Now TV (Sky)

Now TV (stylised as NOW TV) is a subscription over-the-top internet television service operated by British satellite television provider Sky. First launched in the United Kingdom in 2012,[1] the service is now also available in the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Germany (where it operates as Sky Ticket) and Spain (where it operates as Sky).

This article is about a pay-TV operator in Europe. For the pay-TV operator of the same name based in Hong Kong, see Now TV (Hong Kong).
Now TV
Original author(s)Sky Group
Developer(s)Sky Group
Initial release17 July 2012 (2012-07-17)
Available in
  • English (UK and Ireland)
  • German (Germany)
  • Italian (Italy)
  • Spanish (Spain)
Website

Now TV offers both live streaming and video-on-demand without a contract. The service offers "passes" for different content with a monthly fee on a pay-as-you-go basis. Differing passes offer films, sports and entertainment from Sky such as those from Sky Atlantic and Sky Cinema, and both British and American licensed third-parties such as Fox.[2] 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 via Sky's digital satellite television service Sky Q, or through the Sky Go Internet service.

History and coverage

Sky Picnic

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. [3]The proposal detailed replacing Sky's three free-to-air channels (Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky Three) with five pay TV channels: Sky Sports 1, Sky Movies SD1 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.[4] It was first proposed in 2007 but it was subject to a public consultation by Ofcom.[5] Whilst the service was cleared to launch in 2010[6] it never officially launched, Sky having put it on hold in 2008.[7]

The Sky Picnic proposal was ultimately superseded by the internet-based Now TV platform.

Now TV

Now TV was unveiled by Sky UK in March 2012, designed for people who have no existing pay TV subscription.[8][9] Its official launch was on 17 July 2012 initially providing films, putting it in competition with Lovefilm and Netflix.[10][11]

The Now TV service would roll out in 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 as Now TV in the UK,[13] and was rebranded in Italy as the original British name Now TV. On 26 April 2017, Now TV launched in the Republic of Ireland.[14] On 11 September 2017, the service launched as simply "Sky" in Spain, the first ever Sky-branded product in that country.[15] In March 2019, Sky X launched in Austria which gradually replaced Sky Ticket, as a higher fledged service between Sky Ticket and the full TV service Sky Q.[11]

In Summer 2016, Sky UK extended the brand to telecommunication services by launching contract-free budget broadband internet in the UK - initially named Now TV Combo,[16] and from early 2018 branded as Now Broadband.[17]

Content and channels

Upon its UK debut in 2012, Now TV offered only films at first, and later adding sports in March 2013,[18] and entertainment channels in October 2013.[19][20] Film and entertainment channels are accessed by paying a monthly fee, and sports 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.[2]

Now TV offers "passes" with a specific set of content or channels that are able to be watched on demand or live TV. The "Entertainment" pass has general entertainment content/channels from Sky itself (e.g. Sky One) and third-parties (e.g. Syfy), 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 (both daily and monthly) to stream live Sky Sports channels.[21]

The Now TV boxes and dongles have extra downloadable apps that provide access to free catch-up or streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, UKTV Play as well as access to Sky Store, Netflix (added in late 2018), Sky Sports Box Office, Disney+ (added in April 2020)[22] and YouTube.[23] From Spring 2020, Now TV will provide access to BT Sport, and at the same time Now TV will become available for BT TV customers.[24]

Devices

Now TV is available on a number of different platforms providing access via both big-screen and small screen mobile devices (correct as of April 2020):[25]

The service offers streams 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 and uses adaptive bitrate streaming to minimise disruption.[26]

Now TV hardware
See also: Roku

In July 2013 Sky launched a white Now TV-branded Roku streaming box allowing users to stream Now TV content to their TV via an analogue base band connection or an HDMI. It retailed for £9.99.[27] It has limited access to the Roku Channel Store and only a pre-approved list of Channels can be downloaded. A number of third-party channels can be side-loaded to the device using its Developer Mode.

On 6 August 2015 Sky launched the Now TV Box 2 (based around 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 existing Wi-Fi, a USB port and an SD card slot (not functional by default), and is capable of outputting at full HD (1080p) resolution.[28] 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 courtesy of an internal DTT tuner that includes pause (up to 30 minutes) and rewind live TV.[29]

In January 2018, Sky introduced the Now TV Smart Stick dongle which plugs directly into a TV's HDMI input and includes voice search.[30] 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.[31][32]

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 new box is capable of streaming at 2160p (4K) resolution.[33]

Now TV "White" Box Now TV "Black" Box Now TV Smart Box (1st Generation) Now TV Smart Stick[34][35] Now TV Smart Box (2nd Generation)[36]
Release Date July 2013 August 2015 July 2016 February 2018 September 2018
Current Availability Officially discontinued but still supported (with some limits) in the UK. Officially discontinued but still supported in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Italy. Officially discontinued but still supported in the UK. Officially available and supported in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Italy. Officially available and supported in the UK.
UK Model Numbers 2400SK 4200SK; 4201UK 4500SK 3801 4631UK
Republic of Ireland Model Numbers N/A 4201IE N/A 3801 N/A
Italy Model Numbers N/A 300338 N/A 3801 N/A
Remote control Infrared with 13 buttons.

