British subscription television service
This article is about a pay-TV operator in Europe. For the pay-TV operator of a similar name based in Hong Kong, see
Now TV (Hong Kong)
.
| This article
is missing information
about operations in Germany (Wow) and Italy (Now), and former operation in Austria (Sky Ticket).
Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the
talk page
.
(
April 2020
)
|
Now
(formerly
Now TV
and often stylised as
NOW
) is a subscription
over-the-top
streaming television
service operated by British satellite television provider
Sky Group
and American cable provider
Xfinity
. Launched in the United Kingdom in 2012, the service is also available in
Ireland
,
Italy
,
Germany
(as
WOW
, formerly as
Sky Online
and
Sky Ticket
), Austria (as
SkyX
),
Switzerland
and the United States (as part of its parent company
Comcast
's
Xfinity
unit).
Now offers both live streaming and
video-on-demand
without a contract. The service offers "passes" for various types of content, for a monthly fee on a pay-as-you-go basis. Differing passes offer films, sports and entertainment from Sky such as material from
Sky Atlantic
and
Sky Cinema
, and from British and American licensed third parties such as
Fox Broadcasting Company
.
[1]
The service is available to consumers through retail
Roku
-based Now TV
digital media players
(in both
set-top box
and
HDMI
dongle
form factors) as well as via an
app
on computers, various mobile devices, some game consoles and set-top boxes. It is separate from and not viewable through the
Sky Go
Internet service, or via Sky's digital satellite television service
Sky Q
.
History and coverage
[
edit
]
Sky Picnic
[
edit
]
Sky Picnic was a proposed pay television service which would have sat alongside
Freeview
and
Top Up TV
on the
digital terrestrial television
(DTT) platform in the United Kingdom.
[2]
The proposal detailed replacing Sky's three
free-to-air
channels (
Sky News
,
Sky Sports News
and
Sky Mix
) with five pay TV channels:
Sky Sports
,
Sky Cinema
plus
Sky One
during the evening with one hour of Sky News content. There would also be two further daytime channels: a factual channel and a children's channel.
[3]
It was first proposed in 2007 but was subject to a public consultation by
Ofcom
.
[4]
Whilst the service was cleared to launch in 2010
[5]
it never officially launched, Sky having put it on hold in 2008.
[6]
The Sky Picnic proposal was ultimately superseded by the internet-based Now TV platform.
Now TV
[
edit
]
Now TV was unveiled by
Sky UK
in March 2012, and designed for people who have no existing
pay TV
subscription.
[7]
[8]
Its official launch was on 17 July 2012,
[9]
initially providing films, putting it in competition with
LoveFilm
and
Netflix
.
[10]
[11]
The Now TV service was later extended to other territories covered by the Sky Group. In 2014 a similar internet service called "Sky Online" was launched by
Sky Deutschland
in Germany and Austria,
[12]
and by
Sky Italia
in Italy in 2015. In 2016, Sky Online in Germany and Austria was revamped as "Sky Ticket" and structured the same as Now TV in the UK,
[13]
and was rebranded in Italy under the original British name of Now TV. On 26 April 2017, Now TV launched in Ireland.
[14]
On 11 September 2017, the service launched as simply "Sky" in Spain, the first Sky-branded product in that country.
[15]
In March 2019, Sky X launched in Austria, making use of a blend of Now TV and
Sky Q
elements, and replaced Sky Ticket, as an offering between Sky Ticket and the full TV service Sky Q.
[11]
[16]
On 1 September 2020, Sky stopped offering the product in Spain.
[17]
In the Summer of 2016, Sky UK
extended the brand
to telecommunication services by launching contract-free budget broadband internet in the UK, initially named Now TV Combo,
[18]
and from early 2018 branded as
Now Broadband
.
[19]
In early 2021, Now TV rebranded as NOW.
[20]
In Summer 2022, Sky Ticket rebranded to WOW.
[21]
Spain
[
edit
]
Sky Espana
was a service of
Sky
and supplied
over-the-top
pay television
and
video-on-demand
service accessible only through the
Internet
created to compete with
Movistar+
,
Netflix
, and
Amazon Prime Video
in Spain.
