Alternative to Sky Sports

saul goode

might have to ditch sky and was hoping some one could advise me on other options.

mainly watch spanish footie, heineken cup, nfl and some italian and argie football.

and if any others provide a champs league coverage like sky.

appreciate any help.

Manc-Red

Sky Italia but its pretty expensive

twig

saul goode wrote: »

mainly watch spanish footie, heineken cup, nfl and some italian and argie football.

I got http://www.satellitetv.ie/shop/index.php?controller=product&path=46_65&product_id=176 that set up and i get a lot of football on it including English 3pm ko's, Spanish matches, for Heineken cup France 2 has them and so does bbc from the different regions in UK and also some channels on 1w have them. Nova sports on 1w has english commentary for all Football and shows 3 games every Saturday from the premiership, all above for free. You can buy cards too, al jeezera shows all the champions league and im not too sure about football from argentina and Italy. Sky Italia looks very good but is very expensive all the same.

saul goode

thanks for the replies lads.

how much is sky italia and what sports have they got. also can i get hi def with sky italia or the option you have twig.

byte

I never see it for less than £1,200 or so, so I must be looking at the wrong sites (£100 per month is overkill, since i believe in Italy, it costs about €60). With Sky Italia, there is no extra monthly charge on HD channels. As for the amount of sport, they've quite a lot.

http://www.lj-sport.com/Channels/sky_I.html

twig

saul goode wrote: »

thanks for the replies lads.

how much is sky italia and what sports have they got. also can i get hi def with sky italia or the option you have twig.

I think there is BBC HD and ITV HD. I don't know of anymore for free.

Finne1993

I bought a Sky Italia HD Box and 12 months sub just before Christmas for €990 delivered to the door of the house, its a seller from Malta and it was sent via UPS and he gave me the tracking number, it took about a week to come, possibly would be sooner if it was'nt round the days of Christmas, I'm delighted with it, picture quality is superb and the HD picture is every bit as good as Sky (If not better)
There is nearly always 8 live Premier league matches every weekend including a choice of 3 Sat 3pm kick offs. All the major European leagues and the SPL, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, International matches, Heineken Cup rugby, 6 nations, think the NFL as well (not sure about this though).
I got fed up of Digitalb, you never knew if what was advertised was going to be on or not and more often than not there was no English commentary on the HD channels so I sold off my Digitalb HD box and sub and even though its cost me a good few quid to upgrade its worth every penny, Sky Italia is a sports fans dream (especially football!!)

If you want the sellers email address PM me, he accepts paypal payments so you're covered if you've any problems but you wont have as two others I know along with myself have got this deal and everything is working fine

snaps

Try here, all sorts of foreign subs:

http://tvcorner.com/

Pal

twig wrote: »

I got http://www.satellitetv.ie/shop/index.php?controller=product&path=46_65&product_id=176 that set up and i get a lot of football on it including English 3pm ko's, Spanish matches, for Heineken cup France 2 has them and so does bbc from the different regions in UK and also some channels on 1w have them. Nova sports on 1w has english commentary for all Football and shows 3 games every Saturday from the premiership, all above for free. You can buy cards too, al jeezera shows all the champions league and im not too sure about football from argentina and Italy. Sky Italia looks very good but is very expensive all the same.

all free.
ahem.

saul goode

thanks again everyone.

going to have a look at sky italia and al jazeera. both look like they have good coverage of sport.

will i need a new dish and box for either of them.

byte

Finne1993 wrote: »

I bought a Sky Italia HD Box and 12 months sub just before Christmas for €990 delivered to the door of the house, its a seller from Malta and it was sent via UPS and he gave me the tracking number, it took about a week to come, possibly would be sooner if it was'nt round the days of Christmas, I'm delighted with it, picture quality is superb and the HD picture is every bit as good as Sky (If not better)
There is nearly always 8 live Premier league matches every weekend including a choice of 3 Sat 3pm kick offs. All the major European leagues and the SPL, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, International matches, Heineken Cup rugby, 6 nations, think the NFL as well (not sure about this though).
I got fed up of Digitalb, you never knew if what was advertised was going to be on or not and more often than not there was no English commentary on the HD channels so I sold off my Digitalb HD box and sub and even though its cost me a good few quid to upgrade its worth every penny, Sky Italia is a sports fans dream (especially football!!)

