August is shaping up to be a stellar month of sport, with the return of the Premier League and Liverpool's own Nick Ball fighting to defend his WBA featherweight world title
Nick Ball looks on during the WBA Featherweight world title fight between Nick Ball and Ronny Rios at M&S Bank Arena on October 05, 2024 in Liverpool, England.
Boxer and Liverpool fan Nick Ball will fight to defend his title this month.
The 2025/26 Premier League season is just days away, but that’s not the only major sporting event still to come this summer. Later this month, boxer Nick Ball will head back to the ring to defend his WBA featherweight world title in Saudi Arabia.
The Liverpool FC fan is set to face Sam ‘The Ghost’ Goodman in Riyadh the day after his beloved Reds launch their own title defence at Anfield. Also on the horizon this month is the next stage in the Formula 1 season, with the drivers heading to the Netherlands for the Dutch Grand Prix.
There’s also plenty of action for Tennis fans as the US Open gets underway in New York. However, these must-see events come from several different UK broadcasters, meaning sports fans will need to secure their subscriptions soon to avoid missing out.
With this in mind, we’ve broken down all the information and latest deals from DAZN, Sky Sports and Virgin Media that allow Brits to tune into their favourite sports.
DAZN
Nick Ball celebrates victory with his belt following the WBA World Featherweight title fight between Nick Ball and TJ Doheny as part of the Hard Days Night card by Queensberry Promotions at M&S Bank Arena on March 15, 2025 in Liverpool, England.
Nick Ball will defend his WBA featherweight title on August 16.
DAZN proudly calls itself ‘the global home of boxing’, and Liverpudlians can cheer on one of their own later this month. On Saturday, August 16, Nick Ball and Sam Goodman will fight on the undercard of Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte, with the WBA featherweight world title on the line.
Fans can order the fight on DAZN pay-per-view for £19.99 or get it free when signing up for an annual plan. There’s also plenty more boxing action available on DAZN, with the broadcaster airing more than 185 fights per year, which also includes bare knuckle boxing, MMA and kickboxing.
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These can be enjoyed with a monthly or annual subscription, which start at £14.99 for an annual plan or £24.99 for the 30-day rolling Flex Monthly and include more than 300 games from the Italian Serie A, all LIV Golf events, basketball and more. DAZN also shows National League football, with every game this season available to stream live with its annual pass that’s been cut from £129.99 to £99.99.
The DAZN App can be accessed on a range of devices including smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles, streaming devices and any device with a web browser. In our review of the DAZN platform ahead of the Club World Cup, we found the app occasionally lagged on an iPhone 13 but ran smoothly once content loaded, while streaming on a TV posed no issues.
Sky Sports
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool is in action with Everton's Jarred Branthwaite during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on April 2, 2025.
Liverpool get the new Premier League season underway on August 15.
Sky Sports is the place to be for football fans this month, as the broadcaster ramps up its coverage of the Premier League. The 2025/26 season kicks off on Friday, August 15 with title holders Liverpool hosting Bournemouth.
Among the other games across the opening weekend are Wolves vs Man City, Chelsea vs Crystal Palace and Man United vs Arsenal, each of which will be shown exclusively on Sky Sports. It comes as the broadcaster increases its Premier League coverage from 128 matches to a minimum of 215 from this season, which it claims is 80% of all televised games.
Ahead of the new campaign, Brits can get Sky Sports for 66p per day with an introductory offer. New customers can enjoy nine dedicated Sky Sports channels – including Main Event, Premier League, Football, F1, Golf and Tennis – with a £20 per month pass, which works out at roughly 66p per day over 30 days.
This also provides access to more than 1,000 live games in the EFL, SPFL, WSL and Bundesliga, as well as every Carabao Cup fixture and every match from the men’s Rugby Super League on the new Sky Sports+ channel. However, this deal is only available to existing Sky customers, so those without a subscription will need to secure both Sky Sports and a Sky TV package.
Chief among these is the £35 Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle, which secures access to both the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Premier League and EFL seasons with its 24-month plan. Aside from sport, it comes with more than 100 TV channels including Sky Atlantic, alongside free Netflix and Discovery+ subscriptions.
There’s also the option to add TNT Sports for an extra £20, a big saving compared to the £30.99 it costs to join directly with Discovery+ Premium. What may be off-putting to some is the idea of committing to a 24-month contract, but Sky does offer the same package on a 30-day rolling plan albeit with a higher £43 price tag.
Virgin Media
A TV displaying football
Virgin Media is giving away a free smart TV with its sports packages.
Sky isn’t the only place to watch Sky Sports, as Virgin Media includes access with its TV and broadband bundles. What’s more, Virgin has launched two sales running side by side, with shoppers able to save more than £300 in the Summer of Sports sale and claim a brand-new smart TV completely free.
Until August 13, Brits can bag a free 50” Toshiba Ultra HD TV worth £259.99 or a £145 bill credit when they sign up for select bundles on a 24-month contract. There are three bundles included with the deal, each of which offers access to eight Sky Sports channels including Main Event, Football and F1 and come with huge discounts until September 2.
The most affordable of these bundles is the Bigger Combo bundle + Sports, which has been reduced from £65.99 to £54.99 per month – a saving of £264. As well as the aforementioned sports access, it comes with more than 200 TV channels and 516Mbps fibre broadband, ideal for smooth and lag-free streaming or gaming.
Next up is the Biggest Combo bundle, which includes the same Sky Sports channels and 516Mbps broadband, but also comes with Sky Cinema and a free Netflix subscription for £64.99, down from £78.99. This saves £336 and is said to be the ‘lowest ever price’ for this package.
Finally, Virgin has slashed £120 off its ‘best value’ Mega Volt bundle, which provides more than 230 TV channels with Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema HD and Netflix Standard with ads, plus super-speedy 1,130Mbps broadband. Mega Volt members also receive an O2 SIM card with unlimited data, minutes and texts, all for £79.99 per month rather than the usual £84.99.
However, Virgin recently extended its contract length from 18 months to 24, aligning with rivals like Sky. It has also confirmed an increase to its monthly prices, with the Bigger Combo bundle + Sports set to rise to £58.49 from April 2026 and £61.99 from April 2027.