Services
The Cheapest Way to Watch the Premier League in the UK
The cheapest way to watch the Premier League is not a single service — it is a decision about how many months of the year you pay for one. Sky Sports and TNT Sports hold every live match between them, there is no legal route that avoids both, and the households paying least are the ones that cancel in May and come back in August.
The short answer
- Sky Sports shows at least 215 matches a season; TNT Sports shows 52.
- Amazon no longer carries any Premier League football in the UK.
- NOW sells Sky Sports monthly with no contract — the seasonal route.
- Cancelling for the three months with no fixtures saves roughly a quarter.
Football is the reason most British households still pay for television — and the one thing no on-demand catalogue carries, as NOW against Netflix sets out. and it is the single largest line on the bill. It is also the area where the advice online is most often out of date, because the rights moved in 2025 and a great many pages still describe the arrangement that preceded it.
So the starting point has to be who actually holds the matches now. From the 2025/26 season, under a four-year domestic deal worth around £6.7 billion, Sky Sports shows a minimum of 215 live matches a season and TNT Sports shows 52. Amazon, which carried twenty matches under the previous arrangement, did not bid for the new packages and no longer shows Premier League football in the UK at all.
That matters because it removes an option people still look for. There are 267 live matches across the two broadcasters, the BBC holds free-to-air highlights, and no third route to live coverage exists. Anything advertising every match for a few pounds a month is not paying for those rights.
What follows costs each legal route honestly, including the one most households overlook — which is not a different service at all, but a different number of months.
What is the cheapest way to watch the Premier League?
The cheapest route is a NOW Sports Membership taken only during the season and cancelled for the months with no fixtures. It carries the full Sky Sports line-up with no contract, so you pay for roughly nine months rather than twelve — which saves about a quarter of the annual cost without giving up a single match you wanted.
| Route | Roughly | What you get | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOW Sports, in season only | ~£41/month × 9 | Every Sky Sports channel, no contract | Nothing — this is the value answer |
| NOW Sports day pass | ~£14.99/day | One day of Sky Sports | Cheaper only up to about three days a month |
| Sky Sports on a Sky contract | ~£68/month × 24 | Sky Sports plus the rest of Sky | Two-year commitment, mid-contract rise |
| TNT Sports add-on | Varies by provider | TNT’s 52 matches | Does not include Sky’s 215 |
| Both Sky and TNT | The full bill | All 267 live matches | The only way to see every game |
| BBC Match of the Day | TV Licence only | Highlights, not live | No live coverage at all |
How many Premier League games are on TV in the UK?
267 live matches a season, split between two broadcasters. Sky Sports carries a minimum of 215, including more than 140 weekend fixtures, Friday and Monday evening matches, three full midweek rounds and — new in this cycle — all ten matches on the final day. TNT Sports carries the remaining 52.
| Broadcaster | Matches a season | Notably |
|---|---|---|
| Sky Sports | Minimum 215 | 140+ weekend games, Friday and Monday nights, all 10 final-day matches |
| TNT Sports | 52 | Package A, including Saturday lunchtime fixtures |
| Amazon Prime Video | 0 | Carried 20 until 2024/25; did not bid for the new cycle |
| BBC | 0 live | Free-to-air highlights only — Match of the Day |
It is worth knowing that 380 matches are played in a season, so even holding both subscriptions leaves 113 games untelevised live in the UK. The blackout on Saturday 3pm kick-offs is the reason, and no legal service carries them.
How much is Sky Sports a month?
Two very different numbers depending on how you buy it. On a Sky contract, Sky Sports sits on top of a base package and the combined bill runs to around £68 a month across a 24-month term. Through NOW, the same channels cost around £41 a month with Boost included and no contract at all.
The second figure is the one most households should be comparing against, because it is the same content. NOW is Sky-owned and carries the full Sky Sports line-up; what you give up is 4K, some picture quality without Boost, and the rest of the Sky package. What you gain is the ability to stop paying in May.
