The new Premier League season kicks off tomorrow - but what are the cheapest ways to catch all the action from home?
From BT to Sky, analysts at comparison site Uswitch.com have rounded up the best deals right now.
The Premier League 2021/22 season starts this Friday, August 13, with the first match seeing Arsenal take on Brentford at 8pm.
There will be 380 games in total this season, with the games spread out over Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime.
Sky Sports will air the most games, with rights to broadcast 128 matches, while BT Sport will show 52.
Amazon Prime, meanwhile, will be showing 20 matches during the Premier League.
Catherine Hiley, TV and broadband expert at Uswitch.com , said: “With the agony of the Euro 2020 final still heavy on our hearts, football returns to lift the spirits of the nation with the start of the Premier League season.
“Millions of fans will be looking forward to being back in stadiums once more, and many more will enjoy the action from their homes and pubs.
“Sadly, the days of the BBC screening live Premier League matches during the pandemic are long gone, so fans will have to fork out to watch games at home.”
Cheapest ways to watch the Premier League
The below package prices are accurate at the time of writing and are the cheapest deals that don’t include broadband.
Sky: If you’re an existing Sky TV customer, you can upgrade your current package for an additional £18 a month to add on Sky Football.
As this is a rolling monthly contract, you’ll be able to cancel it whenever you want. The total price for upgrading for the entire Premier League season would be £180.
For new customers, you can join Sky TV and get Sky Sports for £41 a month, plus a £20 set up fee, with an 18 month contract.
The total contract price for this deal would be £758.
But again, keep in mind this only includes the Sky Sport Premier League games, not the BT Sport or Amazon Prime matches.
If you’re not a Sky customer and you're not interested in other Sky channels and want just Sky Sports, you should go for a NOW TV sports pass, which is £25 a month.
BT: If you’re an existing BT customer with a TV package, you can add on just BT Sport for £15 a month if you watch it on the BT Sport app.
If you don't have a TV or broadband deal with BT, you can buy a Monthly Pass for £25 a month to watch BT Sport.
As this is a rolling deal, you’ll be able to cancel when the Premier League season has finished and you would’ve spent £250 on BT games.
To watch your Monthly Pass, you’ll need to download the BT Sport app or watch via a web browser. You don’t need to be signed up to a BT service.
If you're on EE or with Plusnet, you can add on BT Sport at a cheaper price.
EE customers can pay £20 a month for a BT Sport Monthly Pass, while those who are with Plusnet can add on BT Sport from £15.69 a month.
Again, these are the cheapest prices for just BT - they don't include Sky or Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime: All of the games on Amazon Prime fall between November 30 and December 28 - and there is a way to watch them for free.
If you time your sign-up smartly, you’ll only need to sign up for one month to see all 20 matches.
The good news is, Amazon has a 30-day free trial offer which would cover this period, providing you’ve never signed up to Amazon Prime before.
After your free trial period is up, you’ll be charged £7.99 a month for Amazon Prime unless you cancel.
Now TV: You can currently sign up to a NOW TV sports pass, which includes 11 Sky Sports channels, for £25 a month.
This deal conveniently lasts for ten months so you’ll pay £250 in total to watch all the Sky Sports games.
One thing to keep in mind is you’ll start to be charged £5 a month for “boost” HD after three months unless you cancel this.
After the ten months is up, your package will auto renew at £33.99 a month, again, unless you cancel.
The cheapest?
The cheapest option to watch ALL the Premier League games is hugely complicated and depends on your existing broadband and TV packages.
If you're not with Sky or BT, the cheapest way to watch just Sky Sports would be to sign up to a NOW TV pass at £25 a month.
You'd then need to get a BT Monthly Pass which costs £25 a month, unless you're on EE or Plusnet, in which you can get cheaper deals.
If you're already paying for Sky TV, adding on Sky Football for £18 would be the cheapest way to watch the Sky Sports games.
For BT TV customers, the cheapest way to watch the games is to add on BT Sport for £15 a month, or go for the mobile pass for £10 and the first three months free from EE.
You should keep in mind that you may not be paying the cheapest prices for your internet and TV if you're a BT or Sky customer. Compare prices to find out if you can cut costs.
