How to get Netflix on TV

Last updated: 5 October 2023   By Samantha Smith

Netflix is the UK's most popular streaming service, and it can be added to TV plans from Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk.

Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk all offer TV bundles with the option to add Netflix, allowing customers to watch through a set-top box on a larger screen.

It's also possible to get Netflix on TV through smart sticks, smart boxes, and game consoles, as well as watching via laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Netflix costs from £4.99 per month, but is included for free with certain TV and broadband bundles.

netflix on tv
Credit: Shutterstock.com

At a glance: Get Netflix for free

Netflix is available through the UK's four main pay TV providers: Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk.

Each of the providers offer bundles that include Netflix for free, as well as the option to add a Netflix subscription to the account with a combined monthly bill.

Here are the cheapest Netflix bundles from Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk:

Package Channels Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Sky Entertainment + Netflix 150 N/a £20 Free 24 months
offer Offer: Save £8/mth + Free setup (worth £39.95) (Ends 06/11/2024)
M125 Fibre Broadband + Stream + Netflix 52 132Mb average £31.49 £35 18 months
Sky Entertainment + Netflix + Full Fibre 75 150 75Mb average £37 Free 24 months
offer Offer: Save £8/mth on Sky Entertainment & Netflix + Sky broadband just £17/mth + Free setup (Ends 06/11/2024)
TV 4K + Fibre 65 + Netflix Standard 93 67Mb average £40.95 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Save £5 per month + NOW Boost at no extra cost + Free setup and P&P
Entertainment + Fibre 2 96 67Mb average £51.99 £31.99 24 months
offer Offer: £50 BT Reward Card + Free setup on EE TV (was £30) (Ends 14/11/2024)

The bundles from Virgin Media and Sky are on their new streaming services, which means the TV content is sent over the Internet, with no need for a satellite dish.

It's also possible to get Netflix free with Virgin Media's largest Mega Volt bundle, although prices are dear:

Package TV Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Mega Volt bundle 230 1.13Gb average £84.99 Free 18 months
offer Offer: No setup fee (was £35) + O2 mobile SIM with Unlimited data, minutes and texts
Biggest bundle 210 132Mb average £79 Free 18 months
offer Offer: No setup fee (was £35)

Virgin Media only include Netflix for free in the top-end Biggest Combo Bundle and Mega Volt bundle, but customers on cheaper bundles can add a Netflix subscription to their plan via the TV 360 box.


How much does Netflix cost?

Netflix, purchased directly, is available in three cost tiers; Basic with adverts, Standard, and Premium.

While the cost of Netflix has increased from £7.99 to £10.99 since 2019, and the Premium plan has increased from £9.99 to £15.99 over the same period, in October 2022 Netflix introduced their cheapest ever plan, Basic with ads, costing just £4.99 per month.

This is what each Netflix plan includes:

Basic with ads Standard Premium
Monthly price £4.99 £10.99 £15.99
Video quality Great Great Best
Resolution 1080p HD 1080p HD 4K + HDR
Downloads No Yes Yes
Advert-free No Yes Yes
Simultaneous viewing 2 device 2 devices 4 devices
Extra member None 1 2

When Basic with ads was introduced, Netflix also boosted the Basic plan from SD to 720p HD. However, the previous Basic plan has now been withdrawn to new customers, leaving only the Standard and Premier tiers as advert-free choices.

The new extra member limitation means it's now only possible to create additional profiles for other household occupants on the Standard and Premium plans, and these are limited to just one or two extra members.

While Netflix no longer offer free trials, they do actively cancel dormant subscriptions where a user hasn't logged in for at least 12-months to stop people being charged for a service they're no longer using.

Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk also offer customers the choice of Netflix Basic, Standard, and Premium plans, but each have a different way of accessing the higher plans, and the Basic plan now varies a little from Netflix itself.


Netflix on Sky

Sky include Netflix Basic for free in their Sky Entertainment & Netflix TV plan offered on both the Stream and Glass boxes.

The Basic plan here doesn't have ads, but viewers can watch in 1080p HD on one device.

