Sky Sports explained: cost, channels, and what you can watch?

Sky Sports channels
(Image credit: Future)

When it comes to Sky Sports channels, there's plenty to get your head around, including whether it offers the sporting coverage you're actually interested in spectating, as well as cost and packages. Get access to more sports than you can shake a racket at with Sky Sports, and make sure it's at a cost you can afford with the best Sky TV deals.

Whether you like to take the game in on your smartphone, your big screen or any other device with Sky Go – however you enjoy your sports, this is everything you could possibly need to know about Sky Sports.

Read on to see our questions and answers that cover off all the details of Sky Sports.


What is Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is the section of BSkyB video that covers all things sport related. That means from football matches and car racing to golf tournaments and big fights, this has something a the place for live sports coverage.

Sky Sports used to be broken down into numbered channels but now Sky offers dedicated sports channels for each type of sport. This not only makes it easier to find what you want, but also means there is a whole load more content, all for your favourite sporting events.

There are 11 Sky Sports channels in total, but more on that below.

How much does Sky Sports cost?

Sky Sports starts at £18 per month but that's as a bolt on where you need other subscriptions to qualify, so in reality it'll cost you at least £41 per month. This is on an 18 month contract and offers you the TV, Sky-dish-fed Sky Sports. This also means you can use Sky Go to watch on other devices over Wi-Fi or your smartphone's network connection.

The other way to get Sky Sports is to pay a rolling charge with Now. A day membership is £9.99 per day or go for three months and it'll cost you £25 for 11 SKy Sports channels, for use on up to six devices.

What Sky Sports channels can you get?

Sky Sports is a huge area that includes loads of sports and plenty of channels with many dedicated to specific sports like Formula One and Golf. The 11 channels included with Sky Sports, all in HD, are:

  • Sky Sports Main Event
  • Sky Sports Premier League
  • Sky Sports Football
  • Sky Sports Cricket
  • Sky Sports Golf
  • Sky Sports Racing
  • Sky Sports F1
  • Sky Sports NFL
  • Sky Sports Arena
  • Sky Sports News
  • Sky Sports Mix

What can I watch with Sky Sports?

A lot of the Sky Sports channels explain themselves in the name but diving into each in more detail we find Sky Sports Premier League, for example, offers 146 live Premier League games this season, in HD. 

On Sky Sports Football, by comparison, you also get EFL, Scottish Premiership and Carabao Cup games. There are even dedicated LFCTV and MUTV channels for Liverpool and Manchester United football club specific content.

For Sky Sports F1 you get every practice, qualifying and race, live. But go to Sky Sports Racing and this broadens out to include the likes of horse racing.

Sky Sports Golf offers the Ryder Cup live as well as every major. So expect plenty of live PGA golf bere.

Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Arena offer live NBA, NFL, Netball, Boxing, Rugby Darts and more. And yes, you did spot there is also a dedicated Sky Sports NFL channels for all things American Football.

Sky Sports Cricket gets you England, India home internationals, IPL and more.

F1

(Image credit: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

What is the difference between Sky Sports and the BT Sports add-on?

Sky Sports offers plenty but BT Sport has set itself up in competition, so it has some exclusive rights. As such you'll either have to pay for BT Sport separately or pay for it via Sky as an add-on to your package.

BT Sports, when it comes to football, offers all the UEFA Champions and Europa League fixtures, 52 Premier League fixtures, 30 FA Cup games, 25 English National League matches, Coppa Italia, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and A-League.

For rugby, BT Sports offers 80 Aviva Premiership fixtures, Anglo-Welsh rugby, Premiership Rugby Sevens Series, European Professional Club Rugby, Scottish Autumn internationals, England women's national rugby union internationals, England under-20s and under-18s national rugby union teams.

And for cricket, BT Sport has all the Australian Test Match international and domestic features, Australian T20 Big Bash League and Women's Big Bash League.

BT Sports also has MotoGP, World Rally Championships, WWE, boxing, Henley Royal Regatta and more.

You can get both Sky Sports and BT Sports with Sky TV for £58 a month for 18 months, or build your own package with BT Sports averaging £27 a month.

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Luke Edwards

Luke is a freelance writer and editor with over two decades of experience covering tech, science and health. Among many others he writes across Future titles covering health tech, software and apps, VPNs, TV, audio, smart home, antivirus, broadband, smartphones, cars and plenty more. He also likes to climb mountains, swim outside and contort his body into silly positions while breathing as calmly as possible.

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