I Cancelled Sky Sports, Netflix and Disney+ — Here's What I Pay Now
Yes, you can cancel Sky Sports and still watch the Premier League — along with the Champions League, UFC, F1, Netflix and Disney+ — for a fraction of the price. I did exactly that, and my monthly bill dropped from £97 to £12.
What I Was Actually Paying
I didn't realise how bad it had got until I sat down and added everything up. Here's what was leaving my bank account every single month:
- Sky Sports (standalone subscription): £43/month
- Netflix Standard (1080p, two screens): £17.99/month
- Disney+ (Standard with ads): £4.99/month
- TNT Sports (via Discovery+): £30.99/month
Monthly total: £96.97
Annual total: £1,163.64
That's nearly £1,200 a year — and that's before you factor in individual UFC pay-per-view events, which can cost £20–£25 each on top. According to Ofcom's 2025 Communications Market Report, the average UK household now spends £37 per month on streaming and TV services alone. I was spending almost three times that.
The worst part? I wasn't even using half of what I was paying for. Most weeknights, Sky Sports was showing darts replays or transfer deadline speculation from six months ago. Netflix was background noise. Disney+ was there because I'd forgotten to cancel the trial.
Why Sky Keeps Getting More Expensive
If it feels like your Sky bill goes up every year, it's because it does. Sky introduced mid-contract price rises tied to CPI inflation starting in 2024, meaning your bill can increase even when you're locked into a deal. In April 2025, Sky raised prices by an average of 6.7% across its TV, broadband and mobile packages.
TNT Sports hasn't been any better. When BT Sport rebranded to TNT Sports in 2023, prices crept upward — the standalone monthly cost rose from £25/month to £30.99/month by early 2026. That's a 24% increase in under three years.
Meanwhile, Netflix bumped its Standard plan from £10.99 to £17.99 between 2022 and 2026 — a 64% increase. And Disney+ went from launching at £1.99/month in 2019 to £4.99/month for the ad-supported tier in 2026.
The pattern is clear: prices only go in one direction. Every year you stay subscribed, you're paying more for broadly the same content. According to Ofcom's 2025 data, the average UK household spends £37/month on streaming services — a figure that's risen 22% since 2022.
What I Switched To
After yet another price increase notification from Sky, I started looking at alternatives properly. Not the dodgy "bloke down the pub" sort — I wanted something that actually worked reliably and had proper customer support.
That's when I found Smart Live TV. It's an IPTV service that bundles live sports, entertainment channels, and on-demand content into a single subscription starting from £12/month.
Here's what caught my attention:
- All Sky Sports channels — including Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports F1, and Sky Sports Main Event
- TNT Sports 1–4 — so Champions League, Europa League, and rugby are covered
- Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video content available on-demand
- UFC events included at no extra cost — no more £25 per PPV
- Over 20,000 channels and 100,000+ on-demand titles
I'll be honest — I was sceptical. It sounded too good to be true. But they offer a free 24-hour trial with no card details required, so I had nothing to lose.
What Actually Happened: My Step-by-Step Experience
Week 1: The Free Trial
I signed up for the free trial on a Saturday morning — deliberately timed so I could test it during a Premier League matchday. No card details, no commitments. I had the app running on my Amazon Fire TV Stick within ten minutes using their Firestick setup guide.
First test: Premier League. Arsenal vs Chelsea, 12:30 kick-off. The stream loaded in about three seconds. HD quality, no buffering. Commentary was the standard Sky Sports feed — Martin Tyler and all. I genuinely couldn't tell the difference from my old Sky Q box.
Week 1 Continued: Champions League and Netflix
Tuesday night — Champions League. Manchester City in the knockout rounds. Again, flawless. The TNT Sports feed was identical to what I'd been watching through Discovery+. Same pundits, same analysis, same pre-match coverage.
I also tested the on-demand side. Browsed through the Netflix library — it had everything I'd been watching. Stranger Things, Wednesday, the whole lot. Disney+ content was there too, including the Marvel and Star Wars catalogue. The interface isn't as polished as Netflix's own app, but the content is all there.
Week 2: UFC and F1
The real test came on Saturday night — a UFC main card. Under my old setup, this would have cost £25 on top of everything else. With Smart Live TV, it was just... included. The stream held up perfectly through the main event, even during the co-main and main event when I'd expect server load to be highest.
Sunday morning: Formula 1. Watched qualifying and the race through the Sky Sports F1 feed. Clean stream, no interruptions. At this point, I was sold.
The Ofcom 2025 report confirms that the average UK broadband speed is now 79 Mbps — more than enough for HD and 4K streaming. If you've got a half-decent internet connection, you're sorted.