If you want the sellers email address PM me, he accepts paypal payments so you're covered if you've any problems but you wont have as two others I know along with myself have got this deal and everything is working fine

Interesting. I've read somewhere that it can be dodgy buying Sky Italia from Malta. Can't remember why, but think it was to do with the higher risk of not getting a full 12 month subscription...

That said, it's a good enough price, though I'll wait to hear whether the Italian seller snaps is in contact with gets back to him.

@saul - Al Jazeera has LOTS of football, however be warned it doesn't have EPL (yet... is next seaons rights for ME finalised yet?).

Pal

byte wrote: »

@saul - Al Jazeera has LOTS of football, however be warned it doesn't have EPL (yet... is next seaons rights for ME finalised yet?).

They have EPL on one channel. Showtime Maghreb.
commentary is in French.
5 games a week.

Bubonic

I have never used it myself but apparently Digital Alb has EPL and lots more, plus Movies in English

http://www.tvcorner.com/index.php/cPath/21_68?osCsid=69e46c9274db225a18d98f0142c1742e

Its only about 200 - 300 a year as well.

byte

Pal wrote: »

They have EPL on one channel. Showtime Maghreb.
commentary is in French.
5 games a week.

While ART Sports worked on my Al Jazeera card for a while, Showtime Magreb never did and still doesn't. I was under the assumption that Showtime Magreb is still only part of ART package (ART still exists of course, just without a majority of their sports rights).

Can any other Al Jazeera Sport subscribers receive Showtime Magreb?

snaps

byte wrote: »

While ART Sports worked on my Al Jazeera card for a while, Showtime Magreb never did and still doesn't. I was under the assumption that Showtime Magreb is still only part of ART package (ART still exists of course, just without a majority of their sports rights).

Can any other Al Jazeera Sport subscribers receive Showtime Magreb?

No Showtime on my Al Jazeera card here, but theres hope by next week that art cards will have the +9/+10 Al Jazeera channels!

My Sky italia man hasnt got back to me, perhaps he doesnt speak English, but he definatley ships Sky Italia prepaid HD out to Germany.

Seems though since emailing him, he's only got the prepaid vouchers for Sky Italia on his site now, and now got rid of his Sky Italia HD Boxes/cards which he had up for 129€.

Sky Italia World/Football/sport voucher, 599€:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170417633407

Pal

just buy the ART card instead. You get JSC and Showtime.

M5

C+ nordic is great as well, super HD quality.U can get a years sports only package for about 300 for the year. 3 saturday kickoffs and every sunday/weekday game

tomslick

M5 wrote: »

C+ nordic is great as well, super HD quality.U can get a years sports only package for about 300 for the year. 3 saturday kickoffs and every sunday/weekday game

Canal+ Nordic is byfar the best package but the money for it is crazy. Have never seen this package sold for less than E800 per year. If you want it all there is no cheaper option than local sky. Don't like saying it but it true. I have watched every available package available here and I prefer Canal+ Nordic, only draw back is the Canal+1 match at 3pm Sat is in native language but Nova shows the same match in english.

snaps

M5 wrote: »

C+ nordic is great as well, super HD quality.U can get a years sports only package for about 300 for the year. 3 saturday kickoffs and every sunday/weekday game

Only for the rest of this season, Canal+ nordic have lost the rights to EPL from next season onwards. Rumour Viasat will be showing it as an indepentant bidder (That doesnt broadcast) won the rights. Viasat not available here due to it being on the Nordic beam.

MisterAnarchy

tomslick wrote: »

Canal+ Nordic is byfar the best package but the money for it is crazy.

Sly Italy is better I'd say.
They show as many EPL games as Canal+ but their coverage of other leagues and sports in general is more comprehensive.
Its around the same price as Canal+ ,alot of dough.

Nonoperational

Can I ask a stupid question? Why go to the bother of sky italia etc when you can just get regular sky digital? What are the advantages?

MisterAnarchy

gpf101 wrote: »

Can I ask a stupid question? Why go to the bother of sky italia etc when you can just get regular sky digital? What are the advantages?