On a Sky contract that flexibility does not exist. The term runs 24 months, the introductory rate steps up partway through, and leaving early carries a fee calculated from the months remaining. If you are already tied in, how to cancel Sky covers the 31-day notice and what the retentions team can realistically do.
215
Sky Sports matches
Minimum, per season.
52
TNT Sports matches
Package A.
~£41
NOW Sports, monthly
With Boost, no contract.
~£120
Saved by cancelling
Three months out of season.
Can you watch the Premier League without Sky?
You can watch TNT’s 52 matches without Sky, but not the other 215. Sky Sports holds the large majority of live coverage, and NOW is the only way to buy those channels without a Sky contract — which is still Sky, sold differently. There is no route to the full season that avoids the company entirely.
That is worth saying plainly, because "without Sky" usually means "without a Sky contract" rather than "without Sky the company". If the objection is the 24-month commitment, the mid-contract price rise and the engineer visit, NOW removes all three while carrying identical channels.
If the objection is cost in absolute terms, the honest answer is that live Premier League football has no cheap version. The rights cost £6.7 billion and that money is collected from subscribers. What varies is how many months you pay, not how much a month costs.
For a household that mainly wants the free channels and only occasionally cares about football, Freely or Freeview Play plus a day pass for the fixtures that matter is a genuinely sensible configuration.
Are NOW day passes cheaper than a monthly Membership?
Up to about three days a month, yes. A NOW Sports day pass runs around £14.99 for 24 hours of the full Sky Sports line-up. Past about three of those a month, the full Membership at around £41 works out cheaper, so count the fixtures before a busy weekend.
Day passes suit a specific household: someone who follows one club, wants the four or five fixtures a season that genuinely matter, and has no interest in the rest. For that person the annual cost of football can be under £75, which no subscription route approaches.
They suit almost nobody who watches weekly. Two matches a weekend across a nine-month season is far past the crossover point, and the passes stop being a saving somewhere in the first fortnight.
| How often you watch | Buy | Roughly per season |
|---|---|---|
| A handful of fixtures a season | Day passes | Under £75 |
| Two or three days a month | Borderline — do the sum | £270–£400 |
| Every weekend, in season | NOW Sports, nine months | ~£370 |
| Every weekend, year round | NOW Sports, twelve months | ~£490 |
| Everything, plus the rest of Sky | Sky contract | ~£816 over 12 months |
What is the seasonal trick that saves the most?
Cancel in May and re-subscribe in August — this is the cheapest way to hold Sky Sports over a full year. The Premier League season runs roughly nine months, but a subscription taken and forgotten runs twelve. Those three idle months are about a quarter of the annual cost, and cancelling NOW takes under two minutes with no notice period and no retention call.
Take NOW Sports rather than a Sky contract
The whole strategy depends on being able to leave. A Sky contract runs 24 months and cannot be paused; a NOW Membership is rolling monthly with no minimum term at all.
Add Boost from the start
Without it NOW streams at 720p with adverts. On a television of any size that is visibly soft. Treat the real price as the Membership plus about £6, and budget accordingly.
Cancel when the season ends
You keep access to the end of the period already paid for, so there is nothing lost by cancelling the day the fixtures stop. Our NOW cancellation guide covers the exact route.
Come back in August
Returning customers are frequently offered a lower rate than they were paying before. Cancelling and returning is, perversely, often cheaper than never leaving.
Use day passes for summer tournaments
If a major international tournament lands in the off-season, a day pass covers the fixtures you want without restarting the Membership early.
Do you need a TV Licence to watch the Premier League?
Yes. Watching any match live as it is broadcast requires a TV Licence, whatever service carries it and whatever you pay for that service. The licence attaches to live viewing rather than to a channel, so a Sky or NOW subscription does not cover it and never has.
It also applies to highlights on BBC iPlayer, which needs a licence for on-demand viewing as well as live. A household watching Match of the Day the following morning needs one exactly as much as a household watching the match itself.
