How To Watch Sky TV Programmes For Free/ Without Sky

I think that it’s fair to say that Sky TV still has the best range of TV programmes and content in the UK market. Although alternate subscription-based providers like Virgin Media (only available in certain areas) and BT Vision can now rival Sky TV’s offerings, if you’re a sports fan or a movie buff it’s still the place to go. The main problem with Sky TV is over time, all of those monthly payments can really add up. If you wanted to know how you could still watch Sky TV programmes and content without a Sky subscription read on.

Now TV

Some people find it hard to believe that someone, who among other things install satellite dishes for a living does not have a Sky subscription. It’s not to say that I do not want to watch Sky content from time to time, but with having a growing family I do not get much time to watch the TV. What I do whenever the darts are on or a TV series like Game of Thrones hits the screens is to pay for a TV pass on Now TV. Now TV is a bit like a reduced pay-as-you-go version of Sky TV delivered through your broadband connection and not through a satellite dish like Sky – although Sky without a dish is coming soon too. When purchasing Now TV you have a choice of day, week or monthly passes along with packages for Entertainment, Sports, Kids TV and Movies among other things. This means that your package can be customised per your requirements, which can save you money.

I like Now TV because it’s a one off payment or re-occurring payment and you’re not tied into any long term contracts – you also do not need a satellite dish which may be helpful for you. To receive Now TV you will need to either a set top box/ smart TV stick that connects to the internet to stream the content or a device capable of using downloading the Now TV app – there are loads that support this now. I personally use an Xbox, but you could even use for Smart phone if you’re happy to watch TV this way, some phones/ TV’s allow you to screen mirror so you can beam your phone screen up to your TV which is a bit better than watching on the phone I think. Using a phone would also mean that you could potentially watch it through your 3G or 4G connection if you do not have home broadband or your connection is poor.

Sky Go

Sky Go is another on demand Sky service that allows you to stream content from the Internet like Now TV. It works in much the same way as Now TV in the sense that the device that you use to stream Sky Go does not need a direct connection to a satellite dish – all you need is a device that is capable of downloading the Sky Go app – again devices like Games consoles, phones, tablet or laptop/ PC, these could all be connected to a TV one way or another.

Sky Go is essentially most of your Sky programmes, with the exception of BBC programmes delivered through an internet connection. Technically speaking, Sky Go is not Sky without a subscription as to access Sky Go you need to already have a Sky subscription to be able to log into your account. But this can be shared across your household, so if you had normal Sky in your lounge you could also access the majority on a TV in the bedroom or when you are away from home. Giving your Sky Go login to your kids may keep them out of your hair for a bit. Last time I checked you’re limited to four devices on your Sky Go account. You could potentially give your Sky login away to another friend or family member, but Sky(understandably) do not like you doing that, and you will be in breach of contract. Like time I checked you can register 2x devices for accessing Sky Go with your Sky subscription, if you wanted more you can register up to 4 with Sky Extra, but this may have changed by the time that you read this.

Sky Services Through Alternate Providers – BT Vision/ Virgin etc

If you’re already subscribing to another subscription-based service like BT Vision or Virgin Media, you can for a small monthly fee get a selection or Sky services through this service. This could be helpful if for whatever reason you could not install a satellite dish at your property as Virgin Media uses cable and BT Vision uses a conventional TV aerial. This means that you could still get some Sky Movies/ Sports without having to have another subscription with Sky – which could save you a lot of money in the long run.

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Freeview/ Freesat

Did you know that Sky are actually a partner in Freeview? Even I was surprised when I found that out. Some Sky services are available on Freeview like Sky News, Pick (used to be called Sky 3) along with a few others and if these programmes are the ones you’re after, great no need to pay for Sky. A few years ago Sky Sports News used to be on Freeview but then they removed it at a later date which was a bit gutting. There was an incident that on my advice a pub installed a Freeview aerial so that they could receive Sky News as it was all they wanted to watch, only for a few months later for the service to be pulled from Freeview, which was a bit embarrassing but not my fault!

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Freesat is another route you could go down. Most of the programmes are not necessarily “Sky” programmes but there is a huge selection of free TV channels and you may be surprised what’s on there. I recommend before signing up for Sky to check what is on both Freeview and Freesat to see if this is adequate for your desires, if so, there would be no need to sign up to a monthly subscription. Also, if you are cancelling a Sky subscription you could utilise your existing satellite dish for Freesat. You many need to change the LNB on your satellite dish though if you’re leaving Sky Q and want to access Freesat and this is not compatible.

Illegal Methods – Not Advised

There are other methods of accessing Sky programmes, I am not advising this or telling people how to do this or that, so please do not ask. The way I see it is like when people get told about acts of vandalism – Being told about it is not me not telling you to do this, only that they exist, so if someone down the pub offers you “free Sky” you have an idea of what this is about. There are methods where you can stream Sky from website or become part of a Sky card sharing scheme. If you are really clever you could try and get around the encryption that Sky uses, I personally wouldn’t bother as it is known to be very secure. The one thing that all these methods have in common is that they are all very unreliable, even if you do have some success you’re going to be spending a lot of time trying to get them to work and that you could get yourself in a lot of trouble. I saw that some people have been sent to prison for creating networks where Sky content could be shared cheaply and I really wouldn’t you getting into trouble, so don’t do it.

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Sky TV Questions? Please Post Them In The Blog Comments Section

If you have any questions arising from this blog or if there are any other TV aerial/ satellite questions that you would like me to answer. Please feel free to POST THEM IN THE BLOG COMMENTS SECTION and I will get back to you ASAP.

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All that being said, I will help out where I can.

Until next time,

Tom