Sky unleashes affordable new way to watch its exclusive shows …but you’ll need to ditch the satellite dish

Sky has unleashed a wallet-friendly new way to watch its exclusive channels and boxsets. The budget-conscious bundle is the lowest-ever price we’ve seen from the UK broadcaster — from just £15 a month.

For that, you’ll take delivery of its latest set-top box, Sky Stream, with access to Sky Atlantic — the exclusive home of award-winning HBO shows and Sky Originals, like The Penguin, Succession, The White Lotus, Euphoria, Chernobyl, Sweetpea, The Day of the Jackal, and House of the Dragon. You’ll also be able to watch everything on Netflix and and discovery+, with subscriptions to both bundled with the new tier. Shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things can be added to your Playlist alongside new shows airing each week.

Get Sky Stream, Netflix, Discovery+ and Sky Atlantic for £15

Sky has launched an affordable new bundle of channels and on-demand services, dubbed TV Essentials. It includes its plug-and-play Sky Stream box, over 100 live channels including Sky Atlantic — the exclusive home of shows like Game of Thrones, And Just Like That, and The White Lotus. You’ll also find a subscription to Netflix and Discovery+ included too and can upgrade to Sky Cinema and Sky Sports at an extra cost

Dubbed Essential TV, the package also offers over 100 live television channels streamed via a Wi-Fi connection, including popular free-to-air channels like BBC, ITV, Channel 5, Channel 5, Sky Arts, and of course, GB News.

You can pause, rewind, and restart shows with the tap of a button on the redesigned Sky Remote, which arrives with backlit buttons and a microphone for voice controls.

Sky Stream comes equipped with applications for some of the most popular streamers, including Prime Video, Apple TV+, Paramount+, and Disney+, to name just a few.

Over time, Sky Stream will learn from your viewing habits to intelligently recommend shows, documentaries, and films from across all of the live channels and streaming services signed in or included with your service.

So, what’s missing?

A number of channels included in the pricier Ultimate TV bundle — which was the entry-level bundle available to new customers until the launch of Essential TV this week — are missing from the new £15 a month subscription. You’ll need to upgrade to watch anything on Sky Max, Sky Documentaries, Sky Comedy, Sky History, and Sky Witness.

Ultimate TV increases the number of live channels available over Wi-Fi to over 140 channels, including all 12 Sky Original channels such as Sky Sci-Fi, Sky Showcase, and more. Shows and films from these channels can be viewed on-demand too.

This package also includes classics like Comedy Central, MTV, U&alibi, U&GOLD, National Geographic and others. You’ll need these channels to stream shows like Brassic, A League of Their Own, and And Just Like That — the popular follow-up to Sex and the City that was recently renewed for a third season.

Speaking about the new addition, Managing Director Sky TV, Ben Case told us: “We’re excited to share our world-class TV experience with even more people, at an everyday low price with Sky Essential TV.

“Our new TV pack makes it easier than ever to get the biggest and best shows from Sky, Netflix and discovery+ all in one place, just in time for the Christmas TV season.”

Whether you start with Essential TV or Ultimate TV, you’ll be able to customise exactly what’s included in your bundle, with add-on packs including Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, Sky Kids, as well as UHD & Dolby Atmos quality. These are available on a rolling one-month basis, you can switch between movies and sports every few weeks.

However, this flexibility comes at a cost. New customers can sign-up for Essential TV now at £15 monthly on a 24-month contract, or £18 monthly on a 31-day rolling contract. Similarly, Sky Ultimate TV is available at £22 monthly for a 24-month commitment, or £25 monthly on the shorter 31-day rolling basis.

You can purchase these brand-new packages directly through Sky.com, as well as Currys, both online at Currys.co.uk and in their physical stores. Following a landmark deal, Sky Stream is also available from EE.

Sky Stream is powered by the same custom-designed operating system as Sky Glass. Dubbed EntertainmentOS, the software will intelligently suggest new shows, documentaries, and films based on your viewing habits from all of these services.

Sky regularly updates its TV platform with new designs, extra features, and voice commands related to some of the biggest shows. EntertainmentOS received 300 updates in a single year in 2023.

Since there’s no satellite dish, there’s no need to organise an engineer appointment.

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Getting connected with Sky Stream should be much speedier than traditional Sky boxes like Sky+ and Sky Q as there’s no need to wait for a free slot with the engineers. Instead, the moment Sky Stream drops through your letterbox, simply plug in the power and HDMI cables and follow the on-screen instructions. And that’s it.