BT TV is now EE TV – so what's changed?

Dan Howdle • December 8th, 2023

BT has stepped away from subscription TV – what does that mean for customers?

But practically, what does the branding change mean both for existing BT TV customers and new EE TV customers? How does it affect subscriptions? Pricing? The hardware you get? The channels you'll get? Can you get it on its own now? We're going to cover all of this and more.

BT TV and EE TV features comparison

Before we get into the weeds, it's probably a good idea to present you with an easy to understand table that shows exactly what has changed. So here it is. BT TV and EE TV side by side:

Visit EE TV

If you're looking at this and thinking 'Well, not much has changed, has it?' we would draw your attention to that 'on' LED, which is now aqua and not purple. That's a joke, of course. But in reality the new EE TV service is its own thing in some ways, beyond just a rebrand. For one thing, you can now have EE TV on an Apple TV 4K streaming box and aren't confined to a BT box as previously.

EE TV Box Pro features

Here's a rundown of the features of the newly rebranded EE TV Box Pro:

• Pause and rewind live shows on our most advanced personal video recorder yet
• Record up to 600 hours of TV on up to four channels at the same time
• Access live and on-demand TV apps (e.g., BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My 5 and more) as well as Netflix, Prime Video, discovery+ and more
• Watch the most popular free-to-air channels as well as the channels in your package
• Catch Up TV with 7-day scroll back from Guide
• Single Search feature across live and apps
• Connect to your broadband hub over Wi-Fi or use the 1.5m ethernet cable we’ll send out with the box
• Comes with Dolby Atmos and future-ready 4K HDR

What's changed for existing BT TV customers?

If you're an existing BT TV customer, most of you won't have to do anything. You'll continue with your existing BT TV Box Pro, which will have already downloaded an update turning the BT TV OS into the EE TV OS – a change that actually amounts to little more than a new on-screen logo and overall colour scheme. You were a BT TV customer, and now you will be an EE TV customer, which will provide you access to the new features such as the ability to roll Apple TV+ into your subscription, or add an EE TV Box Mini to watch in another, additional room, for free.

EE TV can be watched on Apple TV 4K

Apple TV 4K is an Apple-manufactured TV streaming box that is easily among the best universal streaming boxes in existence. You can load practically any TV app you can think of, as well as having access to movie and TV purchases on the iTunes Store. Apple's on-demand rental and purchasable content via the Apple TV 4K offers the highest audio and visual quality of any streaming device, and is second only the 4K blu-ray discs.

The EE TV service is offered on Apple TV 4K via an EE TV app, allowing you to dip into and dwell within the EE TV service as you please, while also being able to pull out of it and experience everything the Apple device has to offer, including access to hundreds of apps and advanced audiovisual features.

But you don't have to have one. You can also opt for the EE TV Box Pro, which is the same as the BT TV Box Pro was before it and unlike the Apple TV Box Pro offers more traditional set-top box features like the ability to record live TV and so on.

EE TV has a free multiroom option

This is major. With BT TV you'd have had to paid an additional £10 per month for the privilege of getting BT TV in an additional room, plus an extra £49 one-off fee for the additional BT TV Box Pro or BT TV Box Mini. We're not entirely certain how EE TV is managing this, or for how long it wil be on offer, but right now, at the time of writing, EE is providing those who choose either an EE TV with Apple TV 4K, EE TV Box Pro or EE TV Box Mini with an additional EE TV Box mini multi-room option at no extra cost.

Around half of UK households like to have multiple entertainment set-ups in their homes (usually one in the living room and additional set-up(s) in the bedroom(s). So this is great news, and does actually provide a small edge for the new EE TV over both Sky and Virgin Media, both of whom charge both for the extra box as a one off, and as an additional monthly fee for the privilege.

EE TV offers flexible content packages

A flexible content package is one where you're able to add or subtract supplemental TV services and add-ons on a month to month basis. This doesn't entirely represent a departure from what was offered by BT TV, since most of BT TV's add-on services were delivered by NOW TV and other apps, and it was via those sparate services you were subscribed, and none of them demanded contracts.

It is, however, being branded here for the first time under the banner of 'Flexible Content'. And it's welcome, because EE TV's contracts remain at 24 months. The ability not to be tied into Sky Sports, say, for that entire time is going to be useful in the football off-season, say.

Here are the base packages for EE TV, though we encourage you to check our package comparison for the latest pricing, since this represents the correct prices only at the time of writing, according to EE:

Visit EE TV

Many of the components listed within each of those packages can be cancelled or reintroduced to your 24-month contract as you please. Here's a list of those components you can swap in and out as you please form month to month:

• NOW Entertainment (£9.99 pm)
• NOW Cinema (£9.99 pm)
• NOW hayu (£4.99 pm)
• NOW Sports (£11.99 / £34.99 pm)
• Netflix (£10.99 / £17.99)
• TNT Sports (£18 pm)
• Apple TV+ (£8.99 pm)
• Asian Mix (£5 pm)
• HD/4K (£6 pm)
• NOW Boost (£6 pm)
• Prime Video (£8.99 pm**)

Live channel count in EE TV (BT TV) Entertainment largely unchanged

If you have a handle on the many Freeview stations being offered on BT TV prior to the rebrand, you'll be pleased to hear nothing is being dropped in that regard as it receives its new label. To see everything that's included in the BT TV (now EE TV) channels list, see our dedicated guide.