I ditched my pricey Sky TV contract to watch the Premier League for less - here’s how

Just like millions of people across the country, I will be excitedly tuning in to the first match of the Premier League season on Friday evening as defending champions Liverpool host Bournemouth at Anfield at 8pm. But the other thing I may have in common with those fellow fans is a worry about how expensive it is getting to watch England’s top football league of late.

At the time of writing, it costs £35 per month to sign up as a new customer to a Sky TV package that includes Sky Sports. The Sky TV package requires you to sign up for Sky’s Essential TV channels, Netflix and nine Sky Sports channels via an internet-connected Sky Stream box, also requiring you to commit to a 24-month contract - during which you can expect prices to rise.

Sky Sports is an add-on that’s currently on offer for £20 per month, totalling £35 when added to the basic £15 package. The add-on is usually £33 per month, so if you were to sign up when there’s no sale, it’ll cost you £48 per month for two years just to get in on the Premier League action.

I used to be a Sky TV and broadband customer and had to pay for the add-on if I wanted Sky Sports, which is currently an additional £27 if you want a less-committal 31-day rolling subscription you can cancel at any time (usually £33). It’s these kind of subscriptions we’ve become used to, paying month to month for streaming services and cutting out those we don’t need when things are looking too pricey.

But Sky likes to lock you into a long, expensive TV contract, which is why I decided to cancel mine and watch the Premier League in a cheaper, more flexible way.

I now watch the Premier League via my NOW TV Sports Month Membership subscription - the irony being that NOW is actually owned by Sky.

But I much prefer what NOW offers as I am signed up to get access to all 12 Sky Sports channels (three more than I used to get) but I only pay £20 per month on the Flexible Month Membership scheme, which means you aren’t in a contract. I got this price when there was an offer on - if you sign up today it’ll cost you £34.99.

Alternatively, you currently get the 12-Month Saver Membership for access to all 12 Sky Sports channels for £28 per month, the savings possible as you’re committing to 12 months.

There’s even a £14.99 day pass, but I’d avoid this as it’s terrible value. If you split it between a group of friends when you’re settling in for three matches in a row on Super Sunday, maybe I’ll let it slide.

Sky likes to lock you into a long, expensive TV contract, which is why I decided to cancel mine and watch the Premier League in a cheaper, more flexible way.

Of course, it's not just the Premier League you're paying to watch here. I've also used this subscription to watch all four golf majors as well as Formula 1, tennis, NFL and more besides.

I can also let you in on a little secret that made my subscription cheaper than advertised. I had taken advantage of one of NOW’s discounted six month offer sport offer (NOW’s rolling monthly offers tend to only last for this long) and it was coming to an end. As I had been paying £17.99 per month I didn’t want to pay the regular £34.99, I went to my NOW account and clicked to cancel my membership.

As these online systems often do, it presented me with the equivalent of an “are you sure?” question, to which I clicked yes once or twice again. What I found at the end of this digital multiple choice was quite pleasing: an offer to stay on as a subscriber for another six months at the discounted rate of £20 per month.

This won’t necessarily help you bag a cheaper price today as a new customer, but if you are already signed up to NOW and want to pay a little less, you could try cancelling your membership this way and see if the system offers you a discount to stay on.

I’ll be tuning in to the Liverpool v Bournemouth match and the rest of the Premier League season via NOW TV, and don’t imagine I’ll ever sign up to a lengthy and expensive Sky TV package ever again - even if it’s Sky I am ultimately still paying for my NOW subscription.