Free-to-View Satellite TV in the UK
Information on the ways that you can watch subscription-free satellite television, including Freesat and the free Sky channels available with a dish and decoder.
Sky Digital is the largest provider of digital satellite television for the UK, but you don’t need to be a Sky Digital subscriber to receive satellite telly.
Some of the channels available on Sky Digital’s satellite system can be watched free-of-charge, without a Sky subscription. On this page, we look at what free-to-view satellite TV services are available in the UK, and we see how they compare to the Sky Digital subscription service.
Here’s our summary of your satellite TV options, which we explore further down the page:
| Already got a Sky box and dish? | Your options:
|
| Got a dish? | Assuming your dish is pointing at the Sky satellites:
|
| Not got a dish yet? | Your options:
|
| Don’t want a dish? | Consider the other options:
|
 Paying too much for satellite TV?
If you feel you might be paying too much, but want more than the basic free channels, consider YouView. 70 channels of live TV and radio, plus hundreds of hours of on-demand TV shows, movies, music and kids content. A free a high-spec digital recorder with series link is also available, and it’ll cost you less than Sky. Details on our YouView Explored section.
|
Free to air satellite TV with a Sky box
Got a Sky box and dish already? Watch over 200 channels for free…
A large number of digital TV channels can be viewed on a Sky Digibox without a Sky subscription or a viewing card, as the signal is not encrypted – see Sky’s Free to Air channel list. Over 200 TV and radio channels are available, including the BBC channels, some of the news channels, and most of the shopping channels and radio stations.
If you have an old Sky box and a satellite dish, you should be able to watch these free-to-air channels.
For a list of the free channels that can be viewed on a Sky dish and decoder without subscription, see Sky’s Free TV channel list.A small number of channels are available “Free-to-view”, which means they can be viewed on a Sky box for free, but they require a viewing card. These are the Channel 4 and Five channels. Sky used to supply cards originally known as Solus Cards, as part of Sky Freesat. If you need a card, but don’t want to take out a subscription, give Sky a call and ask for a Sky Freesat viewing card.
Sky Freesat (Pay Once, Watch Forever)
Get a dish and Sky box for £175 – Over 240 channels, no subscription!
As well as offering their pay-TV service, Sky also offers a subscription-free option. You don’t get access to any of the subscription channels, but you get a dish and installation for a one-off fee, then access to over 240 free-to-view channels (see Sky’s Free to Air channel list).
Full details on our Sky Freesat page.
BBC/ITV Freesat
Dish and box installed from £130 – Over 100 channels
In May 2008, Freesat launched in the UK – This is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, and offers over 170 channels of TV and radio, without subscription. This includes BBC, ITV and Channel 4 High Definition TV.
This option offers less channels than with Sky’s Freesat service – see the Freesat channel list
Freesat boxes cost from £50, with installation costing £80.
See our Freesat page for more information on what Freesat has to offer.
Freeview
TV via an aerial, not a satellite dishThis is nothing to do with the Sky or satellite TV. The Freeview TV service is received on suitable set-top boxes or TV sets via a TV aerial, and not via a Sky box or satellite dish. of TV and radio, with no subscription. Although the channel lineup is quite small compared to Sky, the no-contract, easy-installation, no-ties option appeals to many and is increasingly popular.
See our Freeview information page for more on getting subscription-free TV for a one-off equipment cost of about £25.
Satellite channels compared
Sky Subscription |
Freesat (BBC / ITV) |
Sky Free-to-view |
|
| BBC channels | YES |
YES |
YES |
| ITV channels | YES |
YES |
YES |
| Channel 4 channels | YES |
YES |
Requires card |
| Five | YES |
YES |
Requires card |
| 5* / 5 USA | YES |
YES |
Requires card |
| Pick TV | YES |
NO |
Requires card |
| Sky News | YES |
NO |
YES |
| Dave | YES |
NO |
NO |
| CBS Drama / Reality / Action | YES |
YES |
YES |
| True Movies | YES |
YES |
YES |
| Sky 1 | YES |
NO |
NO |
| G.O.L.D | YES |
NO |
NO |
Channel List |
Channel List |
Channel List |
DIY Dish installation
If you want a wide choice of free TV channels via satellite, consider getting a DIY Free to Air Digital Satellite Kit. This includes 80cm satellite dish, digital TV receiver, and LNB.
No subscription, no cards, no recurring fees – Available from Maplin from £99.99
The Sky satellites are positioned at 28.2 degrees East of South. The exact direction and angle of elevation depend on where you are in the UK. You may need a satellite finder to locate the satellites. More on satellite dish installation.
| Full channels: If you’d rather go for a Sky installation and subscription, to get channels such as Sky 1, Comedy Central, SyFy channel and Sky Sport/ Sky Movies, you’ll save money by ordering online. Go to www.sky.com , choose a package and an installation date (including weekends).
The basic Sky service is available for £21.50 a month for the ‘Entertainment’ pack. . An installation fee may apply (either £30 or £60, depending on package). For more, go to www.sky.com/shop |
Links
- Sky Information – General information on Sky Digital
- Sky F.A.Q – Help and advice on general Sky issues
- Sky+HD – High definition from Sky Digital
- Sky Digital forum – Talk about Sky TV
Hi!
I just bought a samsung smart tv. At home I’ve got a twin satellite cable left after a sky tv user – like these on the left side of the photo: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415vCGiwFmL._SX385_.jpg (but no tv aerial!). What I need to do to watch tv? Get a freesat box like this one for example: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-blu-ray/digital-tv-services/freesat/manhattan-hd-s2-freesat-hd-box-21436605-pdt.html ?
Thanks
Konrad
Now Access 9000+ TV channels Live! Throw away your expensive cable or satellite TV service for “Simply the best TV on the internet.” – Consumer-Rated.com. http://tinyurl.com/pl3jxu4.
I am on holiday in Italy and cannot pick up any English TV (BBC and itv) when arranging my 65cm satellite dish to receive Astra2 although on my way to Italy through Luxembourg and Swizerland no problem.
My TV/decoder is an Avtex 16″ .AllI receive is 250german channels!
Can I get more success tuning to another satellite?
I welcome any comments.
David Mitchell
Can I use my sky box to view Free to Air channels without a sky card in
Dear Sir/Madam,
my name is Tobias Kretschmann and I am the marketing manager of AICO Technologies.
I am writing you regarding my request to talk about a product placement of our newest product in your shop.
Our company is based in Singapore and specialized on smart home devices and technologies. This year 2016 we finished successfully our Kickstarter campaign with our 2,000 backers for our new product called Smart Egg. It is a smart universal IR remote controller which contains many assets to increase the quality of your living environment. We actually see the MSRP of our product for UK at £69. The wholesale price is by £29 to £35 depending on the order amount. It would be nice if we can have a talk to discuss further details.
I am looking forward to hear from you.
Where do you insert SKY viewing card in new SKY box?
i loved your site layout and especially the way you wrote everything. I must say that you keep posting this type of information.
https://www.thetechiefind.com/m4ufree/
Amazing article admin, You described it very well.
I truly appreciate this article.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
This would have been so great if it has been continued till these days. :)
https://igtasecurity.com/
Hello! Can you help me to choose one of these antennas, please? I’d get GOOQEE 120 Mile Range, but i know not enough to get one