Sky Italia show far more sport than their UK counterparts.
They show every Premiership match Sky UK ,ESPN and Setanta show combined plus 3 Sat 3pm kickoffs ,plus up to 3 midweek games live.
Then you have the Italian,Spanish,German and Scottish leagues, NBA,US golf,European golf,plus loads more.
Its far superior.
Plus whats more important is that you dont have to listen to Andy the Brain Gray talking through his arse every week.

M5

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Sky Italia show far more sport than their UK counterparts.
They show every Premiership match Sky UK ,ESPN and Setanta show combined plus 3 Sat 3pm kickoffs ,plus up to 3 midweek games live.
Then you have the Italian,Spanish,German and Scottish leagues, NBA,US golf,European golf,plus loads more.
Its far superior.
Plus whats more important is that you dont have to listen to Andy the Brain Gray talking through his arse every week.

Have actually heard him on the odd game on Sky It!

M5

tomslick wrote: »

Canal+ Nordic is byfar the best package but the money for it is crazy. Have never seen this package sold for less than E800 per year. If you want it all there is no cheaper option than local sky. Don't like saying it but it true. I have watched every available package available here and I prefer Canal+ Nordic, only draw back is the Canal+1 match at 3pm Sat is in native language but Nova shows the same match in english.

U can get a sports only package for under 300. Youd need contacts in Norway/Sweden/Denmark to do it though

prettyboy81

Afternoon Folks,

I would like some advice, have a SKY subscription at the moment, full package with HD.

Was reading this thread & would defo be interested in changing to one of the foreign packages discussed.

Would I have to make any changes to my dish, the way it is positioned?

Can I just buy an ART card online & insert it into a SKY box?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks....

pa990

prettyboy81 wrote: »

Afternoon Folks,

I would like some advice, have a SKY subscription at the moment, full package with HD.

Was reading this thread & would defo be interested in changing to one of the foreign packages discussed.

Would I have to make any changes to my dish, the way it is positioned?

Can I just buy an ART card online & insert it into a SKY box?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks....

I only have a regular setup.. But afaik you.ll have to reposition your dish and get a different box as the sky box will only work with sky's type of encryption.
Other tv providers use different types of encryption.

Not what you wanted to hear, but i hope it helps

M5

prettyboy81 wrote: »

Afternoon Folks,

I would like some advice, have a SKY subscription at the moment, full package with HD.

Was reading this thread & would defo be interested in changing to one of the foreign packages discussed.

Would I have to make any changes to my dish, the way it is positioned?

Can I just buy an ART card online & insert it into a SKY box?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks....

Depending on the package you will need a new decoder and more than likely need a new dish. the hardware can be cheap enough but of course it depends on what you want. 19.2e and 13.0e require a 60cm dish for reliable reception in bad weather. For 0.8w you will need a minimum 80cm dish.

liveonsat.com has all the footy listings and will give you an idea of which package is best. It has been discussed to death here already if you have a look through older posts

settopbox

To some here
keep looking around for "cheaper" alternatives to paying foreign subs.
;)

snaps

prettyboy81 wrote: »

Afternoon Folks,

I would like some advice, have a SKY subscription at the moment, full package with HD.

Was reading this thread & would defo be interested in changing to one of the foreign packages discussed.

Would I have to make any changes to my dish, the way it is positioned?

Can I just buy an ART card online & insert it into a SKY box?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks....

If i was you id keep your sky box and either downgrade or cancel your sub. You'll still get the UK FTA channels on a non subbed sky box. If you have a uhf aerial for Irish tv a HD satellite combo receiver is a good buy at the moment. You can get the irish channels via the aerial in digital along with the UK FTA channels (2 HD channels FTA) on one box. I would then install a 2nd dish perhaps aimed at hotbird. Get yourself a Al Jazeera viaccess card or art sports card (Best value as it now includes Al Jazeera). The current art sports card will get you Showime maghreb (EPL) and the Al Jazzera sports 1-8 channels (9&10 hopefully soon). You could get get these on the combo box and have a simple switch set up so the box chooses which dish to use, or get a different multicypt receiver for these channels, which then frees your UK reciever up for watching or recording on.

Some points to consider, Is English commentry important?