Here are the latest prices for Netflix on Sky:

Package TV Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Sky Entertainment + Netflix 150 £20 Free 24 months
offer Offer: Save £8/mth + Free setup (worth £39.95) (Ends 06/11/2024)
Sky Glass 43 + Sky Entertainment + Netflix 150 £14
for 3 mths,
then £42
£20 48 months
offer Offer: Sky Entertainment & Netflix free for 3 months (Ends 06/11/2024)

To access Netflix Standard or Premium, customers can upgrade during the checkout process, with Standard costing an extra £4 per month, and Premium costing £8 extra.

This is an improvement over the previous Sky Q Ultimate TV pack, which first gained Netflix in 2018, and required customers to take the full HD or UHD packs in order to upgrade their Netflix subscription.

While the Netflix upgrades are on 31 day rolling contracts, it's worth being aware the base Sky Stream service comes with an 18-month minimum term for the cheaper price listed above, and that essentially means Netflix too as its included in the base package.

Here's a quick rundown of the cost of Netflix on Sky:

Netflix Basic Netflix Standard Netflix Premium
Sky Stream Included free £4 £8

Read more in our Sky TV review and our review of Sky Stream.


Netflix on Virgin Media

Virgin Media include Netflix for free in their top of the range Biggest TV Bundle and Mega Volt Bundle, they also bundle Netflix Standard in full 1080p HD.

Here is the latest pricing and offers for the two bundles:

Package TV Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Mega Volt bundle 230 1.13Gb average £84.99 Free 18 months
offer Offer: No setup fee (was £35) + O2 mobile SIM with Unlimited data, minutes and texts
Biggest bundle 210 132Mb average £79 Free 18 months
offer Offer: No setup fee (was £35)

It's possible to upgrade the Netflix plan to Premium for an extra £5 per month.

All other Virgin Media TV customers can still add Netflix to their plan at the usual prices, through either the 360 TV box or the previous V6 box.

As with Sky above, when included for free in the Biggest TV Bundle and Mega Volt Bundles the minimum term is effectively the same as the bundle itself - 18 months. While customers who add Netflix to their Virgin TV plan separately will have it on a monthly rolling basis.

Read more in our Virgin Media TV review.


Netflix on BT TV

BT first added Netflix to their YouView TV boxes in 2014, and now include Netflix in three of their entertainment and movie focused bundles, including the Entertainment, Big Entertainment, and VIP packages.

Here is the latest pricing of these BT TV bundles with Netflix:

Package TV Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Entertainment + Fibre 2 96 67Mb average £51.99 £31.99 24 months
offer Offer: £50 BT Reward Card + Free setup on EE TV (was £30) (Ends 14/11/2024)
Big Entertainment + Fibre 2 107 67Mb average £61.99 £31.99 24 months
offer Offer: £50 BT Reward Card + Free setup on EE TV (was £30) (Ends 14/11/2024)
Full Works + Fibre 2 125 67Mb average £109.99 £31.99 24 months
offer Offer: £50 BT Reward Card + Free setup on EE TV (was £30) (Ends 14/11/2024)

The Entertainment and Big Entertainment plans come with Netflix Basic included for free, while the top-tier VIP package comes with Netflix Standard in full 1080p HD.

Customers on the Entertainment and Big Entertainment plans can upgrade Netflix to Standard for £4 per month, and Premium for £9 per month. While VIP customers can upgrade to Premium for £5 per month.

While the BT TV packages themselves have a minimum term of 24 months, Netflix upgrades are added on monthly rolling contracts.

Read more about BT TV in our full review.


Netflix on TalkTalk

TalkTalk offers Netflix in their TV bundles when customers take their superfast fibre broadband plans and their Netgem 4K TV box.

