Basic Channels

A wide range of sporting events are available to watch on free-to-air channels such as the BBC and ITV, which come as standard with all digital TV packages including Freesat and Freeview.

The BBC shows live coverage of Formula 1 motor racing, the Rugby Union Six Nations Championship, the Wimbledon Tennis championships, the World Snooker Championships and a number of Athletic events, including the Olympics.

ITV broadcasts some live Champions League, UEFA Cup and FA Cup matches, as well as some boxing matches and the Tour de France. However, the majority of cricket, rugby league, boxing and golf events, as well as more obscure sports such as netball and motorbike racing, are available only on premium sports channels such as Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3, and ESPN.

Premium Sports Channels

Premium channels cost extra, but cover a much larger range of live matches and sporting events than free-to-air channels. Channels can be subscribed to individually or as part of a larger sports or entertainment package.

Sky Sports

BSkyB operate four dedicated sports channels - Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports Extra - covering more than 100 sports including football, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, tennis, Formula 1, golf, boxing, horseracing and snooker. As well as showing live and delayed matches, Sky offers expert commentary and analysis from former and active sporting professionals. A dedicated Sky Sports HD channel is available to customers who subscribe to Sky's HD service. Football fans can watch live Barclays Premier Leagues games on Sky and ESPN. Sky owns exclusive rights to two-thirds of the matches, while the remaining 46 matches are shown on ESPN. Sky also broadcasts live matches from the Champions League, Carling Cup, Scottish Premiership, Spanish Liga and German Bundesliga. Other highlights include live broadcasts from the Rugby Union Heineken Cup, Rugby League World Cup, the Ashes, US Open and European tour.

Where you can get it:

Sky Sports channels are available in the UK on Sky, Virgin Media and Tiscali TV.

Virgin Media: Customers can either take out an individual subscription to Sky Sports 1 or Sky Sports 2, or sign up to Virgin Media's Sky Sports Collection, which includes Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2, Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports Xtra. Prices start at £16.50 a month for customers on Virgin's XL package or £24.00 for those on the M television package.

Tiscali TV: Customers can choose between Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Sky Sports Extra, or choose a combination of these channels. Subscriptions cost £22.50 for a single channel, £27.50 for all four and £31.50 for all four plus Sky Movies.

Sky: A subscription to Sky Sports 1 or 2 alone costs £9 a month, while the Sky Sports pack, including Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Sky Sports Extra, costs £18 on top of your existing Sky subscription. Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and Extra are considered premium channels and are not included in any of Sky's 'Entertainment Packs'.

ESPN

A relative newcomer to British television, American sports channel ESPN replaced Setanta after the broadcaster went into administration in June 2009. ESPN broadcasts a large selection of British, European and International sports on its UK channel including exclusive rights to 46 Live Barclays Premier League matches in the 2009-10 season. The channel also carries rights to some matches from the Scottish Premier League, Europa League, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivise, Portuguese Liga, Russian Premier League and Major League Soccer. Other live sports broadcast on the channel include UFC, DTM (German Touring Cars), the Australian Football League and all the top sports leagues from North America including NBA basketball, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League (ice-hockey).

Where you can get it:

ESPN is available in the UK on Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision and Tiscali TV.

Sky: ESPN costs £12 a month on top of your existing Sky subscription, or £9 a month when taken in conjunction with any Sky Sports pack. Football fans who want to watch every single Barclays Premier League match will have to subscribe to both Sky Sports and ESPN.

Virgin Media: Customers can subscribe to ESPN as part of Virgin Media's XL TV package (£21 a month plus £11 a month Virgin phone line), which also includes ESPN HD, ESPN America and ESPN Classic. Customers on Virgin Media's M and L packages will have to pay £10 a month extra for ESPN, or £8 a month when they already subscribe to Sky Sports.

Tiscali TV: ESPN costs £9.99 a month on top of your existing Tiscali TV subscription.

BT Vision: Customers can get ESPN at no extra cost when they sign up to a Value Pack or Single Pack, excluding Replay and Bolly & Beyond. A £9.78 one-off viewing card fee applies.