What is TalkTalk TV?
TalkTalk TV is one of the major digital TV service providers in the UK, among the other leading pay TV providers – Sky, Virgin Media and BT.
TalkTalk TV service is exclusively available to TalkTalk broadband customers which means you can’t get TalkTalk TV only package, without a TalkTalk broadband subscription.
How to get TalkTalk TV?
If you are an existing TalkTalk broadband customer, you can just add TV add-ons which start from just £6 extra a month. If you are a new customer, there are a few triple-play bundles (broadband, phone and TV) you can choose from.
What is included?
TalkTalk TV comes with YouView box which you can pause and rewind live TV channels, catchup TV for 7 days, watch freeview channels and watch a wide range of free videos using the popular on-demand players such as BBC iPlayer.
YouView box is also loaded with various apps such as Netlfix, Now TV and Amazon Prime Video which you will need to subscribe to watch your favourite movies, TV shows and programmes.
In addition, TalkTalk also provides on-demand videos including the latest movies and a wide range of videos for rent.
TalkTalk TV and Broadband Deals
| Package | Speed (average) | What is included | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| TalkTalk Fast Broadband TV | 11Mbps | Super router, PAYG calls, 88 TV channels | £28.95 |
| TalkTalk Fibre 35 TV | 38Mbps | WiFi Hub Black, PAYG calls, 88 TV channels | £27 |
| TalkTalk Fibre 65 TV | 67Mbps | WiFi Hub Black, PAYG calls, 88 TV channels | £29 |
| TalkTalk Fibre 150 TV | 145Mbps | WiFi Hub, PAYG calls, 88 TV channels | £33.95 |
TalkTalk TV and broadband packages include a standard or fibre broadband plan, a basic TV pack and the optional add-ons.
TalkTalk broadband and TV offers several choices of speeds when it comes broadband speeds.
You can choose a speed plan that best suits you – Fast, Fibre 35, Fibre 65, Fibre 150 or any full fibre plan.
A basic WiFi router (Super router) or an advanced WiFi Hub is included as per the relevant broadband plan.
TalkTalk TV package offers YouView box which can be connected to an aerial and broadband. It includes the basic functionalities like pause and rewind live TV but you can’t record live TV shows.
TalkTalk TV add-ons allow you to get Now TV Memberships which allow you to watch Sky Sports, Sky Cinema and other Sky channels such as Sky One and Sky Atlantic.
TalkTalk TV bundles include landline with pay as you go calls as standard. You can add a call boost such as anytime calls which you can cancel at anytime.
TalkTalk TV Box
TalkTalk TV is delivered via the new, HD enabled, YouView box which comes with a built-in aerial socket to access freeview channels via terrestrial broadcasting.
YouView TV box allows you to watch 88 Freeview channels which include popular channels such as Sony Movies and Paramount Network and 15 HD channels such as BBC News, ITV, Channel 4 and CBBC.
YouView box also has connectivity to broadband which means you can watch online video contents, TV shows, programmes and movies using apps and online video players such as ITV, Demand 5, All 4, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Other features of YouView TV box include pause & rewind for 30 minutes and seven day catch-up TV.
Multi-room TV
TalkTalk TV offers multi-room TV which means you can watch and stream TV in different rooms without adding an additional subscription. Multi-room TV requires an extra TV box which costs £25 and the engineer installation will cost extra.
TalkTalk TV channels
TalkTalk TV channels are basically available in freeview. There are 88 freeview channels and 15 of them are available in high definition. Freeview channels need an outdoor aerial to access and YouView is connected to the aerial for watching freeview channels
Freeview channels
Now TV Membership
You can now watch Sky channels on YouView box by subscribing to Now TV passes or Now TV memberships such as Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Sports and more channels. You can connect up to 6 devices and watch on tv, laptop and mobile devices.
- Now TV Sports include 11 sky sports channels for watching Premier League matches, F1 and all kinds of sports events – cricket, rugby, boxing and golf.
- Now TV Entertainment offers popular channels including Sky One, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, Comedy Central, National Geographic and Syfy in full HD.
- Now TV Cinema offers access to 11+ channels and 1000+ movies. You can watch Sky originals and tons of movies.
- Now TV Kids comes with popular kids channels including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Nick Jr, Nickelodeon, Cartoonito and Nicktoons.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video
You can stream the latest and popular movies, TV shows and videos in HD and ultra HD 4K when you subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video require subscription and you can stream them on large screen TV or mobile devices using the apps.
Is TalkTalk TV any good?
Affordable TV and broadband deals
When compared to triple-play bundles from Sky, BT and Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and broadband packages are cheaper, affordable and budget friendly. The basic TV pack includes 15 channels in HD.
Includes TalkTalk fibre broadband
TalkTalk TV bundles include superfast and ultrafast broadband with speeds ranging between 38Mbps and 145Mbps. Full fibre broadband which can offer 250Mbps+ speeds is also available in selected cities.
TalkTalk fibre broadband comes with totally unlimited usage, reliable speeds which are great for streaming HD and ultra HD 4K videos using YouView box.
Flexible add-ons
No need to buy expensive TV packages but you can simply choose add-ons like Now TV membership, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which are available on rolling 30 days contract. You can cancel the add-ons at any time.
TV2Go app
TalkTalk TV2Go app helps you watch TV channels and shows on your mobile devices including smartphones, iPhone and ipad.
Overall, TalkTalk TV packages come with great customisation, superb value for money and great customer support.
I am on Fast plan and I get less than 7Mbps most of the time. TalkTalk says my line speeds are not good enough for viewing Sky channels and on-demand videos.
My TV guide shows only the freeview channels. The signal quality of some freeview channels was initially bad and I was asked to get a better aerial which worked fine for me.
They ask me to upgrade broadband to Fibre 65 with guaranteed speed of 48.5Mbps. But, it’s a decent TV and cheap also