UK TV Channel line-up comparison

Can I get such-and-such a channel? Here’s a table of TV channels and digital TV services.

Channel Comparison Table

Here’s a summary of which major UK TV channels are available on each service. Scroll down for information on each service.

	Sky Digital	Freeview	BT Vision	Virgin Media	Freesat	TalkTalk TV
Alibi
BBC 3 / BBC4
Cartoon Network			See Note 3
Comedy Central			See Note 3
Dave					No
Discovery Channel			See Note 3
Disney	3 channels			3 channels		Playhouse
ESPN (UK)	3 channels	Yes-Note 1	Yes-Note 2	2 channels
Eurosport (UK)	2 channels			2 channels
Film4
5* / 5 USA
Fox
G.O.L.D		Via Top Up
History
ITV 2, ITV 3, ITV 4
Movies 24
National Geographic			See Note 3
Quest
SyFy (Sci-Fi)
Sky Atlantic
Sky Living
Sky Movies	11 + 2 HD			11 channels		4 channels
Sky News
Sky 1	YES + HD
Sky Sports	5 + 5 HD		2 Channels	4 + 2 HD		4 channels
Universal (was Hallmark)
Yesterday

Line-up out-of-date, or missing a channel you’re interested in? Let us know

Channel Notes

Note 1: ESPN: ESPN requires a separate subscription. A viewing card is needed. For Freeview, a digital TV, or Freeview set-top box must have a suitable card slot. More on our ESPN on Freeview page.

Note 2: ESPN on BT Vision: ESPN requires a separate subscription. On-demand content also available. More on our ESPN FAQ

Note 3: BT Vision: Channels such as Comedy Central and Cartoon Network are not available on BT Vision, but content from these channels is available to be watched “on demand” via the BT Vision box. More on BT Vision

Note 4: Top Up TV Anytime: The full channels are not available to be viewed in real-time, but a small selection of shows from these channels is downloaded overnight, and can be played back from the Top Up TV Anytime box for the next seven days.

Digital TV Providers:

Sky Digital	Widest choice of channels. Received with satellite dish and set-top box. Also offering over 50 High Definition channels. For more details on Sky, see our Sky Digital Information page, or go to www.sky.com/shop.
Freeview	Received via a TV aerial on a special set-top box or on a TV with a built-in Freeview receiver. See our Freeview pages for details.
Cable	Available to parts of the UK via underground cabling and a Cable TV set-top box. More on our Cable TV page, or at www.virginmedia.com
Freesat	Subscription-free satellite TV service that launched in May 2008. More on our Freesat page.
BT Vision	Free to customers of BT Total Broadband. Live TV channels, plus on-demand TV and movies over Broadband. More on our BT Vision page
TalkTalk TV	Available in parts of the UK. TV channels via a special box that’s connected to your phone line. Known as Tiscali TV until January 2010. More on our TalkTalk TV page or at talktalk.co.uk/tv

Useful links:

• Digital TV options? See our Digital TV page
• Help and Advice: BT Vision, Freesat, Freeview, Sky TV, TalkTalk TV, Virgin Media