Sky’s Now TV content could come bundled with Vodafone’s future broadband and TV services.
Vodafone is planning on launching services next year, using the Cable & Wireless network it owns to deliver fixed-line broadband services to roughly 50 per cent of homes across the UK.
Details such as prices and download speeds haven’t been released but it’s thought that Vodafone will extend its existing relationship with Sky, which currently sees 4G mobile customers able to get free Now TV for up to two years.
Vodafone customers can currently get three months of Sky Movies free alongside up to 24 months of free Now TV entertainment channels. Sky Sports Mobile can also be bundled with selected 4G contracts.
A report in the Telegraph claims that Vodafone and Sky are in talks that will see Now TV, which lets people access hit shows including Game of Thrones, Mad Men and True Detective alongside Premier League football and the latest Hollywood movies.
It’s not known if Now TV, which currently costs £6.99/month for entertainment channels, £9.99/month for movies and £10.99/week for sports, will be offered for free or at a discounted rate for subscribers.
A Sky spokesperson said: “Our strategy with Now TV is to be as broadly distributed as possible and that means talking to lots of people.”
Rumours have also persisted of Sky and Vodafone working out a MVNO deal, similar to the one enjoyed by Virgin Mobile and EE and more recently TalkTalk and O2.
With BT planning to launch a mobile service, also using EE’s network, Sky will become the only big UK ISP without a mobile offering. TalkTalk is planning to aggressively expand TalkTalk Mobile when it starts to bundle free SIM cards with its Plus TV packages and eventually roll out an in-house network using broadband routers to improve mobile coverage in customers homes.
Neither Vodafone or Sky have commented on rumours of a mobile deal beyond the content partnership that currently exists.
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