At £180 a year the licence is rarely the expensive part of a football habit — a single Sports Membership costs more than twice it — but it has to be counted. Our TV Licence hub covers the rule, and what happens if you do not pay covers the consequences.
What football can you watch for free in the UK?
No live Premier League, but more than people assume. BBC highlights on Match of the Day cost nothing beyond the TV Licence, FA Cup matches are shown free-to-air on the BBC and ITV, England internationals are free-to-air, and full radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live needs no licence at all.
That last one is genuinely undervalued. Radio commentary is free, legal, carries no blackout on 3pm kick-offs, and requires no subscription or licence of any kind. For a household that mainly wants to follow a match rather than watch it, it removes the entire cost question.
| What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Premier League highlights | BBC, Match of the Day | TV Licence only |
| FA Cup matches | BBC and ITV, selected ties | TV Licence only |
| England internationals | Free-to-air broadcasters | TV Licence only |
| Full match radio commentary | BBC Radio 5 Live | Nothing — no licence needed |
| Live Premier League matches | Sky Sports and TNT Sports only | Subscription required |
Pairing the free routes with a small paid one is where the cheapest realistic setup lands. A free platform such as Freely or Freeview Play covers highlights, cup ties and internationals for nothing beyond the licence, and a handful of day passes covers the specific league fixtures you actually care about.
What the same football costs on a fixed term
Every route above keeps billing until you stop it, and a Sports subscription left running through June and July pays for months with no football in them. Below, the same kind of line-up is priced as one payment for a fixed term, so nothing keeps billing through the summer.
IPTV 4K Ultra
From £2.86/moCinema-quality HDR & Dolby
True 4K Ultra HD streaming with HDR10+, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Watch the Premier League in 4K like you are at the ground.
Starter 4K
3 Months
£34.99−31%
£23.99
£8.00/mo
- 27,000+ channels in 4K
- 192,000+ VOD titles in native 4K
- 4K UHD (3840×2160) HEVC
- Full EPG guide
- 1 screen
- 24/7 UK support
- Anti-freeze technology
Secure payment
Standard 4K
6 Months
£54.99−27%
£39.99
£6.67/mo
- 27,000+ channels in 4K
- 192,000+ VOD titles in 4K HDR
- 4K UHD + HDR10+
- EPG + 3-day replay
- 1 screen
- Priority support 24/7
- Anti-freeze servers
Secure payment
Premium 4K
12 Months
2 months free£74.99−27%
£54.99
£3.93/mo
- 27,000+ channels in 4K UHD
- 192,000+ VOD titles in 4K HDR
- 4K UHD + HDR10+ + Dolby Vision
- EPG + 7-day replay
- 1 screen
- VIP WhatsApp support
- Dolby Atmos 5.1 audio
- Free automatic updates
Secure payment
Ultimate 4K
24 Months
4 months free£89.99−11%
£79.99
£2.86/mo
- 27,000+ channels in 4K UHD
- 192,000+ VOD titles in 4K Ultra HD
- 4K + HDR10+ + Dolby Vision
- EPG + 14-day replay
- 1 screen
- VIP WhatsApp instant support
- Dolby Atmos 7.1 surround
- Early access to 4K content
- Optimised HEVC streaming
Secure payment
IPTV 8K Ultra Max
From £3.93/mo8K HDR + Dolby Atmos — the pinnacle
The most advanced plan on the list. True 8K Ultra HD with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos sound, 55,000+ live channels, 220,000+ on-demand films and series, and multi-language subtitles on everything.
