A
s a country, we spend a
fortune to watch TV with the
likes of Sky, Virgin, Netflix
and Amazon. But I think there’s a
good chance you’re paying more
than you actually need too. So here
are some simple steps you can follow
to bring down your bills and still
watch the TV you want.Can you go without
satellite and cable TV?
First, if you pay for Sky, Virgin,
TalkTalk or BT TV, conduct a mini
audit of the channels you actually
watch. There’s a good chance thebulk of your favourite programmes
are on the standard channels such as
the BBC, ITV and Dave. If this is the
case, then it’s worth cutting out the
premium TV package subscriptions.
You don’t need a satellite dish or
cable connection to watch any of the
Freeview channels. As long as you
have an aerial you’ll be able to watch
via your digital TV. And those with a
satellite dish can connect using the
Freesat service.
“Hang on”, you might be saying, “I
chucked out my VCR years ago! How
will I record?”
Well, it’s easy to replace recording
boxes like Sky + and TIVO with
Freeview +, Freesat + or YouView
boxes which let you record those free
channels. Expect to pay around £125
for one of these, but over time it’ll
work out much cheaper than a
monthly subscription.102 • AUGUST 2019
Andy Webb is a
personal finance
journalist and runs
the award-winning
money blog,
Be Clever With
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