What’s happened?
Sky’s Now TV is now available to download on iPhone and iPad. The new service from Sky gives you first-look access to movies on-demand on your iPhone and iPad before they’re available on any other streaming service.
Launched a couple of weeks ago on PC, Mac and Android devices, Now TV gives you a selection of titles that are available from Sky Movies’ 11 movie channels.
Now TV is perhaps best thought of as Sky Movies on demand for non-Sky TV subscribers, who’d be able to access the same content through the Sky Go apps.
Costing £15 a month for access, Now TV is a tad more expensive than the likes of Netflix and LoveFilm, but that premium price guarantees you’ll be able to get the first look at a film.
More Sky content including Sky Sports and Sky Atlantic is headed to Now TV later in the year, meaning we’ll be able to enjoy Premier League football and Game of Thrones alongside the latest Hollywood blockbusters.
Check out our early hands-on with Now TV for iPad here and our interview with Now TV’s Head of Product Antonia Salmon, who took us through the forthcoming Now TV for YouView app.
As the app is fairly new in the iTunes App Store, it’s a little far down on the list, buried underneath a lot of other, older TV apps. To save you the trouble of searching for Now TV, here’s the app link.
What is Now TV?
Now TV brings a selection of Sky’s TV content on a pay as you go basis and costs £15 a month. Initially, only Sky Movies content will be available; 600 movies taken from Sky’s 11 movie channels.
Now TV is perhaps best thought of as a Spotify or Netflix for Sky programmes. There’s no fixed contract, giving you the freedom to dip in and out whenever you want.
If £15 a month isn’t your thing, then you’ve got the option to pay for film on demand, with prices ranging from 99p to £3.49.
However that £15 monthly subscription is required to get access to the newer films. Five new titles will arrive a week and will be exclusive to Now TV punters paying the monthly fee.
Sky’s director of acquisition marketing and strategy, Simon Creasey, says that these will be out “a year before any other service”, referring to the on-demand competition. Roughly three quarters of the year’s top 100 box office hits will be available on Now TV with a Sky Movies Pass.
What’s next?
Later in the year, programmes from Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, Sky Living and Sky Sports (including Premier League football) will arrive on Now TV.
Now TV is already available on PC and Mac, selected Android phones and now the iPhone and iPad. Versions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, YouView and Roku boxes are coming later this year.
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