Updated on 29th October 2018 to include Hotstar.

Overview

Over the past few years, Indian TV channels have attracted 1.4 millions of NRIs and People of Indian Origin (PIO) in the UK. Whether it’s Bollywood movies or addictive “Saas-Bahu” TV soaps or cricket, demand has increased with the increase in the number of Indian expats. To help you choose the right Indian TV package in the UK, here’s an easy-to-follow guide.

Indian TV channels

Legitimate options for watching Indian TV channels outside India

Let’s understand each of them in detail.

• 1. By Using VPN (Proxy Changer) – The first method by which you can get access to Indian TV channels is by using VPN (Virtual Private Network). As we know that there are various Indian broadcasters which streams live events online but they are limited to Indian region only. That means, if you want to catch all the live action free of cost in U.S, UK or U.A.E, you have to use VPN. What it will do is, it will change your proxy IP address and will show on the internet that you’re just being in India. As a result of that, you will be able to catch all the live action at no cost.

• 2. Buying a subscription from a broadcaster – This is the easiest and surest way  to get your favorite Indian TV channels. All you have to do is buy a   subscription package from a broadcaster.

Comparing packages of broadcasters offering Indian TV channels

We have listed some of the broadcasters offering Indian TV channels in the UK. Read on for our recommendations and also the costs.

• 1. Sky TV – When it comes to Indian channels, Sky TV is top gun among all other broadcasters in the U.K. It offers more than 45 Indian channels which can be viewed online as well. Sky Packages start from £20 per month which includes all Asian channels.

• 2. Virgin Media TV – Virgin offers almost all the daily soap channels like Star Plus, Zee, Sony, and Zindagi. It gives its users approximately 15 channels at a cost of £34 per month.

• 3. Talk Talk TV – Talk Talk TV is considered quite good for fans of Bollywood movies. It offers over 5 channels including standard channels like Sony TV Asia, Set Max, Zee Cinema, Star Gold, Zee TV, etc. for  £27.45 per month.

• 4. My India TV – My India TV offers more than 80 Indian Hindi and regional TV channels covering Bollywood movies, songs, daily soap drama series, news, sports etc.for You can either choose a Premium Hindi package (which includes Punjabi and sports channels) for $14.99 (£11) per month or any regional package which includes major Hindi channels for $14.99 (£11) per month.

• 5. Yupp TV – Yupp TV offers various south/regional and over 90 Hindi channels to the audiences based in the UK. Its Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu combo package comes at £9.99 per month or £99.99 per year which includes YuppFlix movies. You can either choose any Indian regional TV channels package for £9.99 per month or a Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and any Regional combo package for £14.99 per month. It works like a Netflix where you just have to buy a subscription and get started right away.

• 6. Lebara Play - Lebara TV is highly recommended for those who are looking for Tamil content covering the latest Tamil movies, Tamil news, Tamil serials and lot more. Its monthly package starts at £7.90 and goes up to £9.99.

• 7. IPTV – IPTV is also quite popular among Indian audiences based in the UK, mainly because it’s packages are relatively cheaper –  £6-£7 per month for 5000+ channels. The only downside is that you can stream the content only on a single device simultaneously. If you need to connect more devices, you have to purchase another account with the same time period and you can’t purchase more than 3 connections.

• 7. Hostar – Hotstar, part of Star India Private Limited, recently debuted in the UK. It offers over 50,000 hours of TV content and 2000+ movies across 8 languages, and major sports including cricket are covered live. You can watch Hotstar on your TV, mobile device or any computer. It annual package costs £59.99, but monthly at £11.99, significantly expensive than annual. So, if you're planning to watch it for 5 or more months in a year, then annual would be cheaper.

Other options

• 1. YouTube – YouTube could be another medium that can connect the NRI audience with the daily dosage of Indian TV channels. The only drawback with YouTube could be limited content, and also the stream could be 1 or 2 days delayed.

• 2. Netflix – Netflix has started adding some of the Indian content too. The content basically includes the daily soap drama series of India.

• 3. Official Websites – There are many Indian TV channels that upload their content daily on their official websites namely, Aajtak, NDTV, ABP news, Star Bharat, Sony TV, and many more. This may not be a bad option.

NriDealExpert’s conclusion

For the UK audiences, Sky TV would be the top gun in terms of providing Indian and local content to its users. However, you need to pay extra for sports channels to watch cricket. The other option close to Sky TV would be My Indian TV as they provide a wide coverage of Indian channels including local and Indian sports channels to watch cricket. The only difference between the two is that Sky TV provides more local channels than My Indian TV does at that price. But if you’re a sports and cricket fan than My Indian TV could be your cheaper option than Sky TV. Lebara TV can also be picked if you have the desire watching Tamil shows and movies.

Please note that it is our endeavor to provide unbiased and accurate information but cannot guarantee it to be perfect, so please do your bit of research and use the information from this email at your own risk.