Great news – the Free BT Vision Box offer that was due to end this month has been extended until the end of the year, meaning you can get a BT Vision Box free if you take out one of these Value Packs…

The box would normally cost £45 with a Value Pack – the £45 is credited back to your first or second bill.

BT Vision have announced the pricing structure for their Sky Sports add-ons which will be available from 1st August – details below…

For those with a BT Vision Value Pack subscription from £14.99 a month for 12 months the monthly cost will be £11.99 for either Sky Sports 1 or Sky Sports 2 and £16.99 for both together.

If you take a new BT Vision Value Pack, Broadband & Calls package from £32.99 a month for 24 months then the price falls to £6.99 a month for one or £11.99 a month for both.

Great news for BT Vision customers – from 1 August BT Vision customers will be able to view Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, that’s just in time for the start of the Premier League football season on 14 August. This is all connected, of course, to the recent ruling that forced Sky to sell their channels wholesale to competitors Virgin Media and BT at a more competitive price.

The deal means that BT customers will be able to sign up for the subscription channels from early July, but we don’t have any pricing details yet.

BT Retail chief executive Gavin Patterson said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone, which means that we can be certain of offering Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to our customers before the football season kicks off. We know our customers will be keen to sign up for the two channels.”

Stay tuned for the price details!

Great news from BT, a new deal on two BT TV packages giving 3 months free on an 18 month contract. The packages in question are the Surf, Talk and Watch Unlimited and a new package called the Surf, Talk and Watch Plus – this is almost the same as Surf, Talk and Watch More but has unlimited anytime calls instead of just weekend. This new package features the BT Vision Bronze Value Pack, which gives you the TV Pack and the Replay Pack plus a choice of 2 others from Kids, Film, Sport and Music packs.

At the same time BT have reduced their broadband minimum term from 18 months to 12 months but have taken away the reduced price for the first 3 months deals, making it better value than ever to get a package rather than broadband on its own.

1. Get Freeview

The first money-saving option to consider for digital TV has to be Freeview – the clue is in the name! It really depends on which channels are important to you and whether you want a landline and broadband in a bundle, but if you’re currently paying a monthly fee for Sky, Virgin or BT TV and you only ever watch the main channels (BBC, ITV, 4 and Five) then you may as well invest in a Freeview box – it may even be built into your TV or recorder. If, however, you need a landline (you possibly do) and broadband (you probably do) then a bundle may make it worthwhile as it could cost the same for the whole lot as it would just for the broadband and phone. Think about the on-demand services though, you might miss those…

2. Look for Special Offers

It may sound obvious but if you’ve decided to take out a subscription with one of the digital TV providers make sure you time it to take advantage of any limited period offers they have. For example at the time of writing Sky TV are giving away £50 of M&S vouchers when you sign up online. Virgin Media recently gave new customers a £50 credit into their account for the same reason, and BT Vision are currently giving a discount for the first 3 months on the monthly fees for their Viewing Packs – every little helps!

3. Use Voucher Codes

Whenever you need to upgrade your TV or buy a Freeview box, hard disc recorder or any other electronic gear don’t forget there’s a wealth of voucher codes out there to save you money. If you’ve never used a voucher code (sometimes called discount or promotional codes) they are the web equivalent of cutting out a coupon and getting money off in a shop, except the discounts on a large item like a TV can be a lot more worthwhile than 10p off a tin of beans…

4. Get a Bundle for TV, Broadband and Phone

If you know you want TV, broadband and a landline phone then make sure you get all 3 in a bundle with the same company. Don’t be tempted to think “Oh, I’ve been with BT for years and I don’t want the hassle of changing my phone line” – if you’re going to do all 3 with BT that’s fine, just be aware that if your services are spread over more than one provider the chances are you’re paying too much.

5. Get ESPN from BT for No Monthly Fee

Sports fans – if you’re just choosing who to go with for your TV then consider BT Vision. If you take out one of their Single Packs or Value Packs (which you would if you were getting BT Vision) you get the sports channel ESPN for no monthly fee, just a one-off £9.99 card fee. Now we think that’s what you call a……..