This topic

Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Hozz — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 10:26:21 GMT

It seems to me that the days of BT TV are numbered. It is a service that requires you to have BT Broadband and now that there are so many other faster and cheaper options for broadband and lots of other options for TV, in particular the new Sky Stream which allows any ISP, why would anyone not leave BT and therefore BT TV for a cheaper and faster option. The only way to remedy this is to unlink the requirement for BT TV users to use BT internet. If this is not possible for technical reasons those technical reasons need to be overcome.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Les-Gibson — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 10:38:58 GMT

Or perhaps it's the equivalent of the supermarket petrol station, the loss leader which figuratively speaking increases footfall in the main store. I'm currently on a 2 year contract at £6 a month (yes, six pounds per month for two years) and for that I get the base Now TV package and the base Netflix package and a TV box/recorder.

The system has its faults but at that price it's not bad value for money

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

garybs29 — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 10:41:55 GMT

The bt tv deals with bb usually work out cheaper than a bb & tv deal from Sky so I'd say no

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Hozz — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 10:54:06 GMT

I think it depends upon whether you are satisfied with your BT broadband cost and speed.

I am not suggesting BT TV is not good value for money but if there is a cheaper and faster FTTP broadband option as opposed to a slow BT connection many people would like to use that faster option and retain BT TV. This is not possible so why not move to that faster connection and use Sky Stream instead. Sky allow you to use any ISP unlike BT TV.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Les-Gibson — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 11:43:07 GMT

It's all relative surely? if you're happy with what you've got and how much it costs then why change it? you don't fix what ain't broken

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Hozz — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 11:49:39 GMT

But I am not happy with my broadband speed so am going to change to an ISP that can give me three times the speed for about half the price.

I would like to retain BT TV but can't therefore goodbye BT TV.

I am sure there are others in this situation.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Les-Gibson — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 11:54:32 GMT

If BT can't offer you FTTP then what makes you think that Sky can? To the best of my knowledge they both use the Openreach network so if either one of them can't supply you with FTTP then surely the other one can't either

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Hozz — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 12:03:14 GMT

I am not thinking of going with Sky Broadband.

Another ISP has laid FTTP in our area using their own network.

I can sign up to any ISP and use Sky Stream but I can't use BT TV because to use BT TV you have to use BT Broadband.

In fact I have a choice of two FTTP providers but no date for when BT can supply FTTP.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

terry821 — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:44:31 GMT

Sky Stream is a completely different product and can assure you is far from perfect.

BT TV requires multicasting which is only available on BT. I’d say BT have the upper hand here, a network already built for delivering TV and now a deal with WBO. Sky will be hit hard when there HBO contract expires in 2025. All change in the next few years

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Weerab1983 — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 17:48:31 GMT

If your after FTTP but BT don't offer it in your area, I think your options are limited.

I don't think BT is going down over the odd customer not being able to get FTTP.

But there are other options open to you with Sky Stream or subscribing to Now TV and all the other streaming services you want individually which could be cheaper than Sky Stream, but if you are ademant about trying Sky Stream good luck to you.

I am lucky enough that I can get full FTTP and BT Entertainment with Netflix and I am happy with the reduced channel options for the price.

I think it is right though that eventually Sky is going to have to rely on Comcast for it's exclusive content, and I hope that one day people have the option of subscribing to Peacock individually too or even Universal plus which I see is now available in France for instance.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

jas20001978 — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 18:11:28 GMT

I agree, BT TV is a piece of carp. I have BT full fibre and have BT TV and Sky Stream.

Sky Stream does have some problems if you don't have a good network. But I have six pucks and I have not had one issue because I have a solid network. With BT TV you have to set up IPTV and not all routers support it.

BT TV could be a great product but it's limited in so many ways. Only one multiroom box, no good apps like Disney, Apple, discovery, lionsgate, YouTube to name a few which Sky and Virgin have.

Their network equipment is from the dark ages as well. BT have two competitors in my area and they both offer Amazon eero pro WiFi 6 mesh networks and have done for over a year. BT kit was so unreliable for me I moved over to OPNSense and have four Ubiquiti WifI 6 access points.

Easily get WiFi speeds on my pixel 7 pro of 900 to 950 Mbits. BT used to be the leader so they for me as some work to do so hope they have a Wifi 7 system out for next year. Anything less won't cut it.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Weerab1983 — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 18:48:46 GMT

I also agree with the app situation. It's a bit of a joke to be honest, BT need to get their finger out with that.

I know it can't be an easy task but it's badly needed, look at YouTube for example.