[22]
Yoigo
is an operator of Internet and mobile services which maintains an exclusive agreement that allows customers to the rate into Fibra + la Sinfin with unlimited fibre access to Sky Espana service for €6 per month.
[23]
The service ceased to be available on 1 September 2020. Some content had already disappeared before its closing on 10 August 2020.
[24]
Sky returned to the Spanish market in 2023 with the introduction of
SkyShowtime
.
United States
[
edit
]
On 23 May 2023,
Comcast
(parent company of Sky Group) announced plans to launch a U.S. version of Now TV as part of its
Xfinity
cable and broadband unit, which will be priced at US$25 per month and include linear cable networks and
free ad-supported streaming television
(FAST) services from
Xumo
and other partners.
[25]
Content and channels
[
edit
]
Upon its UK debut in 2012, Now TV offered only films at first, adding sports in March 2013,
[26]
and entertainment channels in October 2013.
[27]
[28]
Film and entertainment channels are accessed by paying a monthly fee, and sports are on an
ad-hoc
basis ("pay as you go"). Unlike Sky's flagship satellite TV service, Now TV does not require a long-term contract.
[1]
Now TV offers "passes" with a specific set of content or channels that can be watched on demand or as live TV. The "Entertainment" pass has general entertainment content/channels from Sky itself (e.g.
Sky Atlantic
) and third parties (e.g.
Comedy Central
), whilst the "Kids" pass covers children's networks such as
Nickelodeon
, and a "Sky Cinema" pass offers over a thousand films from
Sky Cinema
. There is also a dedicated "
Hayu
" pass, and a "Sports" pass (which offers a daily or monthly option), along with a sports pass solely for mobile devices
[29]
to stream live
Sky Sports
channels.
[30]
The Now TV boxes and dongles have extra downloadable apps that provide access to free catch-up or streaming services such as
BBC iPlayer
,
ITVX
, and
UKTV Play
, as well as access to
Sky Store
,
Netflix
(added in late 2018),
Peacock
(added in November 2021),
Sky Box Office
,
Disney+
(added in April 2020)
[31]
and
YouTube
.
[32]
In the Spring of 2020, Now TV provided access to
TNT Sports
, and at the same time Now TV became available for
EE TV
customers.
[33]
On 28 June 2022,
National Geographic
departed the service as its programming moved over to Disney+.
[34]
In its place, Now users had access to UKTV's mystery drama channel Alibi and NBC News Now,
[35]
whilst customers with the Sky Cinema subscription package could access a range of films from
Paramount+
.
[36]
Devices
[
edit
]
Now is available on several platforms, providing access via both big-screen and small-screen mobile devices (correct as of April 2020):
[37]
The service offers streams at up to
720p
resolution (or up to
1080p
resolution, when subscribed to Now TV HD Boost at an extra cost) depending on the playback device. It uses
adaptive bitrate streaming
.
[38]
Now TV hardware
[
edit
]
In July 2013, Sky launched a white Now TV-branded
Roku
streaming box, allowing users to stream Now TV content to their television via an analogue baseband connection or an HDMI input. It retailed for £9.99.
[39]
It has limited access to the Roku Channel Store and only a pre-approved list of channels can be downloaded. Several third-party channels can be side-loaded to the device using its Developer Mode.
In August 2015, Sky launched the Now TV Box 2 (based on a 2015 Roku 2) in black. It offers the same content as the original Now TV (white) box, but has a faster processor, an
Ethernet
port alongside Wi-Fi, a USB port and an SD card slot (not functional by default), and is capable of outputting at full HD (
1080p
) resolution.
[40]
Unlike the original Now TV Box, the Now TV Box 2 does not have an analogue audio/video output socket.
The Now TV Smart Box ("Smart Box with Freeview"), coloured black with a blue logo, was launched exclusively in the UK in July 2016. It includes access to
Freeview
channels through an aerial, via an internal
DTT
tuner that allows the user to pause (for up to 30 minutes) and rewind live TV.
[41]
In January 2018, Sky introduced the Now TV Smart Stick
dongle
which plugs directly into a TV's
HDMI
input and includes voice search.
[42]
It was noted as the cheapest smart TV stick in the UK, costing £14.99 at launch compared to £39.99 for its rival Amazon Fire TV Stick.