EPL on showtime is in French, 90% sport on Al Jazeera is in English (Sub is around 100€ a year)

Cyfra+ HD is another great addition and very cheap (150€ a year), but sport is only in Polish, Movies and programming has an English audio option

Oat23

settopbox wrote: »

To some here
keep looking around for "cheaper" alternatives to paying foreign subs.
;)

;)No;);)

IrishHomer

Can anyone recommend a good Sat installer who could provide and put up one of these syetems in midlands ?

snaps

settopbox wrote: »

To some here
keep looking around for "cheaper" alternatives to paying foreign subs.
;)

I know what you are hinting at, but ive been in this boat before and there is nothing worse when you are watching a match/film and the picture goes.

Cyfra+HD and an art/AJ sub are 250€ for 12 months (Both).

No point buying an art card at the moment as theres no decision if showtime maghreb will be showing epl next season.

Get yourself a blue Al Jazeera card for starters. You'll have every world cup game on this summer, Champs league, Uefa cup, SPL, FA Cup, Spanish primera, Italian serie A.

Just to note, at present an art sports card will open Showtime maghreb and only Al Jazeera 1-8, not 9/10.

sportsontv

We supply mostly commercial services for foreign satellite viewing although we are looking at the domestic market too.
you can obtain my contact details at www.livesportsireland.com

Might be able to sort something for you

TCP/IP

sportsontv wrote: »

We supply mostly commercial services for foreign satellite viewing although we are looking at the domestic market too.
you can obtain my contact details at www.livesportsireland.com

Might be able to sort something for you

You are not using card sharing now sportsontv are you because that would be against the law

settopbox

TCP/IP wrote: »

You are not using card sharing now sportsontv are you because that would be against the law

Come on,
Thats a bit harsh to be even asking this.

I see nothing on his website to suggest that he is using card sharing bar the use of a pic of a dreambox which can be used for both cs and legit services.

Granted he is not very specific on what type of equipment or services he is offering or using, but you have to assume he is legit.

Any potential customer who does his homework before buying any service would spot this surely.

Manc-Red

settopbox wrote: »

Come on,
Thats a bit harsh to be even asking this.

I see nothing on his website to suggest that he is using card sharing bar the use of a pic of a dreambox which can be used for both cs and legit services.

Granted he is not very specific on what type of equipment or services he is offering or using, but you have to assume he is legit.

Any potential customer who does his homework before buying any service would spot this surely.

He talks about making sure you have internet access.....

Of course its CS - You'd want to be mad to try to make money out of that.

settopbox

Manc-Red wrote: »

He talks about making sure you have internet access.....

Of course its CS - You'd want to be mad to try to make money out of that.

Never saw that.
Just read the reason for why you need broadband connection.
Maintenance and IT back up.....Yeah right.

Sorry TCP/IP

Your right he is playing a dangerous game if this is what he is doing.

TCP/IP

settopbox wrote: »

Come on,
Thats a bit harsh to be even asking this.

I see nothing on his website to suggest that he is using card sharing bar the use of a pic of a dreambox which can be used for both cs and legit services.

Granted he is not very specific on what type of equipment or services he is offering or using, but you have to assume he is legit.

Any potential customer who does his homework before buying any service would spot this surely.

Thats why I posed the question for them to answer what is the method is it card purchased or card share. I wonder will they answer

Manc-Red

TCP/IP wrote: »

Thats why I posed the question for them to answer what is the method is it card purchased or card share. I wonder will they answer

I doubt it, its one thing doing it in a private group, buying off cardservers is asking for trouble.

Finne1993

sportsontv wrote: »

We supply mostly commercial services for foreign satellite viewing although we are looking at the domestic market too.
you can obtain my contact details at www.livesportsireland.com

Might be able to sort something for you

Firstly, you should have read the forum rules, no commercial interaction is permitted on boards so I reckon the mods will delete your post soon enough.
Secondly, you list no prices on your website apart from rentals "from" as low as £89 per month!! sure I can get a full Sky Italia HD package for €990 a year including the HD box and its mine forever!! Afraid to say you might have posted on the wrong pages and you'll get no takers here as previous posts from byte and snaps show how cheap it can be to get foreign subs.