TalkTalk TV Packages

TalkTalk TV can be bundled with TalkTalk broadband and offers an Ultra HD set-top box with Freeview and access to a range of on-demand apps.

Supporting Netflix, Prime Video and BBC iPlayer apps, TalkTalk TV also offers exclusive discounts on Sky content with NOW.

For customers happy with a streaming-only set-top box, TalkTalk TV rivals the bigger players for value for money.

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At a glance

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Who is TalkTalk TV best suited for?

TalkTalk TV is best suited to households happy to sign up with TalkTalk broadband and who want a simple, commitment-free, set-top box for online streaming.

While the set-top box offers access to 70+ live Freeview channels, all other content relies on taking additional subscriptions with various streaming services.

The new Android powered hub provides access to the Google Play Store, so most popular apps are supported, with customers able to watch content through Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, Discovery+, Paramount+, Disney+, Apple TV+, as well as BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5, and YouTube, among others.

Those wanting to watch Sky Sports, Sky Cinema and Sky Entertainment content are especially catered for with exclusive discounts on NOW Memberships and NOW Boost, which offers viewing in full HD and ad-skipping, included for free.

One downside to TalkTalk TV is the add-on is only available in Openreach enabled areas, be that for customers on fibre-to-the-cabinet or fibre-to-the-home connections. Those living in CityFibre enabled areas who can still sign up to TalkTalk full fibre broadband won't be able to access TalkTalk TV, and will need to instead to a service such as Sky Stream which can be taken with any broadband package.

Overall, TalkTalk TV is a good addition to TalkTalk broadband, but offers particular value for money for customers who want to watch Sky content in full HD on a larger screen.

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What does TalkTalk TV offer?

TalkTalk TV is available as an added extra to TalkTalk broadband, and costs just £5 per month with no setup fee. It's a highly flexible service with a 30-day minimum term and cancellation with just 48 hours' notice thereafter.

There is now one main set-top box, after the provider seems to have now phased out the previous Netgem 4K TV box for new customers. Now both superfast part-fibre and full fibre packages come with the Android-powered TV Hub.

This does help to streamline the package offering, as previously customers in different areas received different boxes and a slightly different TV service, as Netgem is a more dedicated TV platform. However, existing TalkTalk customers may still have the Netgem service.

The prices and deals were the same across both boxes, but there were some differences in the TV services.

Both boxes support the same major apps, but the new TV Hub offers wider support with access to the Google Play Store, which offers over 10,000 apps.

The 4K Box on the other hand works in partnership with Netgem, and so customers also had access to extra live TV channels, including 45 sports channels. App support is more limited however, although the major names like Netflix, Prime Video, and NOW, are there.

Set-top boxes are provided for free, although they belong property of TalkTalk, and if a customer cancels their TalkTalk TV subscription, TalkTalk say features of the box could be restricted.

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TalkTalk TV and broadband

TalkTalk TV can be added to an existing customer's subscription at any time, it can also be taken out when new customers sign up to broadband.

Either way, the minimum term of the TalkTalk TV plan is separate to that of the broadband plan, and can be added or removed as needed.

At the time of writing, TalkTalk are offering customers exclusive discounts when they take TalkTalk TV with a NOW Membership and broadband. These offers include NOW Entertainment for £4.99 (half price) for 12 months, and discounts on Netflix when taken with either Fibre 35 or Fibre 65.

The deals are cheaper than signing up to NOW directly, even when bundling their broadband deals, so they offer very good value for money, especially when you consider NOW Boost, which costs £6 per month, is included for free.

Availability for TalkTalk broadband varies, although around 97% of UK homes can access the Fibre 35 and Fibre 65 superfast plans.

TalkTalk Full Fibre plans are currently rolled out to around 12.5 million homes via the Openreach network, where the TalkTalk TV add-on is available. Coverage for these faster deals is rapidly expanding, so it's worth checking availability in your area on our TalkTalk deals page.

Read more in our main review of TalkTalk broadband.

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What content is on TalkTalk TV?

The exact content on TalkTalk TV depends on which box a customer gets, which as mentioned, depends on their location and the time they signed up.

However, there are a few constants that all TalkTalk TV customers will get content wise:

• 70+ live Freeview channels
• 7-day guide and catch-up
• Access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, YouTube, TikTok, Britbox, All4, My5, and TNT Sports (previously BT Sport)
• 4K Ultra HD resolution support, and Dolby Atmos sound support

Additional subscriptions are required to watch content from Netflix, Prime Video, NOW, and some other on-demand apps.

