Sky, Comcast, and Disney+ bundles: Why cable-style packages are coming back to the UK
Key Points
- Vodafone TV launches in October with Netflix, HBO Max, Freely and 150 extra live channels in one box
- Available to Vodafone broadband, 5G Broadband and mobile customers
- PwC says Sky, Comcast, Rogers and Jio are all bundling pay TV, broadband and streaming again
- Traditional TV revenue will fall to $341.2 billion by 2030 from $360.5 billion in 2025
- Disney+, YouTube Premium, DAZN, Spotify and Prime can be added on a 30-day rolling basis
Vodafone TV will launch in October with Netflix, HBO Max and more than 220 live channels in a single set-top box, joining Sky, Comcast, Disney+ and Amazon in a return to the bundled packages that defined the cable era.
VodafoneThree announced the service on Thursday (3 September), calling it an entertainment hub that combines live television, on-demand programmes, streaming services, cloud gaming and music.
The hub runs on an Android TV box with 4K, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
Consultancy PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2026–30, published in July, said bundling has “renewed currency” as operators try to reduce churn while audiences move away from linear viewing.
The firm named Sky, Comcast, Rogers and Jio as companies combining pay TV, broadband and third-party streaming subscriptions in single offers.
Global traditional TV revenue fell 2.7% in 2025 to $360.5 billion and will decline a further 1.1% a year to $341.2 billion by 2030. Revenue from internet access, the largest single segment of the industry, will grow at just 2.3% a year from $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion over the same period.
Vodafone TV includes the ad-supported tiers of Netflix and HBO Max at launch, with Freely built in to deliver more than 70 channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 without a dish or aerial.
Customers can add Disney+, YouTube Premium, DAZN, Spotify and Prime on a rolling 30-day basis through Vodafone’s Subscription+ platform, and choose from four HBO Max tiers.
The service will be available to new and existing Vodafone customers on a home broadband, 5G Broadband or mobile plan. VodafoneThree said this makes it the only UK mobile network operator to bundle TV with mobile and mobile broadband as well as fixed-line broadband.
“Vodafone TV is so much more than TV, it’s a family entertainment platform that brings together live TV, On Demand, streaming, gaming, music and all the apps on the Google Play Store,” said Rob Winterschladen, Consumer Director at VodafoneThree.
“The future of streaming is about aggregation, simplicity and discovery, bringing free-to-air, premium streaming, entertainment and gaming together in one place,” said Paolo Pescatore, Technology and Telecoms Analyst.
PwC said distributors including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and YouTube TV are selling bundled third-party streaming subscriptions, while Disney+ offers combined plans with Hulu and Max.
It added that big streaming platforms will aim to become the entertainment hub of the home by 2030, offering television, films, games, music, sport, social media and user-generated content in one place.
The firm said broadcasters are also partnering with the platforms they once competed against. The BBC agreed in 2026 to produce YouTube-specific content, and TF1 in France struck a deal to distribute its programming through Netflix.
The box also gives customers access to more than 300 cloud games playable with a smartphone or Bluetooth controller, a Vodafone Box Office service for renting and buying films, and a companion app that lets viewers continue watching on mobile devices.
