BT TV review 2024: Is it any good?

Dan Howdle • August 7th, 2024

BT TV no longer exists. But fret not. It is now called EE TV and is available with both BT and EE Broadband bundles. It's pretty much the same service BT TV was, albeit with a few nice to have bells and whistles added on. You can read our EE TV review here. What follows here is the legacy BT TV review from before the changeover, and it will remain here for historical reference for the time being.

Key features

Here’s a quick look at what you can expect to find in a BT TV deal.

Our review of BT TV

Channels

BT’s TV offering has its foundation in Freeview channels. From there, you can add on various extras at each package level, from Kids to Sky Sports and Sky Cinema. For an in-depth review of each BT bundle, visit our guide on EE channels.

Highlights

TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) – BT Sport has been sold off to TNT, meaning we no longer have BT Sport, but TNT Sports instead. The channels themselves are, for now, largely unchanged, albeit under a new name, and you'll still have to either add on the TNT Sports bundle or subscribe to a VIP-level BT TV package to get them. With a wealth of football coverage, including Champions League, Premier League, Serie A, and Ligue 1, TNT is a must for any football devotee, and taking it as part of BT TV is still the cheapest way to get it. It comes as standard with any BT TV package with 'Sport' in the name, or alternatively you can choose to pay extra to bolt it on to the Entertainment or Big Entertainment bundles.

AMC – All packages come with American drama channel AMC – which is exclusive to BT. So if you are a fan of the likes of The Walking Dead and all its spin-offs, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul, then it's worth signing up.

NOW TV Entertainment – BT includes a NOW TV Entertainment subscription with most of its TV bundles as standard, but you will need to be able to receive a BT Fibre speed of 32Mbps or more in order to watch the channels included. This is because BT’s Premium channels are all supplied via your internet connection.

Set-top box – The BT TV Box Pro

Up until last year, BT didn't supply its own set-top box. Rather it provided third-party set-top boxes from YouView with is TV package. That's all changed and now BT suppled its own BT TV Box Pro set-top box.

The BT TV Box Pro is a cutting-edge entertainment hub designed to provide you with an exceptional viewing experience. With this box, you can access a wide range of popular apps, including BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Britbox, ensuring that you never miss your favorite shows and movies.

One of the standout features of the BT TV Box Pro is its versatility. You can connect to your broadband hub either over wifi or through the included 1.5m Ethernet cable, giving you the freedom to choose the most convenient setup for your home.

Moreover, this advanced box allows you to enjoy the best free-to-air channels without the need for an external aerial. It opens up a world of entertainment options right at your fingertips. The BT TV Box Pro also boasts impressive recording capabilities. You can record up to 600 hours of TV content and even capture shows on up to four channels simultaneously. This flexibility ensures that you'll never miss any of your favorite programs.

Additionally, the box comes equipped with Dolby Atmos and future-ready 4K HDR technology, making it perfect for enjoying BT Sport Ultimate and delivering stunning audiovisual quality. And you can pause and rewind live shows, thanks to it acting as an advanced personal video recorder.

BT TV Box Pro specifications

Here's what you can do with the BT TV Box Pro. And bear in mind this is now the box that comes with all new BT Broadband and TV deals:

Add-ons

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+

BT considers these independent streaming services as add-ons, meaning you can subscribe and pay for them through BT TV and watch them on the supplied set-top box. We say they don't really qualify as you could have either or both without the need for BT TV.

Sky Cinema and Sky Sports

These are included in some BT TV packages as standard – in the form of NOW TV Cinema and Sport. If they’re not in the package you want, you can choose to add either or both, but just as they are with any Sky package you'd care to choose, they are not cheap. Still, with Sky Cinema, having the option to add a decent movie service fills a hole BT TV is otherwise lacking. Sky Sports, meanwhile, in addition to TNT Sports, ensures you never miss a goal, lap, 147 break, you name it. Love of sport is not cheap these days.

BT Extra Box (Multiroom)

If you want to be able to watch your BT TV subscription on TV in a second room, you can subscribe to BT Extra Box. For an extra monthly fee you will be supplied with an 'Extra Box' (yes, that's what they are actually called.

Alternatively, you can download the BT TV App Extra if you want the multi-room experience without the need for extra TV boxes. With it, you can watch shows on a big screen in two other rooms while someone watches on your BT TV box. However, Sky Sports or Sky Movies are excluded from this app, which is a major drawback.

BT TV and TNT Sports apps

The BT TV app is free to all BT TV customers. It enables you to watch all your BT channels on your phone, tablet, computer or laptop wherever you are, and also set programmes to record at home while you are away. The BT Sport app works in the same way, enabling you to watch all the BT Sport action on a device of your choice either at home or when you are out.

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Packages and bundles

You can only get BT TV in a bundle with BT broadband. It's not available on its own. There are currently five BT broadband and TV bundles, and once you choose one you will be able to add on or swap out various bits and pieces during the checkout process. They are:

• Entertainment – Entertainment comes with the usual array of Freeview channels, but also comes with a NOW TV Entertainment subscription thrown in for free
• Big Entertainment – All the 70+ Freeview channels are included, and you also get free membership to both NOW TV Entertainment and NOW TV Cinema, which provides access to the 11 Sky Cinema channels and over 1000 movies on demand
• Sport – Customers primarily wanting BT TV for TNT Sports will want to head straight for this package. It comes with all TNT Sports channels, free access to the TNT Sports app and the usual array of Freeview channels, plus AMC
• Big Sport – Big Sport offers the full package of sports TV, with all TNT Sports channels and free access to NOW TV Sport, which comes with the 11 Sky Sports channels. Eurosport 1 and 2 and BoxNational are thrown in for good measure along with all the Freeview channels
• VIP – VIP is BT TV’s ultimate package. It comes with all the Freeview channels, NOW TV Entertainment, NOW TV Cinema, NOW TV Sports, TNT Sports, Eurosport and AMC, and a Netflix subscription

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BT TV on its own

You can't get BT TV without also signing up to BT Broadband, but if you're already a BT Broadband customer you can add BT TV at any time. You can choose to bolt on any BT package, subject to having the minimum broadband speed requirements of 32Mbps.

Our verdict: Very good

If you're an avid sports fan, BT TV could be for you. With TNT Sports coverage rivaling that of Sky Sports, it’s worth serious consideration for football fans in particular, especially if you pair it with NOW TV Sport. The entry-level packages are ideal for anyone wanting to get a straightforward TV package – with the Entertainment bundle offering the added bonus of NOW TV Entertainment with Sky Atlantic. You can get TNT Sports on other services too though, so it's not the be all and end all.

For film fans, the decision is just as easy. NOW TV Cinema is included in several packages as standard. Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and others are also supported by the BT TV Box Pro, so film fans can subscribe and enjoy the best of all the streaming services.

The VIP package offers everything you could possibly want, including Sky Atlantic via NOW TV. It’s considerably cheaper than the Virgin Media Ultimate Volt Bundle, but then that does come with up to 1130Mbps broadband and over 230 TV channels. BT TV is no longer just about BT Sport (which is now TNT Sports), but the BT TV Box Pro is a very good bit of kit.

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