I have had Sky Q and I know it's superior to BT TV but it was more of a budget choice for me with the current economic pressures this year.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Sharken — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 20:07:53 GMT

I’ve just left Sky to return back to BT broadband and with BT Tv (Pro Box (nice piece of kit) with Now and Netflix) Sky couldn’t get anywhere near the BT price (with the deal I got, basically paying £29.99 per month for all services, we have fibre 1 (with only two of us in the house - don’t need anything more) and we have dropped the landline as we never use it and people call us on the mobile.

With TV from BT and the other apps on the Smart TV have everything we need

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

ney — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 23:12:08 GMT

I would not fully say BT TV is fully rubbish but the best thing I did was cancel BT TV over 7 months ago and go with Now(Now TV) direct with discounts.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Hendy2 — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 23:08:47 GMT

The addition of Freeview over the internet by BT TV has definitely made the product more competitive, especially for someone who lives in a Freeview Light area, but BT need a channel line up at least equivalent to Virgin Media in order to compete with Sky.

The multi room options are also poor. Just one box which doesn’t even have a recording capability ?

OK, so Sky Stream or Sky Glass doesn’t have recording capabilities either, but you can have up to 6 additional puck boxes on Sky Glass and 5 on Sky Stream. All wireless and all 4K capable.

If Sky can do this then why can’t BT ?

It’s also missing some major apps such as Disney+, Apple TV, and YouTube.

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

JonMace — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 07:40:22 GMT

With my enigma2 satellite box I can watch live TV, setup and watch recordings etc on any android, firestick, PC etc on the network (at no charge) this is how I distribute TV around my home.

I have a feeling that the reason that the mini is limited to 1 is that BT limit you to 2 streams via internet mode, thus 1 pro and 1 mini brings you to your total.

This limit is silly, as people pay for higher speeds they should be allowed more streams, minis (or better still aps).

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Weerab1983 — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:09:29 GMT

I have the BT TV Extra Box (before the mini box)

Its a bit slow but until BT have more channels within their IPTV package I can't justify paying another £7, as the extra box is only an extra £5 and it hasn't changed in price.

The older box is annoyingly slow and theres no point in even trying to use the apps but until I can justify paying extra I'm sticking with it!

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Les-Gibson — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 11:52:02 GMT

You don't need the box at all if you have a Smart TV, just use the apps. If you don't have a smart TV then you can buy a Roku or Firestick for a one-off payment of around £30-£70 depending upon whether you want 4k or are happy with SD

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

JamesBand5 — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 20:18:35 GMT

1. I do think that if BT TV was available as a separate product without being tied into having to have BT Broadband, or BT's Wifi equipment (e.g. your BT TV box can connect to the Wifi of your own Mesh product in another room), it would take off and sell much better.

The FTTP point you made is quite correct. There might also be people who currently are unable to receive a good FTTC speed, but might be able to get a good 4G mobile broadband service who could then get their TV via the internet via BT TV.

2. BT TV now being a full IPTV product makes it very attractive, especially if they maintained the £6 a month price. In addition, the BT Pro box seems to be decent as far as TV goes. It would be ideal if the Pro box had all the big name Apps for other streaming services as well.

3. It would also be awesome if the additional multi room boxes were more like the main Pro box and you could go beyond just 1 additional box. Either accessing the main recordings on the Pro box, or else your whole home setup of boxes being able to access a joint BT Cloud based recording storage.

As an example, the BT Sports service can be accessed as a stand alone product on a monthly rolling basis by using the app on any Smart TV/streaming stick etc.

If BT TV was a similar product offering Freeview via the Internet as well, on a monthly basis with some type of cloud based storage, for below £10 a month (including multi room) it would be extremely attractive.

One would hope that in this age, more TV content is actually broadcast in 4K as well given that many streaming services and Youtubers are producing such content!

Re: Are the days of BT TV numbered?

Les-Gibson — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 20:49:34 GMT

The mesh system you use is totally irrelevant, the requirement is for BT to be your ISP, for example a quick shufty through this forum will show that there BT TV customers who use third party routers.

It's not a full IPTV system yet but I believe they're working on it

You can already get some Freeview channels via IPTV using the BT TV Pro box but there are still Freeview channels which are not available through IPTV.

BT are in business to make money, they wouldn't make much if they sold (say) their TV service to anyone and everyone for just £6 a month, but if they dangle the hook in the water long enough then someone will bite and they will acquire another broadband customer.

The BT TV Pro box is 4k HDR capable.