[43]
[44]
The second generation Now TV Smart Box ("Smart Box with 4K") was introduced in September 2018 and is coloured black with a pink logo. It is smaller in size (mainly due to the removal of the Freeview TV tuner) and includes the voice search capability from the Smart Stick. This box is capable of streaming at
2160p
(4K) resolution.
[45]
NOW TV recently re-branded to NOW has announced late in 2021 that it is discontinuing all NOW hardware products.
[46]
Reception
[
edit
]
As of Q4 2018, Now TV had a 10% share in the UK
OTT
subscription market, placing it third behind
Netflix
and
Amazon Prime Video
.
[50]
Trademark disputes
[
edit
]
Before its launch,
Hong Kong
-based
PCCW
filed trademark complaints about British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)'s Now TV service. In October 2012, a High Court judgment in
London
ruled that BSkyB did not infringe PCCW's rights regarding the Now TV name.
[51]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"StackPath"
.
www.choose.co.uk
.
- ^
"Proposed BSkyB digital terrestrial television services"
(PDF)
.
Ofcom
. 23 December 2007. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 10 October 2007
. Retrieved
28 May
2020
.
- ^
Wilkes, Neil (22 November 2007).
"Disney Channel joins Sky's picnic"
.
Digital Spy
. Retrieved
28 May
2020
.
- ^
"Proposed BSkyB Digital Terrestrial Television Services"
.
Ofcom
. 22 September 2016
. Retrieved
28 May
2020
.
- ^
"Delivering consumer benefits in Pay TV"
.
Ofcom
. 14 September 2016
. Retrieved
28 May
2020
.
- ^
Williams, Christopher (12 September 2008).
"Sky ices Picnic, blames Ofcom"
.
www.theregister.co.uk
. Retrieved
28 May
2020
.
- ^
Stallard, Katie (17 July 2012).
"No Dish, No Contract - Sky Launches NOW TV"
. News.sky.com
. Retrieved
15 April
2014
.
- ^
Byford, Sam (21 March 2012).
"Now TV: stream movies, sports, and other Sky TV content on demand from this summer"
.
The Verge
.
- ^
"Press release: Now's the time for NOW TV"
.
Sky Corporate
. 16 July 2012. Archived from
the original
on 19 July 2012.
- ^
Barnett, Emma (16 July 2012).
"Now TV: Sky takes on Netflix and Lovefilm"
.
Archived
from the original on 12 January 2022 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^
a
b
"Sky Austria launches streaming offering Sky X"
.
Digital TV Europe
. 5 March 2019.
- ^
"Sky Deutschland launches OTT platform"
.
Broadband TV News
. 30 October 2014.
- ^
"Sky Deutschland launches new OTT platform"
.
Broadband TV News
. 26 August 2016.
- ^
Slattery, Laura.
"Sky brings Now TV on-demand service to Ireland"
.
The Irish Times
.
- ^
"Sky launches Spanish streaming service"
.
Broadband TV News
. 11 September 2017.
- ^
sky-angebot.at (19 February 2019).
"Sky Ticket (Osterreich): Preise & Angebote im Uberblick"
.
Sky-Angebot.at
(in German)
. Retrieved
12 April
2023
.
- ^
"Cierra Sky Espana: la plataforma dejara de emitir el 1 de septiembre - Ecoteuve.es"
.
ecoteuve.eleconomista.es
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
28 October
2020
.
- ^
"Now TV launches contract-free broadband and TV"
.
broadbandchoices.co.uk
. 29 June 2016
. Retrieved
8 April
2020
.
- ^
"Sky Say Goodbye to NOW TV Combo and Hello NOW Broadband - ISPreview UK"
.
ISPreview
. 25 January 2018
. Retrieved
8 April
2020
.
- ^
"NOW TV rebrands to NOW"
.
www.skygroup.sky
. Retrieved
3 April
2021
.
- ^
"WOW: Sky Ticket gets new name"
.
www.broadbandtvnews.com
. 7 June 2022
. Retrieved
28 June
2022
.
- ^
Elvira, Alvaro P. Ruiz de (12 September 2017).
"Sky llega a Espana con 12 canales de pago y sin deportes"
.
El Paais
(in Spanish).
ISSN
1134-6582
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
.