Starter 8K
3 Months
£39.99−25%
£29.99
£10.00/mo
- 55,000+ live channels in up to 8K
- 220,000+ films & series on demand
- 8K UHD + Dolby Vision HDR
- Dolby Atmos immersive audio
- Multi-language subtitles
- Full EPG guide
- 1 screen
- 24/7 UK support
Secure payment
Standard 8K
6 Months
£69.99−29%
£49.99
£8.33/mo
- 55,000+ live channels in up to 8K
- 220,000+ films & series on demand
- 8K UHD + Dolby Vision HDR
- Dolby Atmos immersive audio
- Multi-language subtitles
- EPG + 3-day replay
- 1 screen
- Priority UK support 24/7
Secure payment
Premium 8K
12 Months
2 months free£99.99−30%
£69.99
£5.00/mo
- 55,000+ live channels in up to 8K
- 220,000+ films & series in 8K / 4K
- 8K UHD + Dolby Vision HDR
- Dolby Atmos object-based audio
- Multi-language subtitles throughout
- EPG + 7-day replay
- 1 screen
- VIP WhatsApp support 24/7
- Free automatic updates
Secure payment
Ultimate 8K
24 Months
4 months free£124.99−12%
£109.99
£3.93/mo
- 55,000+ live channels in up to 8K
- 220,000+ films & series in 8K / 4K
- 8K UHD + Dolby Vision HDR
- Dolby Atmos 7.1+ surround sound
- Multi-language subtitles throughout
- EPG + 14-day replay
- 1 screen
- VIP WhatsApp instant support
- Early access to new 8K content
- Optimised 8K HEVC / AV1 streaming
Secure payment
Both tiers are shown because football is the reason most households are here — 4K Ultra covers the live channels in 4K HDR, and 8K Ultra Max goes wider again. Every term is on the pricing page, and what every UK service costs covers the monthly alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest legal way to watch the Premier League?
A NOW Sports Membership taken only during the season and cancelled for the months with no fixtures. It carries the full Sky Sports line-up with no contract, so you pay for about nine months rather than twelve — roughly a quarter less for the same football.
How many Premier League matches are shown live in the UK?
267 a season. Sky Sports carries a minimum of 215 and TNT Sports carries 52. Since 380 matches are played, around 113 are not televised live in the UK, largely because of the Saturday 3pm blackout.
Does Amazon still show Premier League football?
No. Amazon carried 20 matches a season until the end of 2024/25 but did not bid for the 2025/26 to 2028/29 cycle. Any guide still listing Amazon as a Premier League broadcaster is out of date.
Can I watch the Premier League without Sky?
You can watch TNT’s 52 matches without Sky, but not Sky’s 215. NOW is the only way to buy those channels without a Sky contract, and NOW is Sky-owned — so there is no route to the full season that avoids the company.
How much is Sky Sports a month?
Around £68 a month on a Sky contract, including a base package, over a 24-month term. The same channels through NOW cost around £41 a month with Boost and no contract at all.
Are NOW day passes worth it for football?
Up to about three days a month, yes — a pass runs around £14.99 for 24 hours. Beyond that the monthly Membership is cheaper, so day passes suit someone watching a handful of fixtures a season rather than every weekend.
Do I need Boost to watch football on NOW?
Not strictly, but without it you are watching 720p with adverts, which is visibly soft on any television above about 40 inches. Treat the real cost as the Membership plus roughly £6 and budget for it from the start.
Why can I not watch Saturday 3pm kick-offs?
They are blacked out in the UK, and no legal service carries them. The rule exists to protect attendance at lower-league fixtures played at the same time, and it applies to every broadcaster equally.
Do I need a TV Licence to watch football?
Yes, for any match watched live as it is broadcast, whatever service carries it. It also applies to BBC iPlayer, so watching Match of the Day on demand the next morning requires one too.
Is it cheaper to cancel and rejoin NOW each season?
Almost always. You lose nothing by cancelling — access runs to the end of the period already paid for — and returning customers are frequently offered a lower rate than they were previously paying.
Does TNT Sports show enough football on its own?
Only if 52 matches a season is enough for you. TNT holds Package A, which includes Saturday lunchtime fixtures, but Sky holds the large majority of live coverage including most weekend games.
Why do cheap services claiming every match keep failing during games?
Because they are not licensed. The Premier League gets court orders to have pirate servers blocked while games are on, which is why these services fail at kick-off rather than on a quiet afternoon.
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