Here are the latest prices of TalkTalk TV with superfast fibre and Netflix:

Package TV Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
TV 4K + Fibre 35 + Netflix Standard 93 38Mb average £38.95 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Save £5 per month + NOW Boost at no extra cost + Free setup and P&P
TV 4K + Fibre 65 + Netflix Standard 93 67Mb average £40.95 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Save £5 per month + NOW Boost at no extra cost + Free setup and P&P

TalkTalk includes the Netflix Standard plan in the above bundles, and customers can upgrade to the Premium plan for £5 per month extra.

A little confusingly, these deals with Netflix bundled in don't include the TalkTalk TV box, which costs an extra £5 per month. However, those who also take TalkTalk TV can watch Netflix through the box, as well as get NOW Boost included for free.

Customers who take TalkTalk Full Fibre broadband get a different TV box - it's powered by Android TV and offers access to the Google Play Store. It does support Netflix, but customers need to add the subscription separately.

Here's how much TalkTalk Full Fibre broadband and TV costs before Netflix is added:

Package TV Broadband Monthly price Upfront price Contract term
Full Fibre 150 Entertainment 93 152Mb average £43 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Save £5 per month + NOW Boost at no extra cost + Free setup and P&P
Full Fibre 500 Entertainment 93 525Mb average £50 Free 18 months
offer Offer: Save £5 per month + NOW Boost at no extra cost + Free setup and P&P

Read more in our review of TalkTalk TV.


Netflix supported devices

For anyone who doesn't want to get Netflix with Sky, Virgin Media, BT or TalkTalk, they can still access the Netflix app through a variety of smart devices.

Netflix supported smart devices include:

  • Apple TV
  • Chromecast
  • Roku
  • Portal from Facebook
  • PlayStation 3, 4 & 5
  • Xbox One, Xbox 360 & Xbox Series X/S
  • Humax set-top boxes
  • YouView set-top boxes
  • Smart TVs from Hisense, LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, and Vestel.

It's also possible to watch Netflix on laptops, tablets, and smartphones supporting iOS 9.0 or above, Android 4.4.2 or above, Fire OS 4.0 or above, Windows 10 version 1607 or above, and select Chromebooks.

Read more about which is the best smart TV stick.


Verdict: Best way to watch Netflix

Netflix is undoubtedly best viewed on a big screen, and those looking for all round home entertainment plans can find Netflix included for free in bundles from Sky, Virgin Media, BT, and TalkTalk.

Virgin Media offer the cheapest TV and broadband bundle with Netflix with their new Stream service, where customers also get 10% credit back on any subscriptions.

Sky and BT also offer a great way to watch Netflix on TV, with a range of bundles offering discounts and combining Netflix and their entertainment services into one bill.

Ofcom's latest Media Nations report 2023 shows Netflix is still the most popular streaming service in the UK, with a take-up rate of 59% of UK households, easily overtaking Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, and NOW TV.

In 2022, Netflix had over 40,000 hours of on-demand content in their catalogue, making them the largest streaming service as well as the most popular one.

The research also found most people subscribe to Netflix because it appeals to a wide range of different audiences, provides content not available elsewhere, and has services that are easy for customers to find their way around.

Netflix viewers also found it easy to find something they wanted to watch, as well as programmes that were relevant to them.

Overall, Netflix had the highest level of satisfaction among customers than any other streaming service, with 86% of viewers saying they were satisfied.

Read more about the best streaming services and compare TV deals with Netflix here.

Comments (1)

Etienne Martin
23 November 2015

Netflix is not working on my Virgin Media Tivo despite the fact that they advertise Netflix and "give it for free for 6 months".

I had a customer support manager on the phone (Gilly for the record, she can explain you the full story) she explained to me that because the app is free they can't offer any gesture. This is a total scam as the only reason I'm with Virgin is because they gave Netflix for free for 6 months and then you can watch it on your Tivo when the truth is that Netflix is not working with Virgin Media.

I have no other way to watch Netflix so I end up paying for Netflix AND Virgin for absolutely nothing... on top of that because they gave me Netflix "for free" I have to stay with them for 18 months.

I'm considering opening a case with which.com. If we are enough people maybe they will do something and give us a refund for the 6 months when it was not working. Please contact me on this forum if you are interested in joining me.

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