[TV] Television these days

[schmunk]

For those who shop at Tesco, Disney Plus can be bought with Clubcard vouchers, £8 of vouchers for 3 months subscription:

https://secure.tesco.com/clubcard/vouchers/disney-3-month-subscription/UK-010043.prd

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Netflix (£9.99) represents great value IMHO. During the various Covid lockdowns it was an absolute godsend. Ditto Amazon Prime - purely for the next day deliveries. Any telly, movies, live sport on Amazon was just a welcome unasked-for bonus. Got BT Sport through my broadband deal, so the three taken together, plus all the Freeview offerings, provide pretty decent coverage for not a lot of outlay. There's only so much telly a man can watch

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

It really is so easy to spend an absolute fortune on telly these days isn't it?

Up until this month, we've been paying the following every month (not to mention Spotify as another media service, or the TV license):
Disney+ £6.99
Netflix £13.99
Prime £6.66 (paid annually to save money, but includes 1 day delivery)
Virgin £74 (was less, but went up - includes broadband, phone, TV bells and whistles)

Now obviously I've just done what everyone does with Virgin and negotiated downwards to £40 (but am now stuck in another 18 month contract with an early get-out charge), and I've cancelled Disney - but really it feels like a huge expense.

When people whinge about the TV license and the BBC, they really need to look at how TV costs have rocketed in the modern era. Even if we're able to stream almost anything and pay for live sport that wasn't previously available, I'm still not sure we're really getting value as consumers.

Agree - I need to look at what we've got/currently use/ get VFM from.

What SKY packages/channels are included (Sports/Movies/Atlantic) in your Virgin Packages and do you get BT Sports included too?

A few years ago I liked the idea of SKY losing some of the stuff they had as I felt they were taking the p*** and thought the competition would be healthy. Helped that I got BT Sports free with my Broadband at the time.

Now we simply have BOTH SKY and BT taking the p - but with SKY having lost the Cricket, Champions League (not that bothered with CL to be hones) t but if you want to watch all decent sport, you need to have to have BT)

BBC still the best VFM IMO.

 

[Swansman]

For those of us who feel no moral obligation towards the big TV companies, it is free...

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

It really is so easy to spend an absolute fortune on telly these days isn't it?

Up until this month, we've been paying the following every month (not to mention Spotify as another media service, or the TV license):
Disney+ £6.99
Netflix £13.99
Prime £6.66 (paid annually to save money, but includes 1 day delivery)
Virgin £74 (was less, but went up - includes broadband, phone, TV bells and whistles)

Now obviously I've just done what everyone does with Virgin and negotiated downwards to £40 (but am now stuck in another 18 month contract with an early get-out charge), and I've cancelled Disney - but really it feels like a huge expense.

When people whinge about the TV license and the BBC, they really need to look at how TV costs have rocketed in the modern era. Even if we're able to stream almost anything and pay for live sport that wasn't previously available, I'm still not sure we're really getting value as consumers.

I agree completely about the tv license. The BBC is incredible value. Most of what we watch is on iplayer although we cast a few dramas from ITV as well (can’t get the ITV app to work). We don’t have an aerial so everything is from the internet ie Netflix, Now tv sport (contract just ended and will only renew next season) and BT Sport. With that lot we don’t feel the need for any of the more expensive tv packages.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Agreed - so simple to see why Channel 4 and BBC are being targeted by the Government when you look at how we are moving in terms of viewing habits. Throw in new players like DAZN for Sports/Boxing etc and all starts to add up. Sad thing is none of those business are UK based and most of them are losing huge amounts of money.

Are you working on the same basis as the idiotic Nadine Dorries who talked to a parliamentary liaison committee yesterday(?) about Channel 4 receiving public money?

They don’t, as her Conservative colleague Damian Green pointed out. But will that change her attitude? She was stopped in her tracks, but probably not.

Loyalty to Boris trumps intelligence and ability when it comes to getting jobs in government.

 

[kentgully]

It really is so easy to spend an absolute fortune on telly these days isn't it?

Up until this month, we've been paying the following every month (not to mention Spotify as another media service, or the TV license):
Disney+ £6.99
Netflix £13.99
Prime £6.66 (paid annually to save money, but includes 1 day delivery)
Virgin £74 (was less, but went up - includes broadband, phone, TV bells and whistles)

Now obviously I've just done what everyone does with Virgin and negotiated downwards to £40 (but am now stuck in another 18 month contract with an early get-out charge), and I've cancelled Disney - but really it feels like a huge expense.

When people whinge about the TV license and the BBC, they really need to look at how TV costs have rocketed in the modern era. Even if we're able to stream almost anything and pay for live sport that wasn't previously available, I'm still not sure we're really getting value as consumers.

Get limited Virgin and a Firestick....sorted

 

[KZNSeagull]

Most of it is a massive con. When Sky started it sounded great but the reality was that it was channel upon channel of shite and that model has now been replicated across all services. By far the best value for money is the TV licence.

My main issue is with BT TV boxes which do not tune to the most efficient freeview channel, so during bad weather the reception on those channels renders them unwatchable, so thankfully our TV has freeview built in too. Plus we don't get many freeview channels in this area anyway but that's another issue. Did have Now TV but have binned that off, so now we have the basic BT package, Netflix and Britbox.

