Sky TV Essentials (also known as Sky Q Lite) gives you a Sky Q box and superfast broadband for £33 per month. See the Sky TV Essentials channels.

If you’re looking for a low-cost TV and broadband deal, you can get Sky Essentials for just £33 per month (this is also known as Sky TV Essentials or Sky Q Lite).

The £33 per month fee includes a Sky Q box and Sky Superfast 35 Broadband.

Sky TV Essentials comes with access to more than 200 channels on a Sky Q box, with the ability to pause, rewind and record live TV. You’ll also be able to watch catch-up TV on BBC iPlayer and other apps through your Sky Q box.

In this article, we’ll review the Sky Essentials deal with Sky Q Lite and Superfast Broadband. We’ll look at how the TV Essentials plan works, the channels you’ll get included with it, and how you can switch your broadband & TV provider to Sky.

What is Sky TV Essentials?

In the UK, Sky now offers a lower-cost TV Essentials deal. Available exclusively to new Sky TV customers, it comes with a Sky Q box and access to more than 200 free-to-view channels. You’ll get all of the normal functionality available on Sky Q such as apps and the ability to pause, rewind and record live television. You’ll also get a clever remote with voice control functionality built-in.

Alongside your Sky Q box, you’ll also get Sky’s Superfast Broadband included. This gives you an average download speed of either 36Mbps or 59Mbps, depending on the plan you choose. You’ll also get a speed guarantee included as standard on your broadband.

ServiceBroadbandTelevisionMonthly Price
Sky Broadband
Sky TV Essentials with Superfast 35 Broadband

36Mbps
average download
Sky TV Essentials

200+ channels included
£33/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront
Sky Broadband
Sky TV Essentials with Superfast Broadband

59Mbps
average download
Sky TV Essentials

200+ channels included
£36/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront

You’ll normally pay £25 per month for Sky Superfast 35 broadband on its own, without any TV included.

Other Sky TV & Broadband Deals

Unlike Sky’s other TV and broadband deals, you won’t get access to premium TV channels on the Sky Essentials deal.

For access to premium TV channels like Sky Atlantic, Sky Max, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, you can choose one of the following TV and broadband deals from £39 per month:

ServiceBroadbandTelevisionMonthly Price
Sky Broadband
Sky TV with Superfast 35 Broadband

36Mbps
average download
Sky ShowcaseSky Atlantic
Sky TV

300+ channels included
£39/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront
Sky Broadband
Sky TV with Superfast Broadband

59Mbps
average download
Sky ShowcaseSky Atlantic
Sky TV

300+ channels included
£42/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront
Sky Broadband
Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix with Superfast Broadband

59Mbps
average download
Sky ShowcaseSky AtlanticNetflix
Sky Entertainment & Netflix

120+ channels included
£43/month
for 18 months
plus £19.95 upfront
Sky Broadband
Sky TV with Netflix and Superfast 35 Broadband

36Mbps
average download
Sky ShowcaseSky AtlanticNetflix
Sky TV with Netflix

300+ channels included
£43/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront
Sky Broadband
Sky TV with Netflix and Superfast Broadband

59Mbps
average download
Sky ShowcaseSky AtlanticNetflix
Sky TV with Netflix

300+ channels included
£46/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront
Sky Broadband
Sky TV with Sky Sports & Superfast Broadband

59Mbps
average download
Sky ShowcaseSky AtlanticSky Sports
Sky TV with Sky Sports

300+ channels included
£62/month
for 18 months
plus £29.95 upfront

In particular, we recommend the £43 Sky Stream, Sky Entertainment & Netflix with Superfast Broadband deal. This comes with Netflix included (worth £6.99 per month). You’ll also get Sky’s entertainment channels, along with on-demand content through the Sky Box Sets service.

Sky TV Essentials Channels

With Sky TV Essentials, you’ll have access to more than 200 free-to-view channels through a satellite dish. This includes all of the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five channels. You’ll also get Sky Arts and other entertainment channels like CBS Drama, Food Network, Dave, Quest, Pick and more.

All of the following channels are available on Sky TV Essentials:

  • BBC One
  • BBC Two
  • ITV
  • Channel 4
  • Five
  • ITV2
  • ITV3
  • ITV4
  • ITVBe
  • E4
  • Film4
  • More4
  • 4Music
  • 4seven
  • 5*
  • 5USA
  • Paramount Network
  • CBS Drama
  • CBS Reality
  • CBS Justice
  • Challenge
  • Sky Arts
  • Food Network
  • Dave
  • Drama
  • Really
  • Yesterday
  • Quest
  • Quest Red
  • DMAX
  • Pick
  • BBC News
  • Sky News
  • Bloomberg TV
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Arirang
  • NHK World
  • plus more…

On Sky TV Essentials, you won’t get Sky’s premium TV channels like Sky Atlantic, Sky Max, Sky Cinema and Sky Sports. It also won’t be possible to stream from the Sky Box Sets service. You can, however, still use catch-up TV apps on your Sky Q box (including BBC iPlayer, All4, Spotify, YouTube and more).

You can also use the Netflix application to watch shows and movies on your Sky Q box (a separate subscription to Netflix is required for this). If you do this, however, you might be better off getting a Sky TV & broadband deal that comes with Netflix included. At present, you can get a plan from £43 per month with Sky’s entertainment channels, Netflix and Superfast Broadband included.

The channels available on Sky TV Essentials are similar to what was previously offered on the Freesat from Sky service which is now discontinued.

Switching to Sky

If you’re currently using another broadband or TV provider, it’s easy switching your service to Sky.

Start by ordering your Sky Essentials plan online. When you place your order, you’ll be able to schedule the installation date for your service.

In most cases, Sky will contact your old broadband provider to automatically cancel the old service for you. However, this won’t be the case if you’re a Virgin Media customer – if so, you’ll need to contact them separately to cancel.

For step-by-step instructions on how to change your broadband & TV provider to Sky, please select your current provider from the list below:

Switch to Sky Broadband
Your step-by-step guide to switching

Select your current broadband provider:

More Options

You can also read our full guide on switching broadband providers in the UK.

More Information

For more information about the Sky TV Essentials deal, please see Sky’s official website.

Your Comments 24 so far

We'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have. So far, we've received 24 comments from readers. You can add your own comment here.

  • Geoffrey Cramp said:

    I have been with Sky for 23 years. I am 73 and just seen what my package is going to cost over the next two months. It’s staggering believe me. But with a new customer you get fantastic deals. Just doesn’t seem fair. 23 years means nothing to Sky.

  • At my age I just want to turn the TV on and watch/record a programme. No fuss no bother with signals or apps etc. The Essentials package with Broadband and landline is perfect for me and includes all the channels, except Alibi, that I would normally watch, but have noticed the Drama Channel now has some of them. Just wish I had known about it earlier.

    • Hi James,
      Thanks for your comment. You’ll get a new satellite dish installed on your property as part of this service 🙂
      Hope this helps,
      Ken

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