How to Save Money on Your TV Bill

Pay TV has become a significant expense in many households. However, there are ways to reduce the cost of your TV bill without giving up your favorite shows. To help you do this, we’ll share some money-saving strategies, price comparisons from different providers, and alternatives to traditional TV, so you can choose the option that’s right for you.

Strategies for Reducing TV Bill Costs

Review your content needs: Before signing up for the most comprehensive package, consider which channels and platforms you actually use. Many consumers pay for dozens of channels they never watch. A basic pay-TV package typically costs around €65 per month—a figure that rises to over €86 with premium channels—but if you’re only interested in a few shows or sports, you may be able to opt for simpler options. For example, a family with a low-cost fiber plan plus separate subscriptions to Netflix, HBO (Max), and Amazon Prime Video might spend around €60 per month in total, compared to the €86 per month of a traditional premium package. This demonstrates the potential savings of paying only for the content you want.
Take advantage of deals and promotions: providers launch limited-time offers to attract customers (free months on streaming platforms, sign-up discounts, etc.). Keep an eye on the market and don’t hesitate to use rate comparison tools to find current promotions. That said, be careful with promotions that are very attractive but temporary, since your monthly fee could rise significantly once the promotional period ends. Read the fine print to find out how long the discount lasts and what the final price will be once it ends.
Negotiate with your current provider: If your contract is about to expire or there have been price increases, contact your current provider. Sometimes, threatening to cancel your service can result in retention offers to keep you as a customer (discounts or upgrades at no cost). Remember that if your provider unilaterally changes the terms (e.g., a rate increase), the law allows you to cancel the contract without penalty. The OCU reminds you of this right so you don’t have to worry about switching if the new rate no longer suits you.
Consider switching to more affordable providers: the major carriers (Movistar, Orange, Vodafone) tend to have higher prices, but their low-cost brands or smaller competitors offer similar services at a lower cost. For example, a study showed that switching from a basic Movistar/Orange/Vodafone plan to the cheapest option on the market can save you up to 75% (nearly €40 less per month). Even without going to extremes, switching to secondary brands (such as Movistar’s O2, Vodafone’s Lowi, or Orange’s Simyo) results in an average savings of nearly 30% on your bill while maintaining essential features. These more affordable providers usually offer fewer channels or extras, but you can supplement them on your own with streaming platforms (with the benefit of paying only for what you want to watch).
Avoid contracts with long-term commitments if you plan to switch frequently: if your goal is to hunt for the best deals, look for plans with no long-term commitment or short-term commitments. Movistar, for example, offers plans with no long-term commitment (you can cancel at any time), while Orange and Vodafone typically require a 12-month commitment for their bundled plans. Paying a little more for the freedom to switch (as with Movistar) may be worth it if you value the flexibility to change your plan when better deals become available.
Strategically combine or separate services: Traditionally, providers offer fiber + mobile + TV bundles that can be convenient. However, sometimes signing up for services separately is cheaper. One way to save money is to sign up for Internet (fiber optic) alone with a budget provider and then add standalone streaming platforms for TV content. This “internet + streaming” approach can give you access to a wide selection of TV shows, movies, and sports at a lower price than a traditional premium package. The key is to compare: sometimes bundled packages offer discounts on streaming platforms (for example, Netflix included), but other times it’s more cost-effective to pay a low internet rate and subscribe to one or two OTT platforms on your own.

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Comparison of Prices and Features of TV Packages

The three major companies in Spain (Movistar, Orange, and Vodafone) offer pay TV both as part of bundled packages (along with Internet and mobile service) and as add-ons. There are also alternatives from smaller companies or secondary brands. Let’s take a look at the general features of each option and examples of current rates:

