EE TV vs Sky TV 2024: Which service should I choose?
Dan Howdle | October 16th, 2024
Life was so much simpler when it was BT TV, which you'd get with your BT Broadband deal, but alas, BT TV, the brand, is no more, with EE TV in its place available in both EE Broadband and BT Broadband bundles. And more recently, EE Broadband is even offering the opportunity to bundle Sky TV (Sky Stream) instead of EE TV if you wish.
Takeovers and partnerships are blurring the lines between different bundled TV services for sure. But despite the nature of the choices changing in fundamental ways, whether or not to plump for EE TV with your BT or EE Broadband, Sky Stream with your EE Broadband, Sky TV with Sky Broadband, or just Sky TV on its own remains a question that needs to be answered. And that's what we're going to do here.
Key feature comparison
Here's a quick feature comparison on how BT and Sky stack up.
| Feature | BT TV | Sky TV |
|---|---|---|
| Channels | 189 | 300+ |
| Set-top box | EE TV Box Pro or Apple TV 4K | Sky Stream |
| Simultaneous recording (up to) | 4 channels on EE TV Box Pro, no recording on Apple TV 4K | No recording function (Sky Stream) |
| Storage (up to) | 300 hours (EE TV Box Pro), 128GB for apps only on Apple TV 4K | N/A |
| Multiroom (max) | Up to three rooms | Up to six rooms |
| Apps | Yes | Yes |
| Watch on the go | EE TV App | Sky Go |
| Max resolution | 4K/UHD | 4K/UHD |
| Sound | Dolby Atmos | Dolby Atmos |
| Broadband required? | Only available with BT or EE Broadband | Yes, but with any provider |
EE TV channels
BT and EE offer five EE TV packages that you can only take in addition to a BT or EE broadband deal.
The Entertainment pack comes with the usual range of Freeview channels including BBC, ITV, Film4 and Dave, and free access to the NOW TV Entertainment channels (hence the name), including Sky Atlantic, Sky Witness, and Sky Comedy, as well as six Sky Kids channels. It also comes with Netflix Basic, which allows you to watch Netflix on one device.
Big Entertainment, again offers all the Freeview channels, AMC, Netflix Basic and the NOW Entertainment membership, but also includes a NOW Cinema membership, giving you access to the eleven live Sky Cinema channels, including Drama, Thriller, Comedy and Animation, as well as over 1000 films to watch on demand.
EE TV’s Sport package comes with the Freeview channels, and all TNT Sports channels, enabling you to watch the Premier League, the Champions League, UFC, WWE and Premiership Rugby.
Big Sport is a step up from Sport, offering both the TNT Sports channels and a NOW TV Sport Membership, giving you access to all 11 Sky Sports channels, including Premier League, Football, and F1. It also comes with BoxNation, and Eurosport 1 and 2, and the Freeview channels.
Full Works is BT and EE's premium EE TV package. It is a bundle of Big Sport and Big Entertainment wrapped up together, with the bonus addition of TNT Sports Ultimate – TNT's UHD/4K channel (requiring a minimum broadband speed of 44Mbps) – and also NOW TV Boost, which provides full HD access to all NOW TV channels.
Optional bolt-ons with EE TV
There are plenty of extras you can pay for to boost your service. For TV packs that don’t include it, you can add TNT Sports, Sky Sports, Hayu, and Sky Cinema.
Plus, the EE TV Player, which comes with every EE TV bundle, allows you to buy or rent films, giving you even more viewing choice.
Customers looking for a multiroom set-up can add one EE TV Box Mini for free to watch in one additional room, while a second Mini will cost you an additional £10 per month. ou can pause and rewind live TV and watch everything via your wifi connection, so there is no need for a second aerial. However, all of that changes if you select the Apple TV 4K as your set-top box, since there are no options for multiroom.
Sky TV channels
Sky TV Entertainment forms the base package with ove 150 channels, and on top of that you can customise with various add-ons. Unlike EE TV, Sky TV can still be taken as a standalone service, without needing Sky Broadband. However, you can obviously still get a Sky TV and broadband bundle if that's what you want.
