ITV Hub To Stop Working On Some YouView Boxes

ITV Hub, the streaming app that offers catch-up shows and box sets from ITV, will stop working on three older YouView boxes from January 2022.

This is due to ITV upgrading their content protection technology – an upgrade that is apparently incompatible with the older boxes.

Therefore, YouView customers who are still using the affected devices (mostly customers of TalkTalk and BT – see full details below), will have to either upgrade their boxes, or use ITV Hub on other devices.

YouView, which launched back in 2012, is a “hybrid” TV service that’s backed by the main UK Telecommunication companies (BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva), as well as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

It offers access to most of the Freeview channels and radio stations, but – like Freeview – YouView requires an aerial for its live channels (see our recommended indoor aerials).

In addition, YouView also offers several of the popular UK catch-up apps (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, NOW TV, BritBox and more), which you access via broadband (Freeview has a similar service, Freeview Play).

YouView can be accessed either with a stand-alone dedicated YouView set-top box (though those are not easy to come by anymore) or via boxes from BT TV and TalkTalk, which use YouView as their TV interface for paying subscribers.

ITV Hub Removed From YouView Boxes

ITV Hub is ITV’s streaming service/app, which is normally available on a large number of streaming devices, as well as YouView, Freeview Play and Freesat set-top boxes.

The app relies on broadband, and you can use it to stream ITV’s live channels, or to watch programmes on demand.

This week, YouView announced that from January 2022, “ITV will be updating their content protection technology, which means new shows will no longer be available to watch on first-generation YouView devices.”

The software update will allow ITV to boost its copyright protections, which is required for streaming content online.

However, three older YouView boxes will not be able to get this upgrade, and will therefore start to lose access to ITV Hub.

The affected boxes are:

• Humax DTR-T1000 (which customers go either from BT or directly from retail shops)
• Humax DTR-T1010 (From retail)
• Huawei DN370T (Which was supplied by Talk Talk)

Granted, these boxes are quite old – but it’s hard to say how many YouView customers are still using them, and will be affected by this.

When the change happens, ITV Hub will remain on these boxes for a while longer – but new shows will not be added to it anymore.

As older shows start to expire, they will gradually start to disappear from ITV Hub on those boxes – and, eventually, the app will be removed entirely from the affected devices.

How Can I Continue To Watch ITV Hub?

If you have one of the aforementioned boxes, and you want to continue using ITV Hub after January 2022, you will have several options:

1. Watch ITV Hub on a different device, such as a Smart TV, a desktop computer, or a stand-alone streaming device like the Amazon Fire TV.

2. If you’re a BT customer, you can enquire about upgrading your old YouView box – by calling BT on 0800 800 150.

3. If you’re a TalkTalk customer, you should contact TalkTalk’s customer service, to discuss upgrade options, at 0345 172 0088.

We approached BT and TalkTalk to ask whether there are any special upgrade paths for affected customers, and will update this article accordingly.