TalkTalk TV scores with BT Sport but fails to net HD channels

TalkTalk TV customers will be able to sign up for BT Sport channels in June – but viewers won’t be able to watch any Premier League games in HD. 

BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 along with BT Sport Europe and BT Sport ESPN will be available to TalkTalk TV. Access to the BT Sport mobile apps will also be available to TalkTalk customers and from September six additional BT Sport Extra streams via Red Button as will also be available. 

It’s currently unclear how much TalkTalk will charge its TV customers for access to BT Sport. Sky TV customers who want to take BT Sport channels without paying for BT Broadband will pay £21.99/month extra and an additional £5/month if they want those channels in HD. 

BT Sport new prices: What’s happening on Sky, Virgin Media and BT TV? What is HD? The difference between 720p, 1080i and 1080pUnfortunately for any fans hoping to watch any football matches or MotoGP races in 4K (let alone HD), they’ll have to look elsewhere. TalkTalk TV won’t be offering any of the above channels in high definition, at least for the time being. 

Likewise, all of the Sky Sports channels are available to TalkTalk TV customers for an extra £30/month, which is an attractive price, but there’s no option to get any of those channels in HD. 

Like BT TV, TalkTalk’s YouView-based connected TV service serves up a blend of digital terrestrial TV channels – essentially the same channels you’d get with a Freeview HD box – with a mixture of extra pay TV channels that are delivered over your Internet connection. 

TalkTalk TV comes in two basic flavours – Essentials and Plus – which throw a driveless set-top box and a more advanced set-top box with a record function, respectively into 18 month broadband, TV and calls bundles. 

Essentials costs £7.50/month for the first six months and then £10/month while Plus costs £10/month for the first 12 months and £20/month after that. These include an unlimited up to 17Mbps ADSL broadband service plus evening and weekend landline calls. You’ll also need to pay £17.70/month for the standard rate of line rental.  

Last month TalkTalk took the wraps off of TalkTalk TV Store, the new name for Blinkbox. While the service is open to anyone, not just TalkTalk customers, if you’ve got a TalkTalk TV box, you’ll also be able to stream your TV Store purchases through an exclusive app.