How much money can you save by Cord Cutting?
If we assume you have made the necessary changes to your home to qualify, how much money can you save each year if you cut out live TV?
The basis of the pounds saved is from the running assumption that you already have a broadband service: the principle of cord cutting is to move to internet-only entertainment.
Many people will want to replace their £204 year Sky Movies charge with £72 for Netflix.
£145.50 a year for Freeview, Freesat
£145.50 a year: if you ensure that no-one in the household can watch live TV, then you do not need a TV Licence. [4] If you already have a licence you can claim back the section of it you have not used, you don't need to wait until the current licence runs out.
As you won't be tired to a TV Service (Sky, Virgin) for your broadband you will have the best choice of switching – if you need to – for Broadband. You can choose fibre-optic (Virgin Media), ADSL (BT) or "unlimited" 4G (from Three) to provide your broadband.
The availability of a reliable broadband is vital!
£781.50 a year for a Sky Family and Movies homes, £385.50 for entry level customers
The standard Family pack from Sky costs £432 per month, and if you watch films that costs £204 more for Sky Movies. The most basic of basic Sky packages is "just" £240 a year and the Licence Fee.[3]
You will need to have completed twelve months as a Sky customer, and then you will need to give them one month's notice. You may find their "customer retention" people will throw offers at you when you try to cancel your Sky contract.
You will need to consider who to use for your broadband once you have cancelled Sky. It can be very cost effective to use Virgin Media for a broadband-only service (£342 a year for 50Mbps) as you can easily cut out having a phone line. Fibre-optic only companies such as Hyperoptic provide 1000Mbps service to homes in London for £240 a year.
£271.50 a year for Virgin Media
£271.50 a year saved if you are in a Virgin customer the basic broadband, basic TV package costs £468 a year, but drop to broadband only and this is £342. This is a saving of £126 plus not having a TV Licence.
Virgin customers are in an interesting position. Because the Virgin Media broadband system does not use the ADSL system, this means their customers can take JUST broadband if they wish, with no phone line.
Their 50Mb service costs £28.50 a month for broadband alone.
It is a bit tricky to compare the prices between the combined Virgin TV and broadband because the prices shown for the bundles include a charge of £17 a month for a mandatory phone line.
Next article: prepare yourself for Cord Cutting
[1] Compare the best broadband deals & packages from Virgin Media | Virgin Media
[2] Compare our best broadband, TV, mobile & phone bundles | Big Bundles | Virgin Media
[3] Switching to Sky TV - Join Sky online
[4] Official TV Licensing website - How much does a TV Licence cost?
Dear braintest;
Re are you ready to cut the cordCosts may change after goverment action re removal of TVL exemptions for watching video from broadcasters via tablets & other similar devices. so will this change be reflected in an update to artical?
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9:42 AM
Nice article Brian But;You quote The standard Family pack from Sky costs £432 per month, and if you watch films that costs £204 more for Sky Movies. The most basic of basic Sky packages is "just" £240 a year and the Licence Fee.[3]I think you mean £432 a Year!! Still a nice saving though
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