TV Hub

The TalkTalk TV Hub is the newer set-top box which is now offered to all customers taking TalkTalk full fibre broadband plans.

The TV Hub is powered by Android and has Chromecast built-in. The main difference of this box is that it offers access to the Google Play Store, and with it the ability to download over 10,000 apps.

That means it offers support for the widest range of on-demand apps, including everything from Paramount+, Discovery+, Disney+, Apple TV+, and many others, as well as games.

The downside to the new TV Hub however is the lack of live channels, with the box only coming with the ability to watch the 70+ Freeview channels.

TV 4K Box

Customers who sign up to TalkTalk Fibre 35 or Fibre 65 broadband on a fibre to the cabinet connection, will be provided with the Netgem 4K TV Box.

Before the TV Hub launch, the 4K TV Box was the main box for all TalkTalk customers, and offers a number of benefits over that provided by Netgem usually.

Netgem doesn't usually support Netflix or NOW, so those apps are exclusive to TalkTalk 4K TV Boxes. TalkTalk TV customers also get access to Netgem's collection of over 210 live channels, including 90 in HD and 45 sports channels.

One of the biggest benefits to Netgem is that they're actively expanding their content offering. In September 2022, Netgem added over 90 new HD channels, and also added additional sports content in the summer of 2021 by partnering with SportsTribal TV to bring an extra 15 channels to the platform.

Netgem does have a particular focus on sports, offering over 45 sports channels that cover everything from football to boxing and extreme sports. Most notably they offer LaLiga and Box Nation.

Here is a selection of some of the sports channels available on TalkTalk TV:

However, while TalkTalk TV offers a fair range of additional channels over the basic Freeview ones, they do miss out on the more well-known titles such as National Geographic, Discovery, Sky Max and Comedy Central.

Overall, while the TalkTalk 4K TV Box offers a lot more live channels than the budget options from Sky and Virgin Media, customers may find they need to explore what's on as they're unlikely to be familiar with the channel line-up.

On-demand apps

The majority of TV content for all TalkTalk customers is likely to be found by subscribing to additional on-demand streaming services.

While the TV Hub offers the widest support, the 4K TV Box also supports over 40 apps, including:

• Netflix
• NOW
• Amazon Prime Video
• TNT Sports
• BritBox
• Hayu
• Rakuten TV

Free-to-air on-demand and catch-up apps from BBC iPlayer, ITVX, All4, and My5 are also supported by both boxes.

Exclusive discounts

A major plus for TalkTalk TV is the discounts available on NOW Memberships, as well as the inclusion of NOW Boost within the TalkTalk subscription fee.

NOW Boost usually costs £6 per month, and boosts any NOW content to full 1080p HD and removes ads on some programmes. It also allows customers to watch on up to 3 devices at the same time.

Considering TalkTalk TV itself only costs £5 per month, customers are saving money off the bat, and the discounts available at the time of writing, beat those available with NOW directly.

NOW Memberships offer access to premium content from Sky, including Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, and Sky Entertainment which includes channels like Sky Atlantic and Sky Max.

For TalkTalk Fibre 35 and Fibre 65 customers, there are additional savings on Netflix subscriptions too.

When bundled in a minimum term contract with broadband, customers can get Netflix Standard for £9.95 a month, a slight reduction on the normal price of £10.99.

See the latest prices on TalkTalk TV and broadband.

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How to watch TalkTalk TV

Both TalkTalk TV boxes come with a HDMI port so they can be connected to any modern TV set.

Both the TalkTalk TV Hub and the TV 4K Box allow customers to pause and rewind live TV, however recording is where the boxes differentiate again.

Customers with the TalkTalk TV 4K Box can record programmes if they provide a USB stick, however TalkTalk TV Hub box customers are limited to on-demand only.

Here are some more of the differences between the boxes:

Mobile app

Customers with the 4K Box can also download and use a mobile app provided by Netgem.

The app allows customers to access some live channels and on-demand content on their smartphone or tablet. Freeview isn't available though, and the on-demand apps are more limited.

The mobile app isn't as sophisticated as apps like Sky Go or Virgin TV Go, and presents more as an additional way to plan viewings for when you get home. It's perhaps why they've not been concerned about losing support on the new TV Hub.

It's a nice added extra for customers who can get it, but it doesn't offer much more than TalkTalk's previous TV Planner app, which allowed customers to view the guide and schedule recordings remotely.

Overall, for customers who know they want to access their pay TV service on the go, Sky or Virgin Media are more suitable.

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How does TalkTalk TV compare?

