Millions of Brits are bracing for higher household bills as many inflation-linked price increases take effect this month. In what some are calling ‘awful April’, bills for electricity, water, council tax, broadband, mobile phones and TV are all on the up. It comes at a time when many Brits are already under financial pressure, but there are ways to reduce costs, including bundling TV and streaming subscriptions into one affordable package.
Last year, Sky launched a new selection of lower-cost TV packages which come with a free Netflix subscription, with the Essential TV bundle costing £15 per month. This comes with more than 100 TV channels including Sky Atlantic, as well as free subscriptions to Discovery+ and Netflix Standard with adverts. This Netflix subscription tier usually costs £5.99 when signing up directly, so having it for free means Sky members are essentially paying £9.01 for Sky TV.
It’s worth noting that Sky customers can also upgrade to the Standard option for an extra £6 to avoid watching adverts. Doing so costs £72 over a year and saves £83.88 compared to the £155.88 it would cost to sign up to Netflix directly.
Sky also lets existing Netflix members keep their accounts and will move the payment to the Sky bill to avoid any double payments. This comes after Netflix raised its prices by up to 20% earlier this year, with its Standard tier now costing £12.99 per month.
Sky’s TV packages are on 24-month contracts and the provider says its prices ‘may change’ during this period. Earlier this year, Sky announced it was increasing the price of its TV and broadband packages by 6.4%, so we might expect a similar increase in April 2026.
Virgin Media also offers free Netflix subscriptions with select TV contracts, however, these are significantly more expensive than Sky. But they’re shorter at 18-months and also come with a lot more, with the Biggest Combo bundle providing more than 210 TV channels, Netflix Standard with adverts and 516Mbps fibre broadband for £69.99 per month.
For those who prefer to avoid any long-term commitments, Sky also offers the Essential TV bundle on a flexible 31-day rolling plan for £18 per month. Members can also choose from several add-ons, including Sky Sports and Sky Cinema from £20 and £10, respectively.
Many Sky members have taken to Trustpilot to share their experiences of the provider, with one happy customer saying: “I’ve been with Sky for over 20 years [and] only had one problem which they sorted within 48 hours – great service from you guys.”
Another said: “Switched to Sky Stream it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. Installation takes care of itself, the remote even auto tunes itself to the TV. The best part is the ability to have a single charge for all your streaming subscriptions. I can subscribe to Disney+, Paramount+ etc. and they’ll be billed under a single bill from Sky.”
A third member said: “I spoke with Sky [and] the advisor was pleasant, professional and provided me with valuable advice. I received excellent customer service.”
However, not everyone has had a smooth experience, as this reviewer said: “The TV and internet service is generally reliable and of good quality. However, when encountering issues and reaching out to customer service, the experience can be frustrating, as the representatives often provide confusing responses and fail to explain the problem adequately.”
