TalkTalk Winks at Sky While Turning Satellite TV Dishes into Art

Broadband ISP TalkTalk UK has today moved to promote their latest Pay TV Hub by partnering with mural artist Qubek (Russell Meheen) to create a “live street art stunt” (Dish it Out), which turns old satellite TV dishes into art. The aim is to highlight how people are “spending unnecessarily” on “expensive” TV plans (wink.. wink.. Sky).

The stunt doesn’t actually mention Sky TV by name, but it’s fairly clear that’s who they’re aiming this at (we can exclude Freesat because that’s not a pay TV platform). On the other hand, this does rather overlook how Sky can now also offer their services via the broadband-based Sky Stream and Sky Glass products, which don’t require a satellite dish.

Russell Meheen, also known as Qubek, apparently has a reputation for uplifting redundant spaces across the north of England and enriching them with thought-provoking street art. TalkTalk’s latest stunt, titled Dish it Out, was unveiled at 9am today at the Grand Central Station food court in Birmingham.

As part of this, Qubek has transformed old TV satellite dishes into an “eye-catching piece of art that symbolises outdated and often high-priced TV packages.”

Jonathan Kini, MD of TalkTalk Consumer, said:

“We’re aiming to highlight that you don’t need to break the bank when it comes to TV. Old tech often takes up lots of space, while some of the newer TV packages come with a big price tag and lengthy contracts. That’s why we’ve launched our new TV Hub – the smarter, simpler and more flexible way to stay entertained for only £5 a month.”

Admittedly, the symbolism of this may also work both ways, since you don’t strictly need to take TalkTalk’s Android TV powered TV Hub product either. Most of the content that such platforms provide can now be taken via Apps on various other streaming sticks and internet-connected TVs etc.