Sky Ultimate TV review

Sky Ultimate TV is Sky's flagship TV package, available on the Sky Stream platform without a satellite dish or aerial.

It now bundles five streaming services - Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, hayu and Discovery+ - alongside 130+ live channels, with content integrated into a single TV guide and platform experience.

Premium add-ons like Sky Sports and Sky Cinema are available on top, along with a wide range of on-demand apps through the Stream Puck box.

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At a glance

Sky Ultimate TV plans

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Who is Sky Ultimate TV best suited for?

Sky Ultimate TV is Sky's main TV package on the Stream platform, currently priced from £24 per month for new customers on a 24-month contract.

It includes 130+ live TV channels - all Sky Entertainment channels, including Sky Atlantic, Sky One, Sky Comedy and Sky Crime, alongside Discovery, National Geographic, Comedy Central, U&alibi, and MTV.

It's best suited to households who want the full Sky TV experience, with the complete channel lineup, five bundled streaming services, and the option to add premium packs and on-demand apps on top.

Sky Ultimate TV is best suited to households who:

• Want to watch exclusive Sky Originals on Sky Atlantic and across the full suite of Sky Entertainment channels
• Want Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, hayu and Discovery+ bundled and integrated into one platform at no extra cost
• Want one of the most affordable ways to add Sky Sports or Sky Cinema to a TV subscription
• Want to watch Sky content in Ultra HD via the optional UHD pack
• Have a broadband connection of at least 25Mbps

For households on a tighter budget, Sky Essential TV is worth considering at £15 per month. It still includes Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+, but drops 35 premium live channels and three streaming apps compared to Ultimate TV.

Both plans are available on a 24-month contract or a flexible 31-day rolling term, so there's no obligation to commit long-term if you'd rather keep things flexible.

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What does Sky Ultimate TV offer?

Sky Ultimate TV includes everything in Sky Essential TV, plus 35 additional premium channels - taking the total to roughly 130+ live channels, including the full set of Sky Entertainment channels like Sky One, Sky Comedy, Sky Nature and Sky Documentaries, alongside channels such as National Geographic, MTV and Comedy Central.

On-demand, Ultimate TV expands the library significantly, with hundreds of boxsets and tens of thousands of shows available through Sky and its partners.

The package also includes five integrated streaming services - Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, hayu and Discovery+ - all bundled into the monthly price. Rather than sitting as separate apps, content from these services is surfaced within the Sky interface, appearing in the TV guide, search and "Continue Watching" alongside live and on-demand programmes.

Here's how the 24-month and 31-day contract options currently compare:

New customers on a 24-month contract currently save £11 per month - or £264 over the length of the contract.

The 31-day option costs more each month and includes a £20 setup fee, but removes the long-term commitment - useful if you want to try the service or only keep it for part of the year.

Both options include the Sky Stream Puck, which connects via WiFi or Ethernet and can be self-installed in minutes.

On top of the bundled services, customers can add Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, Sky Kids or TNT Sports, as well as additional apps like Apple TV+, Paramount+ and Prime Video.

Free catch-up apps - BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5 and STV Player - are also supported, with content integrated into the same guide and Playlist system.

Sky Ultimate TV with broadband

Sky Ultimate TV is available as a standalone TV subscription, but bundling it with Sky broadband unlocks discounts that aren't available when taking the two services separately.

Here's how the current Sky Ultimate TV broadband bundles compare:

Sky's broadband bundles with Ultimate TV currently start at £41 per month with Full Fibre 300. Taken separately, Sky Ultimate TV costs £24 per month and Full Fibre 300 costs £28 per month - a combined £52, making the bundle saving worth £11 per month.

Full Fibre 500 is available as a bundle for £46 per month. Standalone, Full Fibre 500 costs £27 per month, so the combined saving against taking both services separately is £5 per month.

Read more in our dedicated Sky broadband review.

How much is Sky Ultimate TV streaming bundle worth?

Sky Ultimate TV bundles five streaming services into the monthly price - something no other mainstream UK TV package currently matches at this price point.

• Netflix - Standard with Ads (worth £5.99/month standalone)
• Disney+ - Standard with Ads (worth £5.99/month standalone)
• HBO Max - Standard with Ads (worth £5.99/month standalone)
• hayu - Standard (worth £5.99/month standalone)
• Discovery+ - Entertainment (worth £3.99/month standalone)

Taken separately, those five subscriptions would cost £27.95 per month. At the current discounted price, Ultimate TV costs less than the streaming bundle alone - before you factor in 130+ live channels and the Stream Puck hardware.

It's worth noting that the included tiers are entry-level for each service. Netflix Standard with Ads, Disney+ Standard with Ads and HBO Max Standard with Ads all carry advertising. Upgrading any of them to an ad-free or premium tier costs extra, although this can be done through Sky's billing system.

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What is on Sky Ultimate TV?

Sky Ultimate TV includes 35 premium live channels in addition to the channels available on Sky Essential TV.