The Decision
After two weeks of testing, I cancelled Sky Sports, Netflix, Disney+ and TNT Sports. The maths spoke for itself.
The Numbers Side by Side
Here's the full comparison of what I was paying versus what I pay now:
| Service | Before (Monthly) | After (Smart Live TV) |
|---|---|---|
| Sky Sports | £43 | ✓ Included |
| Netflix | £17.99 | ✓ Included |
| Disney+ | £4.99 | ✓ Included |
| TNT Sports | £30.99 | ✓ Included |
| UFC PPV events | Extra cost (£20–£25 each) | ✓ Included |
| Monthly total | £96.97+ | £12 |
| Annual total | £1,163.64+ | £144 |
| Annual saving | — | £1,020+ |
That's over a thousand pounds back in my pocket every year. Even if you're only subscribing to Sky Sports and Netflix — no TNT, no Disney+ — you're still looking at saving over £500 annually.
Does It Buffer? An Honest Answer
I'm not going to pretend it's perfect 100% of the time — that wouldn't be honest.
During peak periods — think Saturday 3pm kick-offs when half the country is streaming — I've experienced the occasional stutter. It's rare, maybe once every few weeks, and it usually resolves itself within a few seconds. It's comparable to what you'd get with any streaming service during high-traffic moments. Even Sky Go buffers during big matches, and that costs ten times more.
My recommendation: Use an Ethernet cable rather than Wi-Fi if you can. The difference is night and day. Wi-Fi introduces latency and packet loss that can cause buffering, especially if other people in your household are using the internet at the same time. A simple £5 Ethernet adapter for your Fire Stick eliminates most issues entirely.
In three months of daily use, I'd rate the reliability at around 95% — which, frankly, is better than my experience with NOW TV's sports streams, and those cost £34.99/month.
What Internet Speed Do You Need?
You don't need fibre-to-the-premises or anything fancy. Here's what works:
- HD streaming (1080p): 10 Mbps minimum, 15 Mbps recommended
- 4K streaming: 25 Mbps minimum, 35 Mbps recommended
- Multiple devices simultaneously: Add 10 Mbps per additional stream
According to the Ofcom 2025 report, the average UK broadband speed is 79 Mbps — nearly eight times what you need for HD streaming. Unless you're in a very rural area with poor connectivity, your internet is almost certainly fast enough.
You can check your speed at speedtest.net — it takes ten seconds and gives you a clear answer.
How to Try It Yourself
If you're curious, here's the simplest way to test it:
- Go to the free trial page — no card details required
- Choose your device — works on Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Smart TVs, phones, tablets and computers
- Follow the setup guide — takes about 5–10 minutes
- Test it during a live match — pick a Premier League game, a Champions League night, or a UFC card
- Decide after you've seen it — if it works for you, plans start from £12/month
There's no contract, no cancellation fee, and no pressure. Either it works for you or it doesn't. I'd suggest testing it on a big match day — that's when it matters most, and that's when you'll know whether it meets your standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cancel Sky Sports and still watch the Premier League?
Yes. The Premier League is available through Smart Live TV, which carries all Sky Sports channels including Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event, and Sky Sports Football. You get every televised match — the same feeds, same commentary, same coverage — starting from £12/month instead of £43/month for Sky Sports alone.
Will I lose Netflix if I cancel my subscription?
You'll lose access to the Netflix app itself, but Smart Live TV includes the same Netflix content library through its on-demand section. The interface is different — you're browsing through Smart Live TV's app rather than Netflix's own — but the shows and films are all available. I've not found anything missing from what I was watching on my Netflix Standard plan.
Is it legal to cancel Sky and use IPTV in the UK?
Cancelling Sky is entirely within your rights — you can cancel any subscription at any time (check your contract for notice periods). Regarding IPTV, the legal landscape in the UK is nuanced. As a consumer, watching content is not a criminal offence. Smart Live TV operates as a service provider and the responsibility for licensing sits with the provider, not the viewer. That said, it's worth doing your own research and making an informed decision.
What do I need to get started?
At minimum, you need an internet connection (10 Mbps or above for HD) and a compatible device. The most popular option is an Amazon Fire TV Stick, which costs around £35 and plugs into any TV with an HDMI port. Smart Live TV also works on Android TV boxes, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG), smartphones, tablets, and computers. Check the Firestick setup guide for step-by-step instructions — it takes about ten minutes.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Start with the free 24-hour trial — no card details, no obligation. If the streams don't work on your internet connection or you're not happy with the quality, you've lost nothing. If you do subscribe and have issues later, Smart Live TV offers customer support and there's no long-term contract tying you in. You can cancel anytime without fees, which is more flexibility than Sky ever gave me.