Entertainment Bundle - £57.99/month
3. BT TV Max 4K Bundle - £62.99/month

This is not taking into consideration the BT TV annual hikes, which are often above inflation. We always urge customers to take this into consideration when thinking about signing up for a bundle like this.

BT TV channels

The BT TV channels available on your BT TV deal depend on the BT TV package you choose. The table below has an updated list of available BT TV channels available for each TV package.

It is interesting to see that BT TV segregates HD content to only the VIP TV Package. If you pick another BT TV package, you will need to pay a monthly extra to be able to enjoy the higher image quality that HD resolutions afford.

Considering that even the cheapest TV sets sold in the UK today are capable of displaying HD TV broadcasts, BT TV really needs to consider making HD available across all their TV packages at no extra cost.

You will see from the BT TV channel lists above all BT TV packages include AMC as standard in addition to the Freeview channels.

BT TV Freeview Channels

The following channels are available across all the BT TV packages. The VIP TV package additionally upgrades some of them to their HD counterparts.

These Freeview channels are not exclusive to BT TV, they are generally available no matter what TV package provider you are with.

AMC

AMC is the US television network behind many of the world’s favourite TV shows. Whether you’re familiar with the name of the network or not, you’ll definitely have heard of some of the series it has produced in recent years. Here are a few of the shows available to watch on BT TV channel 332 (and for Sky customers with BT Sport on channel 186):

1. The Walking Dead
2. Fear the Walking Dead
3. Breaking Bad
4. Mad Men
5. The Terror
6. Into the Badlands

Plenty of big-hitting content then. AMC is also putting out the new drama NOS4A2 this autumn, which is expected to be a major success - a good time to sign up and watch the latest big series as it comes out! The standard definition channel comes as standard with all BT TV packages, and all the above programmes are also available to watch in high definition on AMC HD, which customers with an HD package will find on channel 381.

BT Sport

If you like Sky Sports but are thinking of switching to BT TV because it’s picking up so many Premier League and other sporting events you love, you might want to know exactly how much you’ll get for your money when you switch. With that in mind, here’s a selection of sporting events available to BT Sport customers:

1. Football: Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
2. Rugby: Gallagher Premiership and European Champions Cup
3. Boxing
4. UFC
5. MotoGP
6. WTA

These events are spread across four channels - BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2, BT Sport 3 and BT Sport ESPN, each of which has a high definition version for customers with an HD package.

The biggest boxing and UFC events are, of course, usually shown only on pay per view (PPV), and on BT Sport it’s unfortunately no different. Subscribers can purchase all their PPV fights on BT Sport Box Office, which claims to have exclusive UK rights to the Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder fight that’s rumoured will happen in early 2020.

If you’re a Sky customer and are wondering, is BT TV better than Sky? You can add a BT Sport pack to your Sky TV deal and see for yourself. You can order it online via the BT website or by calling them on 0800 876 6954. The line is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm, on Saturdays from 8am to 8pm, and on Sundays from 9am to 6pm.

The biggest drawback to doing this, we’d say, is that as an add-on it doesn’t come cheap. Here’s what it would set you back:

Prices and Details last updated on 23/04/2021. These prices and details are provided for illustrative purposes only.

BT TV Kids

If you’re looking for something to entertain the little ones, you’ll want to consider BT TV Kids, which is available to all BT TV customers. Coming in at an extra £5 per month, the BT TV Kids package comes with thousands of kids shows on demand. This means the kids won’t have to sit through any ad breaks. If you’re a Superfast Fibre customer, you’ll also get access to nine premium channels, including Disney Junior, Nick Jr. and Cartoon Network.

We would say that the fact these nine extra channels don’t come with this add-on unless you’ve got Superfast Fibre is a bit of a con, but those of you who do have it won’t mind.

BT TV App

BT TV App options help users get more out of their BT TV experience, particularly by extending the use they get out of their deal with multi-room and on-the-go viewing. Here’s what you get out of each of them:

BT TV App Extra

BT TV App Extra can be registered on up to four devices with just one BT login. It comes as standard with any BT TV deal and allows subscribers to watch any of the channels available in their package, as well as catch-up shows and downloads from the BT TV Store, which you can save to your device to watch offline. You can also pick up where you left off watching on your box at home on your mobile, as well as watch on up to two devices at the same time.

Apart from viewing on a mobile or tablet, subscribers can also use the app to watch TV on multiple screens throughout their home with no need for extra TV boxes. It’s possible to “cast” programmes from the app to a TV with a Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Tablet/TV or Samsung Smart TV - for which BT would direct you to the BT Shop. If you’re going to buy through the BT Store, we’d suggest a Chromecast as the cheapest option - you can pick one up to cast from an Android or iPhone to your TV for £28 at the moment.

To download the app, follow the links to the Google Play Store or the App Store.

BT Sport App

The BT Sport App is a separate app allowing subscribers to live stream BT Sport 1, 2, 3 and ESPN in either standard definition or HD on the go. Like the BT TV App, it can be used to watch via a mobile/tablet or cast to a TV if you have the right equipment. Apart from all the live events and sports programmes available to you with your deal, the app also gives you access to exclusive content including highlights, interviews and more, and you can easily check fixtures, results and league standings on the go as well.

To download the app, head over to the Google Play Store or the App Store.

BT TV Reviews

You’ve got most of the details regarding BT TV. Let’s take a look at what people think of it, and weigh up whether it’s a good idea. Find out what people think of a BT TV deal based on their BT TV reviews.

Opinions solely covering BT TV are difficult to come by, with reviewers on sites such as Trustpilot tending to focus on anything from BT broadband service to the Openreach engineer who came to install their line. Learning what customers think about BT TV individually, then, is a tricky business. It’s not a great start, however, to learn that ratings for BT as a whole on Trustpilot have them at 1.3 / 5 stars, with 90% of 5,879 reviewers giving the worst rating of Bad.

The WiFi goes off every single time a match worth watching is on... unfortunately this is not an exaggeration, EVERY TIME.

We’ve sifted through recent reviews to pick out what punters are saying about BT TV in particular, and the results weren’t great. Customers complain of grainy picture quality when watching in standard definition or their WiFi simply going down when they want to watch an important match on BT Sport:

And this is just the customers that want BT TV. Several customers complain of being charged for packages they don’t receive or want. When they call BT TV customer support team (which customers often complain is based abroad) for help, they are often disappointed by the service they get from the agents. In fact, it seems that often they are being purposely misled:

When renewing my broadband contract, I did not want [BT Sport] but was told it was free of charge so I agreed. After some time, BT had started charging me for the service

There are several reviewers who echo these sentiments, with repeated claims that call centre agents have been misleading in extending customers’ deals or selling new ones. It doesn’t do a lot to encourage confidence in BT, and we have to say it would make us think twice about signing up for fear of a similar experience.

BT Business PackagesBT doesn't only cater to household TV/broadband customers - they also have a range of packages especially for business customers. Read our dedicated guide to BT Business broadband and learn more about their latest deals.