If you last compared UK TV providers in 2025, a surprising amount of what you read is now out of date. TNT Sports has changed app, every big provider has put its prices up, Amazon has changed what its sticks will run, and the police have started using seized customer lists. This is the year's changelog, in order, with what each change means for you.
Short answer: the licensed UK providers are the same names as last year (Sky, NOW, Virgin Media, BT/EE, TalkTalk, HBO Max, Freely and Freeview), but the routes and prices moved. The biggest practical changes in 2026 were TNT Sports moving to HBO Max on 26 March, the TV licence rising to £180 in April, and Amazon's switch to Vega OS on new Fire TV Sticks from 30 September. The catch for anyone using an unlicensed "UK IPTV provider": the past year is when enforcement started reaching viewers, not only sellers.
At a glance
UK TV providers: 2026 in five lines
| TNT Sports | Now on HBO Max, £30.99/mo |
| TV licence | £180 a year from April 2026 |
| Contract rises | BT/EE +£2 TV, +£4 broadband (31 March) |
| New Fire TV Sticks | Vega OS, Appstore apps only |
| Next big shift | Champions League to Paramount+ in 2027-28 |
The year at a glance
| When | What changed | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | FACT emails and texts more than 1,000 users of a seized unlicensed service | Viewers of unlicensed IPTV |
| 26 Mar 2026 | TNT Sports moves from discovery+ to HBO Max | TNT subscribers who stream |
| 31 Mar 2026 | BT and EE rises: +£2/mo on TV, +£4/mo on broadband | BT and EE customers |
| 1 Apr 2026 | TV licence goes to £180; Sky Atlantic arrives on Virgin Media TV bundles | Every live-TV household; Virgin customers |
| April 2026 | Sky and Virgin Media spring price rises | Existing contract customers |
| Late Jul 2026 | TiviMate removed from Google Play | Android TV and Google TV users |
| Aug 2026 | Chorley server operator jailed for 6.5 years | Sellers, and their customers' data |
| Aug 2026 | 2026-27 Premier League season starts; 3pm blackout unchanged | Football fans |
| 30 Sep 2026 | Fire TV Stick 4K Select and 4K Plus discontinued; Vega OS Fire TV Stick 4K launched | Anyone buying a Fire TV Stick |
Dates are when the change took effect or was announced. Several of these affect people who never changed provider, which is the point of a list like this: your setup can go out of date without you touching it.
TNT Sports moved to HBO Max
The largest single change for sports fans. Until March, streaming-only TNT Sports subscribers paid through discovery+. Since 26 March 2026, TNT Sports streams through HBO Max in the UK.
| Option (Oct 2026) | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TNT Sports on its own | £30.99/mo | Monthly, cancel any time |
| HBO Max Standard with Ads + TNT Sports | £36.98/mo | Adds HBO's library |
| TNT Sports, 12-month saver | £25.99/mo | Locked in for a year |
| HBO Max Premium | £14.99/mo | 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos on four devices |
| Through Sky, Virgin or EE/BT | Varies by package | Billed by your TV provider |
What it means: if you still have a discovery+ bookmark or app, it's the wrong place. If you watch on a TV box from Sky, Virgin or EE, nothing much changed; TNT is still a channel on your box. TNT holds the Saturday 12.30 Premier League game and, for 2026-27, the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
A word of caution on the 12-month saver: the Champions League leaves TNT after this season (see below), so locking in until autumn 2027 makes less sense than it did.
Price rises: licence, contracts and apps
The TV licence went to £180 a year in April 2026. That's £15 a month by direct debit, and it applies to live TV on every service, including every "IPTV" app.
Contract TV rose in spring, as it does every year. 2026 was the first full year in which most new contracts carried rises written in pounds and pence, because Ofcom banned inflation-linked rise clauses in new phone and broadband contracts from 17 January 2025. BT and EE's rule is the clearest: £2 a month on TV and £4 on broadband every 31 March. Sky and Virgin Media also applied their usual spring increases. If you signed before January 2025, your contract may still use the old percentage formula until you re-contract.
Apps moved less dramatically. NOW kept Entertainment at £7.99 rolling, or £4.99 a month on a six-month term, and Sports at £34.99 a month or £14.99 for a day. Netflix Standard with Adverts was £7.99 in October 2026.
Our guide to UK TV contracts, price rises and exit fees explains how to check what your own contract allows.
Channel and platform changes
- Sky Atlantic on Virgin Media. From 1 April 2026 Sky Atlantic joined Virgin's TV bundles for the first time, closing one of the oldest gaps between the two. If you chose Sky over Virgin purely for HBO and Sky dramas, that reason has weakened.
- BT and EE fully merged their TV. BT now sells TV "together with EE", with the same packages and boxes. EE's TV and Full Fibre 100 plan was £41.99 a month in October 2026, with NOW Entertainment and Netflix with ads included.
- Sky Stream kept its rolling option. Essential TV is £15 a month on 24 months or £18 on a 31-day plan, and Sky remains the only big pay-TV provider that works over someone else's broadband.
- Premier League rights. The 2026-27 season is the second of the current UK deal: Sky shows the large majority of televised matches and TNT the rest. The 3pm Saturday blackout still applies to every licensed service. Our Premier League TV guide has the details.
