The Scottish Mail on Sunday

The telly is sorted . . . let the games begin

- By Jo Thornhill

THE British and Irish Lions rugby union tour of New Zealand is reaching its climax while England’s cricket Test series against South Africa starts early next month. But while many of the blue riband sporting events of summer – including the Wimbledon Tennis Championsh­ips, the Tour de France cycling and the London World Athletics Championsh­ips – will be aired free on the BBC, ITV Channel 4 or Eurosport channels, fans of internatio­nal cricket, rugby union and golf will have to pay if they want to enjoy live action.

BT, Sky and Virgin Media all offer monthly sports packages to TV customers and sports fans can now choose to pay to watch individual sporting events – such as a rugby game or cricket Test – without having to sign up to a long and expensive contract. Here, The Mail on Sunday shows you the options:

PAY AS YOU GO

ONE way to pay for individual sporting events is through NOW TV, an online, pay-asyou-go television service owned by Sky.

It costs £6.99 for a day pass, which gives viewers access to seven Sky Sports channels for 24 hours. Alternativ­ely fans can pay £10.99 for one week, which may suit those who want to watch a full cricket Test match or the three days of the Open Golf Championsh­ips – July 20 to July 23.

A monthly package costs £14.99 in the first month and £33.99 thereafter. Consumers are never tied into a contract, although the subscripti­on will renew unless you cancel.

Consumers can watch coverage on a laptop, phone or tablet, computer or Mac – or plug their device into the television. A NOW TV box can be bought for £15, which connects to the TV and broadband. This may be a good option for those who know they want to use the service frequently.

Ewan Taylor-Gibson of comparison website uSwitch says paying for sports events you want gives consumers greater control and is cheaper than a full monthly sports package.

But sports lovers should not overlook the fact that many great sporting events remain free to view or to enjoy on the radio.

BEWARE THE TRAPS

IN addition to sports channels, a NOW TV pass gives customers access to hundreds of box sets – TV series from channels, such as Sky Atlantic, and 11 paid-for channels for one month – known as the ‘entertainm­ent pass’.

So a consumer buying a one-day sports pass will also get an entertainm­ent pass included for one month. But it means the customer must cancel within the month to stop this automatica­lly renewing and debiting their bank account for £6.98 again the next month.

Fail to cancel a onemonth sports pass and you will be charged again automatica­lly – £33.99 for the monthly sports pass, plus an extra £6.98 for the entertainm­ent pass.

Rugby fan Fraser Gregory is buying a day pass to watch the second British and Irish Lions match against New Zealand’s All Blacks in Wellington at the start of July. Fraser, 28, has a Freeview box and says he does not watch enough sport on TV to justify signing up to a monthly sports package. But he likes the flexibilit­y of paying ad hoc for high profile rugby, football and cricket matches.

‘I’ll buy a day pass for both of the remaining Lions test matches,’ says Fraser, an estate agent, who lives with girlfriend Hannah Bonnett, also 28, in Tooting, South London.

FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

SPORTS fans who do not want to miss a minute of the action, particular­ly Premier League football which kicks off again on August 12, will have to pay for the privilege. Sky’s packages start from £49.50 a month on an 18-month contract and there is also a one-off set-up fee of £20.

Existing customers can add sports channels for £27.50 per month on a monthly rolling contract so you can cancel at any time.

Adding BT’s sports channels, which have the rights to air different sports events from Sky, would cost from an extra £7.50 per month if you have BT broadband, or £22.99 per month otherwise.

Virgin provides access to all the main Sky Sports channels from about £32 a month as an add-on to an existing television package. This is on a monthly rolling contract. BT charges from £22 a month for Sky Sports 1 and 2. It has offered its own sports channels for free to BT TV customers, although it is set to charge £3.50 per month from August.

 ??  ?? RUGBY FANS: Fraser Gregory and girlfriend Hannah Bonnett
RUGBY FANS: Fraser Gregory and girlfriend Hannah Bonnett
 ??  ?? TEST MATCHES: Joe Root will captain England
TEST MATCHES: Joe Root will captain England

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