Virgin Media is giving away free smart TVs in surprise seven-day sale

Virgin Media is back with another giveaway, this time dishing out free smart TVs in a surprise summer sale. The provider is offering customers a free 50" Hisense Ultra HD Smart TV or £200 bill credit to new customers who secure one of its TV and broadband bundles by Wednesday, July 9.

Usually, Virgin's giveaway deals are only available with its more pricey TV and broadband offerings, but the latest deal is much more affordable. The most budget-friendly bundle is the £44.99 Bigger Combo bundle + Movies, which comes with more than 200 TV channels including Sky Cinema HD, plus 363Mbps fibre broadband.

For those who prefer sports over movies, Virgin's £65.99 Bigger Combo bundle + Sports includes the same 362Mbps broadband and more than 200 TV channels, but swaps out Sky Cinema for eight dedicated Sky Sports channels. For those who fancy even more speed, the £78.99 Biggest Combo bundle boosts that broadband to a swift 516Mbps and piles on more than 210 channels, complete with both Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema HD and even Netflix's Standard with ads plan.

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The final option is Virgin's Mega Volt bundle at £84.99 a month, which boasts all the bells and whistles including more than 230 TV channels featuring Sky Sports HD, Sky Cinema HD and Netflix Standard with ads, plus a blistering 1,130Mbps broadband. On top of all this, the bundle comes with an O2 SIM card with unlimited data, minutes and texts, reports the Express.

Each of these four packages comes with either a free TV or £200 in bill credit for those who are happy with their current setup and would prefer the money off upcoming bills. All four contract options run for 24 months and include no a set-up fee.

To determine service availability, shoppers will need to input their postcode on Virgin's website. However, one catch is that each of the bundles will see a price hike from April 2026, followed by another increase in April 2027, so it's crucial to crunch the numbers and ensure one can comfortably cover the bills over the two-year contract.

Compared to Sky's own TV and broadband plans, Virgin usually comes in more expensive, but it also offers more value for money by providing faster broadband and more TV channels. Sky's options start at £35 for the Essential TV and Full Fibre 150 bundle, which includes around 100 channels less than Virgin's TV package, although one of these is Sky Atlantic which Virgin does not offer.

Here's a breakdown of the eligible free TV packages:.

Bigger Combo bundle + Movies – £44.99 per month

• Ideal for connected homes with four to six people and 10+ devices
• TV from everywhere, at home and on the go
• Sky Cinema HD and Sky channels

Bigger Combo bundle + Sports – £65.99 per month

• Ideal for connected homes with four to six people and 10+ devices
• TV from everywhere, at home and on the go
• Eight Sky Sports channels, including Main Event and F1

Biggest Combo bundle

• Great for super-connected homes with six to eight people and 10+ devices
• My Watchlist allows you to save shows from anywhere, all in one place
• Sky channels, Sky Sports HD and Sky Cinema HD
• Netflix standard with ads

Mega Volt bundle

• Blazing-fast speed for busy households gaming and streaming at the same time
• WiFi guarantee
• TV from everywhere, at home and on the go
• Sky Cinema HD and Sky Sports HD
• Netflix standard with ads

It's advisable to scrutinise the terms and conditions for any potential price surges post-contract to avoid an unexpected hefty bill. If the cost is due to spike significantly in the 25th month, you should be able to cancel before this occurs, but weigh up whether this potential hassle is worth the free TV initially.