My main annoyances with Netflix are that they don't load up all of a series of films at the same time and most of their series are soooooo slow I get bored, but that seems to be the modern way too. It seems that someone comes up with an idea which would be fine in a 120 minute film, but they stretch it out to 5 series of 10 hour long episodes.

The BBC has been and continues to be the best at pretty much everything.

 

[Comrade Sam]

Freeview, streaming and Amazon tut free with prime and I seem to have more to watch than I'll ever need. Happy to pay license free.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

The renewal of our Sky deal, which admittedly includes landline and broadband as well, was going to cost more per month than the annual TV licence.

It shows what value the TV licence is, and the BBC is probably what we watch most.
And we are reducing the Sky thing - ditching BT Sport for a start. We’ve just let Disney lapse because we didn’t use it - we were piggybacking on that off one of our daughters. We have Amazon Prime, but watch nothing on it other than football when necessary, Apple TV (I think) but we’ve never used it.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Most of it is a massive con. When Sky started it sounded great but the reality was that it was channel upon channel of shite and that model has now been replicated across all services. By far the best value for money is the TV licence.

My main issue is with BT TV boxes which do not tune to the most efficient freeview channel, so during bad weather the reception on those channels renders them unwatchable, so thankfully our TV has freeview built in too. Plus we don't get many freeview channels in this area anyway but that's another issue. Did have Now TV but have binned that off, so now we have the basic BT package, Netflix and Britbox.

My main annoyances with Netflix are that they don't load up all of a series of films at the same time and most of their series are soooooo slow I get bored, but that seems to be the modern way too. It seems that someone comes up with an idea which would be fine in a 120 minute film, but they stretch it out to 5 series of 10 hour long episodes.

The BBC has been and continues to be the best at pretty much everything.

Channel upon channel of sh1te? Surely not!

But yes. Repeat after repeat after repeat after repeat. I don’t particularly want to watch Friends or Frazier all the time.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Finally took the plunge and got Sky about 5 years ago.
3 years ago Virgin dug up all the pavements on our estate and offered a great price.
About 18 months ago Virgin upped its VIP package to £133 per month

Whilst the deal had most - Sky [sport + movies], BT, Netflix, etc we really don't watch that much so I invested £60 [per year] in IPTV Smarters.

This allows me to watch EVERY Albion game live, cricket that I choose / want and same for F1 - it lets me see Amazon Prime stuff, loads of box-sets and thousands of movies.

That'll do absolutely fine for me along with my FreeSat - TV license and IPTV all for under £20 per month,

Splendid ...

 

[Pevenseagull]

As for the Netflix original movies, has there been a good one yet? They are all appalling. “Don’t Look Up”, “Da 5 Bloods”, etc. all dogshit.

I've seen some film makers praising Netflix for their hands off approach to to film making. I would optimistically hope that this would bring in a new golden age of auteur film making. Instead it seems that so far it's mainly resulted in stodgy, unfocused, overlong, self indulgent 6/10 films.

It's odd. After years of reading about films that succeeded despite the studios trying to reign things in (Brazil, Apocalypse Now etc. etc.) we're now seeing films that are failing to deliver due to a lack of control.

It's almost as if they just throw money at creating 'content'.

 

[Weststander]

The licence fee and Amazon Prime is a great and dirt cheap compromise, enough TV there for most people.

I finally bit the bullet and ditched Sky Sports/BT Sport. Saving £900 a year and I wasn’t even watching 90% of games.

Also a nice feeling that we’re not now contributing to the riches of multi millionaire agents and players.

BBC R4 You & Yours mentioned that 20% of households are now considering scrapping Sky/cable. Due to recent price hikes and the cost of living crisis.

 

[Official Old Man]

I pay about £80 for two Sky subscriptions (one is upstairs on second box). But checking wifeys recordings, most is soaps on terrestrial TV. I've IPTV for sports so unsure why I have Sky.

 

[birthofanorange]

The licence fee and Amazon Prime is a great and dirt cheap compromise, enough TV there for most people.

Yep, me too, along with repeated free trials of Netflix etc. when available and 'alternative' ways of watching football and newer films.

 

[Weststander]

Yep, me too, along with repeated free trials of Netflix etc. when available and 'alternative' ways of watching football and newer films.

I’ve always been bone idle about those alternatives.

Until my teenage son showed me last night a handy website where (no need for registering or VPN or a fire-stick), there are immediate links to any televised game with pukka UK commentary.

 

[birthofanorange]

I’ve always been bone idle about those alternatives.

Until my teenage son showed me last night a handy website where (no need for registering or VPN or a fire-stick), there are immediate links to any televised game with pukka UK commentary.

Indeed, I hear there are quite a few of those, out there.

 

[bluenitsuj]

I pay about 15.99 a month ( may have just gone up by a £1 or so). This gives me Now TV plus all free TV and Netflix.
I can also access Amazon Prime for free

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

On the plus side, the licence fee will soon be gone.

Along with the BBC

Well CH4 have been earmarked so let's start saving on licence fee's and let those that want to pay to view carry on
It's a win win win from me

Regards
DF