If you sat down today and added up everything you currently pay each month for TV, what would the total be? For most households across Walsall, Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands, the honest answer is “I’m not sure” and that uncertainty is exactly the problem. TV subscriptions have a quiet way of stacking up. A package here, a streaming add-on there, a free trial that converted into a paid one, and before long you are paying out a hefty sum every month for channels and services you barely use.
At R and G Satellite Services we speak to customers every week who are surprised when they actually work out what their viewing is costing them. So in this post we want to walk you through a simple exercise that could save you money, along with the alternatives we can install if you decide your current setup is poor value.
The Honest 2 Week Audit
Here is the exercise we recommend to anyone who suspects they are overpaying. It costs nothing and only takes a couple of minutes a day.
For the next two weeks, keep a small notebook next to the remote, or use the notes app on your phone. Every time someone in the house watches something, jot down three things:
- What was watched (the programme or film)
- Where it came from (Sky, Netflix, Prime, BBC iPlayer, Freeview and so on)
- Roughly how long they watched for
That is it. No judgement, no estimating, no trying to remember what you watched last Tuesday. Just write it down as it happens.
After 14 days, take a look at the list. You will almost certainly see a pattern. Most households discover that the bulk of their viewing comes from two or three sources, and there are entire services they are paying for that hardly got switched on at all.
Working Out the True Cost
Once you have your list, total up your monthly TV related spend. Don’t forget the easy ones to miss:
- Sky or Virgin subscription
- Broadband, where it is part of a bundled TV package
- Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, Apple TV Plus
- Sports add-ons like Sky Sports, TNT Sports or DAZN
- Movie channels and entertainment extras
- BBC TV licence
- Any rental boxes or equipment fees
Now divide that monthly total across the things you actually watched in your audit. Suddenly that £15 streaming service that delivered exactly one film over two weeks looks very different. The sports package you keep “for the occasional match” is easier to evaluate when you can see the match count in black and white.
We are not suggesting everyone should cancel everything. Some people genuinely use what they pay for and consider it good value. The point is to make an informed decision rather than letting subscriptions drift along unchecked.
Common Things People Discover
After doing this exercise, customers tell us the same things again and again:
They are paying for duplicates. A boxset they have been watching on Sky is also on Netflix. A film on a movie channel is on Prime. There is no need to fund three routes to the same content.
Free trials became paid subscriptions. A trial signed up to for one show months ago is still ticking along at £8 or £10 a month.
Sports packages are barely used outside of one season. Football is on in winter, cricket in summer. Paying year round for something used seasonally is rarely the best option, since most providers now offer monthly passes that can be turned on and off.
The kids have moved on. A children’s package that made sense three years ago is now ignored because the children are older and watching YouTube instead.
Freeview and Freesat would cover most of it. This is the big one. For a lot of households the channels they actually watch are all available for free through a good aerial or satellite dish.
What the Free Alternatives Actually Offer
This is where we come in as installers. Many people don’t realise how much is available without a subscription if you have the right kit on the roof or wall.
Freeview, delivered through a TV aerial, gives you around 70 channels including BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, all the BBC HD channels, plus a wide range of factual, entertainment, music and kids channels. If your aerial is older and only picks up a weak signal, an upgrade or repair can transform what you get. We cover TV aerial installation and repairs right across the West Midlands.
Freesat, delivered through a satellite dish, gives you over 200 free channels including the main UK terrestrial channels in HD, plus a wider range than Freeview thanks to the satellite reach. It works well in areas where the terrestrial signal is poor, and a Freesat installation is a one off cost rather than an ongoing monthly bill.
Streaming on a smart TV or Fire Stick gives you BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4 catch up, My5 and a host of other free services. If your broadband is decent, this fills in most of the gaps for older programmes and boxsets.
Combine those three together and a lot of people find they could drop their pay TV subscription entirely and lose very little of what they actually watch.
When Pay TV Still Makes Sense
To be fair, there are still good reasons to keep a paid service. Live Premier League football, top tier cricket, certain HBO and exclusive dramas, motorsport, golf, and a few other categories are still locked behind paid services. If those genuinely matter to your household, that is fine. The point of the audit is to make sure you are paying for things you watch, not things you might watch in theory.
It is also worth knowing that you can often get a better deal just by calling and asking. Sky, Virgin and the streaming services routinely offer retention deals if you mention you are thinking of leaving. A 15 minute phone call has saved some of our customers hundreds of pounds a year.
How R and G Satellite Services Can Help
If your two week audit has convinced you that you are paying for too much, we can advise on the most cost effective setup for your home. With over 20 years of experience as aerial and satellite installers across Walsall, Wolverhampton, Cannock, Dudley, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, we can:
- Install or upgrade your TV aerial for crystal clear Freeview
- Fit a Freesat dish so you have access to over 200 free channels
- Set up your existing TV or smart device to make the most of free streaming apps
- Run extra aerial points around the house if you want TV in more rooms
- Realign or repair a dish that has drifted out of position
We are CAI approved and based in Willenhall, and we offer free no obligation quotes.
To talk through your options, give us a call on 01922 302195 or 01922 302129, or request a free quote online. It might be the cheapest 14 day audit you ever did.