Movistar Plus+ (Telefónica): This platform offers the widest selection of linear channels. It includes more than 80 pay-TV channels, with a particular focus on sports (it holds exclusive rights to competitions such as the NBA, EuroLeague, Formula 1, and certain tennis and golf tournaments). Movistar produces its own content (original series, #0, #Vamos) that only its subscribers can watch. Its miMovistar packages allow for customization: the basic miMovistar Base + TV option costs about €63/month and includes 600 Mb fiber, one cell phone line (30 GB), and the Movistar Plus+ Esencial package with approximately 80 channels featuring series, movies, documentaries, and some sports. This plan has no minimum contract term. If you add all the premium content (e.g., the “Todo el Fútbol” package), the price rises to around €115 per month. Movistar also integrates Netflix, Disney+, DAZN, etc., but at an additional cost: for example, a complete package with 80 channels, soccer, and streaming platforms can exceed €100 per month. As a more affordable alternative, Movistar offers Movistar Plus+ Lite, an OTT service that doesn’t require you to be a fiber customer. It costs €9.99 per month and includes streaming on two devices simultaneously with a limited selection of content: channels #0 and #Vamos, some Movistar series, and basic news and entertainment channels. This may be a good option for those who only want Movistar’s exclusive content without paying for a full package.
Orange TV: Orange’s platform has secured agreements to broadcast virtually the same major content as Movistar (including all LaLiga and Champions League soccer). It offers up to 90 pay channels, including movies, series, documentaries, and sports. The difference is that Orange typically bundles channels into simpler packages at lower prices than Movistar. For example, Orange doesn’t have its own exclusive original content, but it includes subscriptions to popular platforms: Netflix and Disney+ are included in several of its packages at no apparent additional cost (though this is, of course, reflected in the final price). One of the standout Orange Love plans is “Movies & Series,” which for €66.00 per month includes 600 Mb fiber, an unlimited mobile line, and Orange TV Movies & Series with over 60 specialty channels, plus a subscription of your choice from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, or Max (HBO). For sports fans, Orange offers soccer packages: the plan that includes the entire LaLiga and Champions League along with over 90 channels and an unlimited mobile line costs €95 per month (this price usually also includes a streaming service such as standard Netflix). Orange typically requires a 12-month contract term for these bundles. In terms of value for money, Orange is competitive: for €95/month, Orange offers full soccer coverage (LaLiga + Champions League), while Movistar charged around €100 for similar content. In short, Orange is ideal for anyone who wants “everything” at a slightly lower price than Movistar, and
Vodafone TV: Vodafone stopped broadcasting pay-per-view soccer a few years ago, focusing instead on movies, TV series, and other genres. Its strategy is modular: it offers a basic package of about 70 general-interest and specialty channels, to which customers can add extra packages based on their preferences. The basic “TV Esencial” package is usually included or available at a very low cost (around €5 per month for 70 channels on certain plans). From there, Vodafone offers add-on packs such as Seriesfans (includes HBO Max and series channels for €10), Serieslovers (HBO Max + Amazon Prime Video + additional channels for €15), Cinefans (movie channels and a Disney+ subscription for €10–15), or the Documentaries and Kids packs (€5 each). For example, a Vodafone One customer can add Netflix Basic with ads for €5.49 per month, or add HBO Max or Disney+ along with TV series channels for €10. Its most comprehensive package (similar to “everything except soccer”) would combine about 80 channels plus Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon, and costs about €21 extra on top of the fiber/mobile plan. Typically, Vodafone requires a 12-month contract term for its bundled packages that include TV. The advantage of Vodafone is that you pay only for the content you’re interested in: if you don’t like sports, you don’t have to subsidize those expensive broadcasting rights. It also includes a 4K set-top box (owned or rented, depending on the offer) and advanced features. The downside is that certain channels exclusive to Movistar aren’t available, and to get a comparable selection of movies and series, you’ll need to sign up for several add-ons. Even so, for movie and TV series enthusiasts, Vodafone may end up being cheaper than Movistar or Orange—even with soccer included.
Other providers and secondary brands: In addition to the “big three,” there are smaller companies and low-cost brands operating in Spain that also offer attractive TV packages. Yoigo (MásMóvil Group) includes the Agile TV platform in its bundled plans: this includes about 70–90 online channels (DTT and basic pay-TV) with an Android TV set-top box. Agile TV typically costs €6 per month if you sign up for it separately, although with many Yoigo plans it’s included for free or offered as a promotion.

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Alternatives to Traditional Television to Save Money

You don’t always need a cable or fiber provider to enjoy great entertainment. Today, there are numerous OTT (over-the-top) alternatives and free services that can complement or replace traditional TV:

On-demand video streaming platforms: These are the most popular option. Services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Max (HBO Max), Disney+, and SkyShowtime offer huge libraries of TV shows and movies for a monthly fee. Their prices typically range from €5 to €12 per month, depending on the plan. For example, Amazon Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime for ~€6.99/month (or €49.90 per year), and it’s currently the most popular platform in Spain. Netflix offers plans ranging from ~€5.99 with ads to ~€12 for the standard plan. Disney+ costs around €8.99 per month (with a cheaper annual option). Many of these platforms have even recently introduced more affordable ad-supported plans. The advantage is that you can subscribe and cancel on a month-to-month basis without penalties, switching between services depending on the shows you want to watch (one money-saving tip is to subscribe only when there’s new content that interests you, rather than paying for the whole year).
Sports streaming platforms: If your main reason for paying is sports (soccer, motorsports, basketball, etc.), evaluating dedicated platforms can save you money compared to a full package. DAZN offers MotoGP, Formula 1, the EuroLeague, the Premier League, and—starting in 2022—shares the rights to LaLiga (broadcasting 5 LaLiga matches per matchday). Its equivalent annual subscription works out to about €18.99 per month (or €29.99 per month with no commitment). Movistar+ Lite (€9.99) includes #Vamos, which offers select individual games and sports highlights. Other specific options include NBA League Pass, NFL Game Pass, MLB.tv, etc., for fans of specific leagues.
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and Free Content: Let’s not forget that in Spain, DTT offers about 30 free national channels (La1, La2, Antena 3, Tele5, Cuatro, laSexta, regional channels, and DTT channels dedicated to movies, TV series, music, etc.). With a simple antenna (or even online), you can access news programs, reality shows, national TV series, and free-to-air sports (the Champions League on RTVE, certain sporting events) without paying a thing.

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Recommendations Based on Your Needs

To decide on the best strategy for saving money on TV, first identify your viewing habits:

Fan of the beautiful game (total soccer): If you don’t want to miss any of your team’s games or entire tournaments, the most comprehensive options are Movistar or Orange with soccer.
TV series addict or movie buff with no interest in soccer: In this case, paying for sports channels doesn’t make sense. Vodafone TV, with its TV series and movie packages, may be the most affordable traditional option.
General consumers on a tight budget: If you’re looking to entertain your family without spending a lot, consider some creative combinations.

Rafa Loza

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Rafa Loza es experto en el sector energético, fundador y CEO de Quecomparo.es, un comparador de tarifas independiente y gratuito, donde ayudan a miles de usuarios a reducir su factura de luz, gas o telefonia.

Con más de 20 años de experiencia en el sector, Rafa Loza y se equipo, monitorean y comparan entre todas las tarifas del mercado para ofrecer a cada usuario la más conveniente para él.