- ^
Alonso, Santiago Millan (3 April 2018).
"Yoigo rompe el mercado: lanza la primera tarifa con gigas moviles ilimitados"
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
5 April
2018
.
- ^
"Cierra Sky Espana: la plataforma dejara de emitir el 1 de septiembre"
.
ecoteuve.eleconomista.es
(in Spanish)
. Retrieved
23 July
2020
.
- ^
Spangler, Todd (23 May 2023).
"Comcast Launches $20 Monthly Streaming Service Now TV, With 60-Plus Channels and Peacock"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
13 June
2023
.
- ^
"Pay-as-you-go Sky Sports comes to NOW TV"
. Corporate.sky.com. 19 March 2013
. Retrieved
15 April
2014
.
- ^
Skipworth, Hunter (29 October 2013).
"New Sky Now TV package brings Sky 1 access and more"
.
Digital Spy
. Retrieved
29 October
2013
.
- ^
"Sky announces details of NowTV internet TV service"
.
BBC News Online
.
British Broadcasting Corporation
. 21 March 2012
. Retrieved
15 April
2014
.
- ^
"NOW TV Complete Guide"
.
Broadband Switch
. Retrieved
7 December
2020
.
- ^
"What channels are on NOW TV?"
.
Uswitch
.
- ^
Jones, Robert (23 April 2020).
"Disney+ is now available on Now TV. Here's how to start watching"
.
T3
.
- ^
"Best Smart TV Sticks to buy | Amazon Fire v NOW TV v Roku v Google Chromecast"
.
Radio Times
.
- ^
"Sky launches new packages with BT Sport"
.
Digital TV Europe
. 21 February 2020.
- ^
"National Geographic departs NOW"
. 17 June 2022.
- ^
"Confirmed: NBC News Now and Alibi on NOW"
. 22 June 2022.
- ^
"How to access Paramount+ on Sky and NOW"
. 22 June 2022.
- ^
"Apps on the Now TV box"
(PDF)
. Now TV
. Retrieved
23 April
2020
.
- ^
"NOW TV Boost is the Full HD upgrade we've been waiting for"
.
Pocket-lint
. 21 November 2019.
- ^
Lawler, Richard.
"Sky's Now TV box is a £9.99 Roku clone that streams iPlayer and more"
. Engadget.com
. Retrieved
15 April
2014
.
- ^
"Now TV Box (2015) vs Now TV Box vs Roku 2: What's the difference?"
.
Pocket-lint
. 5 August 2015.
- ^
"Sky NowTV Smart Box"
.
Stuff
. 25 July 2016.
- ^
Burgess, Matt (25 January 2018).
"Now TV's Smart Stick has voice control and costs just £15"
.
Wired UK
– via www.wired.co.uk.
- ^
Jones, Robert (25 January 2018).
"The Now TV Smart Stick somehow costs only £14.99: offers Full HD streaming suite powered by Roku"
.
T3
.
- ^
Nield, David (31 January 2018).
"Now TV Smart Stick vs Amazon Fire TV Stick"
.
T3
.
- ^
"NOW TV Launch New Smart Box with 4K UltraHD and Voice Search - ISPreview UK"
.
www.ispreview.co.uk
. 27 September 2018.
- ^
"NOSky's NOW Discontinues Its Own Streaming Devices"
.
www.cordbusters.co.uk
. 18 May 2021.
- ^
"NOW TV Smart Stick: All You Need To Know"
.
Recombu
. 25 January 2018
. Retrieved
26 January
2018
.
- ^
"Smart TV Stick - Stream Movies, TV & Sports Instantly"
.
@NOWTV
. Retrieved
26 January
2018
.
- ^
Jackson, Mark (27 September 2018).
"NOW TV Launch New Smart Box with 4K UltraHD and Voice Search - ISPreview UK"
.
www.ispreview.co.uk
. Retrieved
30 September
2018
.
- ^
"In the UK, Netflix and Amazon beat Sky Now TV"
.
Broadband TV News
. 8 August 2019.
- ^
Halliday, Josh; Sweney, Mark (2 November 2012).
"BSkyB wins high court trademark battle over Now TV name"
.
The Guardian
– via www.theguardian.com.
External links
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]
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