Pressure shot! Get the best film and soccer TV deals

With fear and confusion reigning through most of the year over whether we can or should go out to the pub, stadium or cinema, it might be a good idea to look at upgrading our home entertainment packages.

Here are five ways to get the best sports and movies deals without breaking the bank.

Grab a Sky deal 

Sky is the pass-master of football viewing but can be pricey. However, watch out for special offers which periodically offer better value.

Get a NOW TV  Pass

You can get a temporary pass via NOW TV to watch crunch matches and/or movies that really move you.

This can work out as a cost-efficient move, if you don’t want to spend too much time in front of the ‘goggle box’ this autumn.

“Some consumers may not be looking to get roped into a contract, no matter how tempting the offer, in which case NOW TV might be the answer to all of your live sport and movie prayers,” said Rob Flynn of Bonkers.ie.. A one day pass for Sky Sports costs €10, which isn’t cheap if you want to watch more than one game.

So a monthly pass for might prove a better bet  - even if it’s just for three months.

You can continue to pay that – or not. 

Many soccer fans begin the season with boundless optimism only to lose interest when their team gets mired in mid-table mediocrity after the first three months sets the tone for the rest of the season. So three months of viewing may be all you want to see!

NOW TV also has a monthly pass for Sky Movies for €9 a month for 6 months (cancel anytime) before it autorenews at €15 a month. 

As with all its passes, you can cancel anytime, which is a big advantage over Sky’s one year commitment to most deals.

Be mobile

The latest smartphones have screens just about big enough to enjoy watching a  game of ‘footie’ on.

And they even have advantages over big screen tellies – for example, if you are on the move or have difficulty commandeering the family set when a crunch game is on.

A monthly mobile pass to watch Sky Sports on your mobile also costs a mere €6.99 a month – and can be cancelled anytime.

Watch – and support – Irish soccer

The sad irony of Irish soccer is that many ‘fans’ bemoan the lack of resources to develop Irish players while pouring a fortune into English clubs and their already obscenely overpaid stars instead of local teams that are crying out for support.

Why not help save Irish soccer and a heap of money by watching your local team?

You can watch every League of Ireland games via Watchloi.ie. Log on for details.

Watch Match of the Day

You could always fall back on the good old-fashioned and totally free option – Match of the Day on BBC. 

This not only strips out the boring bits but gives you highlights of all the main Premiership matches and a lively discussion about them all in one package late on Saturday evening.

Quest - available on Sky's TV package for free usually - also provides a good round up of the Championship, if your team is languishing there.

This won’t only save you money, it will also save you many a weekend afternoon that might be better spent doing healthier things that staying stuck in front of a telly.  

And if you want to preserve the tension of not knowing who wins, just avoid looking at the results – if you can!

Other movie options

Sky Movies is not the only game in town when it comes to premium drama. An ever-expanding range of streaming platforms have more than given Hollywood – the source of Sky Cinema’s content – a run for its money.

In fact, long running high quality dramas like Chernobyl with plenty of time for plot and character development have taken more critical plaudits than the endless stream of comic-book heroes emanating from Hollywood.

“There are a wealth of  options for streaming movies and sport on a tight budget,” said Rob Flynn of Bonkers.ie.

An often neglected one is Rakuten TV  which is available online or via your smart TV menu on the ‘movies’ button (LG sets). It has a pay-per-play option but also discounts,  free trial offers and a wide range of free films and documentaries, including some of Irish interest.

I signed up for an Amazon Prime Video free trial recently and I was impressed enough to continue paying the monthly cost of €5.99 per month. I’m absolutely loving The Terror box set, which has a stellar cast (in my book) including Chernobyl’s Jared Harris and our very own Ciaran Hines. It begins off as a historically-factual tale of a polar expedition ship trapped in the ice but turns into a visually spectacular Gothic horror show as a ‘creature’ which may or may not be a polar bear lays siege to the stricken ship and its crew. I also like tennis and Amazon’s coverage of the US open, with options to watch live or replay any important match, is brilliant.

There are plenty of more niche, yet “equally entertaining” streaming platforms, according to Mr Flynn,  such as MUBI, which has a curated list of international titles and seems to specialise in the best of international cinema and old B&W classics. However, it is a tad more expensive coming in at €9.99 per month, but also includes a free trial for 7 days.

For value, however, the first major streaming platform – Netflix – is still judged to be the best by Bonkers.ie.

“If you’re looking for a full range of movies, with a diverse range of genres and titles, it’s still hard to beat the streaming giant Netflix, and at (usually) only €7.99 for its most basic package,” says Mr Flynn. 

The streaming platform even has a reduced price of €7.86 until the end of February next year, thanks to the temporary VAT reduction.