The package includes:

• 130+ live TV channels, including Sky Atlantic, Sky One, National Geogrpahic, Comedy Central, MTV and Discovery
• Netflix (Standard with Ads)
• Disney+ (Standard with Ads)
• HBO Max (Standard with Ads)
• hayu
• Discovery+ Entertainment

hayu is currently available as a preview, with over 150 episodes from shows including Below Deck and The Real Housewives accessible now. The full hayu catalogue will be added automatically for all Ultimate TV customers in July 2026.

Live channels on Sky Ultimate TV include:

So, for the additional £9 per month over Sky Essential TV, customers gain:

• 9 Sky Entertainment channels, including Sky One, Sky Comedy and Sky Crime
• 11 premium entertainment channels, including U&alibi, Comedy Central and National Geographic
• 1 esports channel (Ginx eSports TV)
• 2 additional music channels (MTV and B4U Music)
• 13 international channels

Premium channel packs

Sky Ultimate TV's base price covers a lot of ground, but the real flexibility comes from its premium channel pack add-ons. The same pricing applies whether you're on Ultimate TV or Essential TV:

Sky Sports on a 24-month contract at £20 per month is one of the cheapest ways to watch Sky Sports available, covering all 11 Sky Sports channels including Sky Sports Main Event, Premier League, and F1. TNT Sports - which covers Champions League, Europa League, and top-flight boxing - is only available on a 31-day rolling basis through Sky.

Sky Cinema adds over 1,000 films on demand plus a dedicated premiere channel, and includes subscriptions to Paramount+ and two Vue cinema tickets per month. At £10 per month on a 24-month contract it's also one of the most affordable ways to access Sky Cinema. Note that Sky Cinema also bundles Disney+, though Ultimate TV subscribers already have this included in their base package.

None of the premium packs require a long-term commitment on their own - all can be added or removed on a 31-day rolling basis, even if your underlying Ultimate TV plan is on a 24-month contract.

On-demand apps

The Sky Stream Puck supports a wide range of on-demand apps alongside the five bundled streaming services. Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, hayu and Discovery+ are included in the monthly price - everything else in the table below is available to add separately.

The free-to-air catch-up apps - BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5 and STV Player - are available at no extra cost and are integrated into the Sky TV guide alongside live and on-demand content.

Optional extras

Sky Ultimate TV customers can bolt on a handful of extras to enhance the experience. Ultra HD is not included as standard, so households with a 4K TV will want to factor in the additional cost.

The Whole Home add-on is worth considering for larger households - it includes one extra Stream Puck and lets you stream independently in two rooms simultaneously. Additional Pucks can be added for £39.95 each, up to a maximum of four boxes in total.

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Sky Stream Puck box

Sky Ultimate TV comes with one Sky Stream Puck box included - setup is free on the 24-month plan, with a £20 upfront fee on the 31-day option.

The Puck is straightforward to self-install: connect it to your router, plug it into the mains, and run the included HDMI cable to your TV. No engineer visit or satellite dish required.

It connects to your router either wirelessly via WiFi 6 or through the included Ethernet cable. Any broadband connection delivering at least 25Mbps will support Sky Stream - Sky broadband is not a requirement.

Here are the main specifications of the Stream Puck box:

The Puck supports Ultra HD up to 3840 x 2160 at 50fps, but most content streams in 1080p HD as standard. The £6 per month Ultra HD & Dolby Atmos add-on is required to unlock 4K content.

Customers who want to watch in more than one room can add the Whole Home service for £12 per month, which includes one additional Puck. Further Pucks can be added for £39.95 each, up to three additional boxes in total.

Sky Go is included with any Sky Ultimate TV subscription, letting you watch on phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers at no extra cost. It's worth knowing that games consoles and Apple TV boxes require the Whole Home add-on to access Sky Go - and on Apple TV, the experience is separate from the main Stream platform, so Playlist and Continue Watching aren't available through it.

Read our hands-on review of Sky's Stream TV box.

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Verdict: Is Sky Ultimate TV worth it?

Sky Ultimate TV has evolved well beyond its Sky Entertainment & Netflix origins. With five streaming services now bundled - Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, hayu and Discovery+ - it makes a strong case as the most content-complete mainstream TV package available in the UK.

The real selling point is the value. Those five streaming services cost £27.95 per month taken separately, and Ultimate TV adds 130+ live channels on top. For households who were already paying for two or three of those apps independently, the maths is compelling.

The £9 premium over Sky Essential TV buys 35 additional live channels and the three extra streaming apps - Disney+, HBO Max and hayu. For most households, that's where the decision sits: whether the expanded channel lineup and additional streaming bundle justifies the extra cost over the more affordable Essential plan.

For those on a tighter budget, Sky Essential TV at £15 per month still covers the core Sky Entertainment channels including Sky Atlantic, plus Netflix and Discovery+. It's worth bearing in mind that new HBO content now goes to HBO Max rather than Sky Atlantic - and HBO Max is only included with Ultimate TV, not Essential.

Overall, Sky Ultimate TV is worth considering for households who:

• Already subscribe to two or more of the bundled streaming services separately
• Want the full Sky Entertainment channel lineup, including Sky One, Sky Comedy and Sky Crime
• Want a flexible, dish-free way to watch live TV and premium content in one place
• Are open to adding Sky Sports or Sky Cinema at one of the lowest available prices

Read more on Sky TV packages or compare current Sky TV deals.