Sky TV includes access to Sky Box Sets at no extra cost, giving you access to over 500 box sets on demand. You'll also have access to a range of entertainment channels, including Sky Atlantic, Sky Max, Comedy Central, and MTV.
There’s something for everyone, with 15 Asian channels, a variety of documentary channels including National Geographic and Discovery, as well as sports channels like Sky Sports Mix, Sky Sports Racing, and Eurosport 1 and 2 available without a Sky Sports subscription. On top of that, you still get all the usual free-to-air channels such as BBC, ITV, and Channel 4.
Optional bolt-ons with Sky
If you want more, you can customise your Sky TV Entertainment package with a wide range of add-ons. Sports fans can bolt on Sky Sports and TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) for access to 11 Sky Sports channels and all four TNT Sports channels in HD.
You can also add Sky Cinema, which offers 11 dedicated film channels, along with on-demand access to the latest releases and classics. And you can add Disney+, which gives you access to all Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney content, as well as National Geographic.
For families, Sky Kids is a popular option, featuring eight channels such as Nick Jr, Cartoonito, and Boomerang. The Sky Kids app also provides on-demand access to 5000 existing episodes of kids' TV.
If you want to watch TV in more than one room, Sky Whole Home is a great option. For an extra monthly fee, you'll get additional Sky Stream Pucks to watch in different rooms and access to Sky Go Extra, allowing you to stream or download shows on up to four devices, whether at home or on the go. You can also choose to bolt on 'Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos' for the best picture quality and upgrade to Netflix Premium, which gives you four simultaneous streams.
Most add-ons are available on a flexible monthly rolling basis, so you can easily change or cancel them. However, services like Sky Sports, TNT Sports, Sky Cinema, and Whole Home typically come with an 18-month commitment, or a more expensive one-month rolling option, so make sure you're happy with your choices before signing up.
Technology & equipment
BT and EE’s EE TV packages come with either the EE TV Box Pro – a slimline, well-featured set-top box that offers 4K HDR streaming, as well as Dolby Atmos sound for the 1% of households that have a true Atmos setup – or an Apple TV 4K coded to work only with EE Broadband, and where you can access your channels and content via the EE TV app.
The EE TV Box Pro still provides live TV but via streaming rather than through an aerial, though you can run some channel through an aerial if you really need to – you'll have to book an engineer to sort this out for you. If you choose an Apple TV 4K you'll be able to get live TV channels via the EE app and other apps on the device.
In comparison, Sky Stream comes with a Sky Stream Puck that's more similar to the Apple TV 4K than the EE TV Box Pro. It won't let you record shows as there's no hard drive – the storage it does have is for apps. But recording is becoming a thing of the past since almost everything is now becoming available to watch at a later date on catch-up.
Sky Glass offers Sky TV without the box
Sky Glass is Sky’s latest innovative system that comes with a slimline TV with Sky Stream built in. There is no need for a satellite dish and no set-top box. It comes with the same channel choice as Sky Stream, and the option to take a multiscreen service is fulfilled with Sky Glass Whole Home, which comes with one Sky Stream Puck and the option to add more at a cost.
Customer service
Cost and channels are important factors in choosing between these two TV giants but customer satisfaction is equally important as you need assurance that any issues will be dealt with well.
The latest Ofcom data for 2024 shows that TalkTalk came top for fewest complaints to Ofcom per 100,000 customers, with just one complaint. Sky came in with two, and BT (where you'll find EE TV) had seven.
Conclusion
It's such an odd situation for BT to be in with its TV bundles (and indeed those of EE). EE TV is an oddball product in many ways: Two different streaming boxes offering differing features, functionality and options, coupled to two different broadband services offering different speeds, features and pricing. And even on its best day, it's still no match for the simple, straightforward, content-packed magnificence of Sky Stream.
Which is why EE Broadband is now offering Sky Stream with its broadband packages as an alternative to EE TV. If you can't beat them, join them. And ultimately, if BT and EE TV itself is admitting it can't match what Sky Stream does and so is offering it as a bundle option themselves then that's all you really need to know about who the winner of this contest actually is. (It's Sky).