Free TV kept growing
Freely, the free live-TV-over-broadband service from the main broadcasters, spent 2026 turning up in more TVs: recent Hisense, TCL, Toshiba, Sharp, Haier and Philips sets include it, and boxes exist for older TVs. Freely's own figure, using BARB data for January to June 2026, is that 97% of the UK's favourite shows are on free TV.
Freeview didn't go anywhere either. It's still the UK's biggest TV platform, and no aerial switch-off date has been set. The practical change is choice: homes without a working aerial now have a free, legitimate option over broadband. Our Freely vs Freeview comparison covers which suits which home.
Devices: Vega OS and the TiviMate removal
Two device changes in 2026 quietly broke a lot of older advice.
Amazon's Fire TV Sticks. On 30 September 2026 Amazon discontinued the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and 4K Plus and launched a third-generation Fire TV Stick 4K running Vega OS, its own non-Android system (US price $59.99). Vega OS runs Amazon Appstore apps only. NOW, iPlayer, ITVX, HBO Max and the other mainstream apps are the ones that matter for licensed UK viewing, so check they're listed for the model before you buy. Sticks you already own keep their current system. Our guide to Vega OS vs Fire OS, model by model lists which is which.
TiviMate. The popular player app left Google Play in late July 2026. It never came with channels; it plays a playlist you already have. Existing installs carried on working, but new Android TV and Google TV users can't get it from the Play Store. We track its status by device.
Enforcement reached viewers
For years UK enforcement against unlicensed IPTV meant sellers, servers and court-ordered blocking. That's still most of it, but the past twelve months added a new step.
- Warning messages to users. In December 2025 FACT, the UK anti-piracy body, sent more than 1,000 emails and texts to people whose details turned up in a seized service's customer data, telling them to stop.
- Long sentences for sellers. In August 2026 a man who ran 80 servers from premises in Chorley was jailed for six and a half years at Preston Crown Court after making £980,812.
- Europe-wide operations. Operation KRATOS 2, which ran across 13 countries including the UK, ended with 29 arrests and nine groups dismantled.
The lesson for viewers isn't that police will knock. It's that every seized server comes with a customer list, card details and email addresses. That's the change worth knowing. More in our 2026 crackdown roundup.
What's already set for 2027
| Change | When | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Most Champions League matches move to Paramount+, with a Prime Video Tuesday pick | 2027-28 season | Avoid a TNT 12-month saver that runs past summer 2027 if you only want European football |
| TV licence review | Usually each April | Budget for a small rise |
| BT/EE scheduled rises | 31 March 2027 | EE prints the new figure on offers (for example £47.99 from March 2027 on a £41.99 plan) |
| BBC Charter renewal | The current Charter runs to the end of 2027 | Expect debate over how the licence fee works; no change to what you pay has been announced |
For the wider picture, our look at rights deals and prices to expect in 2027 goes further.
What to do about it
- Find your contract end date. If it's within the next six months, compare now, before another spring rise lands.
- Move TNT bookmarks to HBO Max. And don't lock into 12 months for European football that leaves next summer.
- Check your stick. If you're buying a Fire TV Stick, check the apps you use are in the Appstore for Vega OS models.
- Try free TV first. Freely or Freeview covers more than most people expect, and the licence is the only cost.
- If you've been paying an unlicensed seller, stop renewing. The licensed alternatives, from NOW day passes to a £5 NOW Entertainment month, cost less than most people think. See our list of legal UK providers.
Quick answers
Where is TNT Sports in the UK in 2026?
On HBO Max. Since 26 March 2026 TNT Sports has streamed through HBO Max instead of discovery+, at £30.99 a month on its own or £36.98 with HBO Max Standard with Ads. It's also still sold through Sky, Virgin Media and EE/BT.
How much is the TV licence in 2026?
£180 a year for a colour licence since April 2026, or £15 a month by direct debit. The black and white licence is £60.50.
Did UK TV prices go up in 2026?
Yes. BT and EE added £2 a month to TV plans and £4 to broadband on 31 March, Sky and Virgin Media applied their usual spring rises, and the TV licence went up in April.
Is Freeview being switched off?
No switch-off date has been set. Broadcasters have argued for keeping aerial TV into the 2030s, so a Freeview TV bought now isn't a mistake.
Where will the Champions League be shown from 2027?
From the 2027-28 season most matches move to Paramount+, with Amazon Prime Video taking a Tuesday pick. TNT Sports keeps the 2026-27 season.
Can I still get TiviMate on Google Play?
No. TiviMate left the Google Play Store in late July 2026. Existing installs keep working for now, but new users can't get it from Play.
What changed with Fire TV Sticks in 2026?
Amazon discontinued the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and 4K Plus on 30 September 2026 and launched a third-generation Fire TV Stick 4K running Vega OS, which only installs Appstore apps.
Are UK IPTV viewers being fined in 2026?
Not fined, but contacted. UK anti-piracy body FACT sent more than 1,000 warning emails and texts to users of a seized service in December 2025, and sellers have received prison sentences, including six and a half years in August 2026.
This changelog covers changes announced or in effect up to early October 2026. Prices are those listed by providers at that time; contract rises, the licence fee and sports rights change on their own schedules, and announced 2027 changes can be revised. Checked October 2026.