TalkTalk TV is a simple set-top box offering accessing to various streaming platforms. However, with the launch of Sky Stream and Virgin Stream last year, the service is facing increasing competition.

The service is also in direct competition with NOW, who also offer discounts for customers who bundle their TV Memberships with NOW Broadband.

Here's how TalkTalk TV compares on price:

It's worth noting that the TalkTalk TV prices above don't include any streaming content, whereas the plans from NOW and Sky Stream include Sky Entertainment channels, and Sky Stream also includes Netflix.

The prices for Virgin Stream also don't include any content, and the service offers the Sky Sports and Sky Cinema packs more directly, and doesn't support the NOW app.

Overall, TalkTalk TV offers good value for money, but services like Sky Stream offer more live channels with discounts for bundling Sky broadband.

Netgem vs Youview

Existing TalkTalk broadband customers who already have TalkTalk TV with the previous YouView box may be able to upgrade to the Netgem 4K box (postage may apply). However, they may be wondering whether it's worth it.

TalkTalk's new Netgem powered TV service has some benefits over the previous YouView box, including:

• Ultra HD viewing where 4K content is available (a 4K TV is required)
• Cast feature on the mobile app, which allows customers to use the app more like a remote control

There are some drawbacks though, where the more advance YouView Plus box especially offered more features than the new Netgem box does.

• No multiroom option with Netgem
• Netgem can't rewind live TV if it's not already been paused
• YouView Plus had built-in storage for recording up to 185 hours of SD TV

Side-by-side, the Netgem and YouView TV boxes look like this:

TalkTalk YouView TV is still supported by the provider, including existing multiroom subscriptions. However, customers with the smaller YouView box may be inclined to upgrade to Netgem for the ability to pause and record TV, as well as to access 4K content if they have a 4K TV set.

Customers with a YouView Plus box may see little reason to upgrade however, as the box offers in-built recording as well as a more advanced pause and rewind facility. Earlier versions of the YouView Plus box don't support Prime Video though, so that may be one reason to upgrade.

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Customer service

As a budget provider, TalkTalk aren't renowned for their customer service, and have a fairly poor record of high complaints for their broadband service.

However, of the four pay TV providers included in Ofcom's complaint records, TalkTalk were only beaten by Sky, and had less complaints than the industry average in the second quarter of 2023.

TalkTalk have been performing well on complaints for their pay TV service since the latter half of 2020. Prior to this they did receive more complaints, although either BT or Virgin Media have received the most complaints over the past several years.

Pay TV generally receives much less consumer complaints overall than broadband, and TalkTalk often receive higher complaint figures for broadband, however they're rarely the worst provider.

In terms of customer satisfaction, Ofcom's latest Comparing Service Quality report, last updated in May 2023, found TalkTalk customers were generally less satisfied with their service than the industry average, yet they had less customers with a reason to complain than Virgin Media.

TalkTalk also performed well for call waiting time, with customers waiting on average just 1 minute 22 seconds to speak to an advisor, compared to the industry average wait time of 2 minutes and 37 seconds.

Overall, as a budget provider TalkTalk focus on low-prices, and their customer service record shows improvement is needed, however customers seem happy with TalkTalk TV as it has received few complaints in the last two years.

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Verdict: Is TalkTalk TV any good?

Whichever TalkTalk TV box a customer gets, the service offers unparalleled value for money for those who want to watch premium Sky content on a big screen.

Both the TalkTalk TV Hub and TalkTalk TV 4K Box offer some unique features, and the low-cost makes it an easy addition to TalkTalk broadband packages.

While they don't offer the same level of live channels seen on Sky and Virgin Media's premium platforms, they rival them on price and sports fans are well catered for.

What we like most about TalkTalk TV:

• Wide app support with the Google Play Store, or cheap access to Netgem TV
• Ability to bundle Netflix, NOW and Prime Video subscriptions
• NOW TV Boost included for free, plus discounts on some NOW Memberships
• Ultimate flexibility with just a 30-day minimum term, and 48-hour cancellation thereafter

Where TalkTalk TV falls down:

• Lack of live channels as seen on Sky and Virgin Media
• The mobile app doesn't compete with Sky Go or Virgin TV Go, and is missing entirely on the new TalkTalk TV Hub.

Ultimately, TalkTalk TV gives TalkTalk broadband a serious edge over budget rival Plusnet who withdrew their TV service in January 2021.

TalkTalk TV also creates some serious food for thought as a low-cost TV platform that stands up to contenders Sky, Virgin Media and particularly BT on cost.

Check out TalkTalk's latest prices, or read more on TalkTalk vs BT and TalkTalk vs Sky.

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