How can I watch Hungarian TV?

We have tested out a few TV/video options in Hungary, including monthly Internet subscription services like HBO Go and Netflix.

We’ve also tested a couple different Internet-based TV options: Telenor’s MyTV and MediaKlikk.

MyTV, essentially, is cable television that you access via the computer. There are a lot of channels available in several different price tiers.

We tested the lowest tier*, which cost us 3790 HUF per month. The next tier up, which includes all available channels, costs 5690 HUF per month.

In addition to the two channel tiers, there are a couple extras: You can get Nickelodeon for 890 HUF per month, and HBO Go for 3190 per month (more on HBO Go in Hungary is detailed in this blog post).

*In addition to the two paid tiers and the extras, there’s also a free tier, which includes some of the Hungarian public TV channels. If you want those channels, though, it’d be easier to access them (in addition to the free public radio) through MediaKlikk, as detailed below.

MediaKlikk, as explained above, taps into Hungarian public broadcasting, with seven TV and seven radio channels available.

Public TV options are M1 (news), M2 (children’s programming), M3 (music, sitcoms, etc.), M4 (sports), M5, Duna and DunaWorld.

Neither MyTV or MediaKlikk offer many options with subtitles. Almost every offering on Hungarian TV is dubbed, so the shows aren’t helpful for learning the language, unless you’re already pretty advanced and just want practice hearing Hungarian.

On occasion, we’ll watch Dora the Explorer with the kids. Because it’s a show geared toward language learning (originally intended to teach Spanish to English speakers), the Hungarian version is pretty helpful for language learning.