Free-to-View Satellite TV in the UK

This page contains some information on free-to-view satellite television in the UK.

Sky Digibox 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 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: Subscribe to Sky (from £16.50 a month) to get over 250 channels. More If you don't want to subscribe to Sky, your existing box and dish should still be able to tune in to 200 free-to-view channels after you cancel your subscription. More
Got a dish?	Assuming your dish is pointing at the Sky satellites: Subscribe to Sky (from £16.50 a month), get a free box and get over 250 channels. More Get a Freesat box and get 80 channels. Box costs from £50. More Get a satellite decoder to get 200 free-to-view channels. Try Maplin
Not got a dish yet?	Your options: Subscribe to Sky (from £16.50 a month) to get over 250 channels. Free box and dish. More Go for Sky's Pay Once, Watch Forever, and get 200 free-to-view channels plus box and installation for £75. More Go for Freesat - 80 channels. Box costs from £50, installation is £80. More Install your own dish with a satellite kit. More
Don't want a dish?	Consider the other options: Freeview (via a TV aerial) Cable TV Internet TV

Free Satellite: We looked at Free satellite services in show 27.

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Free to air satellite TV

Got a Sky box and dish already? Watch for free...

A number of digital channels can be viewed on a Sky Digibox without a subscription or a 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.

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, or wickonline.com/fta.htm

Sky Pay Once, Watch Forever

Get a dish and box for £75 - Over 200 channels, no subscription

Pay Once, Watch Forever. from Sky. With this option, launched in July 2007, you can get 200 TV channels with no subscription (see Sky's Free to Air channel list).

Pay Once-Watch Forever is available exclusively from Dixons online, there's a one-off cost of £75, including box and installation. A cheap way to buy a Sky box without a subscription.

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 at launch the service offered 80 channels of TV and radio, without subscription. This includes BBC and ITV High Definition TV, including HD.

Boxes cost from £50, with installation costing £80.

See our Freesat page for more information on what Freesat has to offer.

Sky Freesat

One-off £150 payment for over 200 free-to-view channels

Some channels are available Free-to-view on Sky - these can be viewed on a Sky Digibox, but you'll need a viewing card from Sky. These cards were originally known as Solus Cards, but now form part of Sky's Freesat offering. For a one-off payment of £150, or £20 if you already have the Sky hardware and dish, you can get access to the Free-to-view channels on Sky (around 200 channels of TV and radio).

To find out more about Freesat and the channels on offer, see www.freesatfromsky.co.uk

Freeview

TV via an aerial, not a satellite dish

This 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. Freeview was formerly known as onDigital and itvDigital, and it offers around 60 channels 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.

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

Full channels: If you'd rather go for a Sky installation and subscription, to get channels such as Sky 1, Comedy Central, SciFi 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 £16.50 a month for one of their 'channel packs' of your choosing. You'll get a free Sky digibox and dish when you order online. An installation fee applies (either £30 or £60, depending on package).

For more, go to www.sky.com/skycom