Requires 2x AAA Batteries.

 Infrared with 13 buttons.

Requires 2x AAA Batteries.

 Infrared with 13 buttons.

Requires 2x AAA Batteries.

 Wi-Fi Direct (point-anywhere) using 17 buttons.

Infrared for television power and volume control using 3 buttons.

Voice Search microphone.

Requires 2x AAA Batteries.

Wi-Fi Single-band 802.11 (b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA and WPA2 support. Dual-band 802.11 (a/b/g/n compatible) with WEP, WPA and WPA2 support. Dual-band 802.11 (a/b/g/n/ac compatible) with WEP, WPA, WPA2 support, and Hotel Connect.
Ethernet ports N/A 1x 100BASE-TX N/A 1x 1000BASE
USB N/A USB Type A socket not functional. Micro USB Type B socket as power input only. N/A
Secure Digital N/A microSD (Not currently functional) N/A microSD (Not currently functional)
Terrestrial TV tuner N/A N/A Freeview and Freeview HD N/A N/A
Pause and Rewind live TV N/A N/A Freeview and Freeview HD (Up to 30 minutes). Now TV pass live television channels (Up to 30 minutes).
Video Outputs
Audio outputs Digital over HDMI (7.1 and 5.1 surround sound pass-through).
Central Processing Unit Single-core Dual-core Quad-core
Dimensions 3.31 in × 3.31 in × 0.91 in (84 mm × 84 mm × 23 mm) 3.50 in × 3.50 in × 0.98 in (89 mm × 89 mm × 25 mm) 6.50 in × 6.50 in × 0.81 in (165 mm × 165 mm × 20.5 mm) 3.31 in × 0.80 in × 0.50 in (84 mm × 20.3 mm × 12.6 mm) 4.92 in × 4.92 in × 0.83 in (125 mm × 125 mm × 21 mm)
Weight 3.00 oz (85 g) 4.97 oz (141 g) 15.24 oz (432 g) 0.71 oz (20 g) 7.83 oz (222 g)
Power Input 5.2 Volt – 1.0 Amps via supplied AC power adaptor. 5.99 Volt – 2 Amps via supplied AC power adaptor. 12 Volt – 2 Amps via supplied AC power adaptor. 5 Volt – 1.0 Amps via USB port/supplied AC power adaptor. 5.99 Volt – 2 Amps via supplied AC power adaptor.
Power Consumption Typical when streaming video: Less than 2 Watts. Typical when streaming video: Less than 3.5 Watts.
  • Typical when active: Less than 14.2 Watts.
  • Typical when in active standby: Less than 9.5 Watts.
  • Typical when in passive standby: Less than 0.6 Watts.
 Typical when streaming high definition content: Less than 3.5 Watts. Typical when streaming ultra high definition content: Less than 9 Watts.

Reception

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.[37]

Trademark disputes

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 trial in London ruled that BSkyB does not infringe PCCW's rights regarding the Now TV name.[38]

gollark: stalking™
gollark: What if that version of the mod was never publicly released and you just hallucinated using it?
gollark: So just reverse-engineer it from old versions, crashlogs and recordings!
gollark: I've ENTERED THE DARKNET!!!!!
gollark: It's not infinite. If you upload 100ZB of data they'll stop you.

References
  1. "BSkyB Corporate | Now's the time for NOW TV". Corporate.sky.com. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  2. "StackPath". www.choose.co.uk.
  3. "Proposed BSkyB digital terrestrial television services" (PDF). Ofcom. 23 December 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. Wilkes, Neil (22 November 2007). "Disney Channel joins Sky's picnic". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. "Proposed BSkyB Digital Terrestrial Television Services". Ofcom. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  6. "Delivering consumer benefits in Pay TV". Ofcom. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. Williams, Christopher (12 September 2008). "Sky ices Picnic, blames Ofcom". www.theregister.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. Stallard, Katie (17 July 2012). "No Dish, No Contract - Sky Launches NOW TV". News.sky.com. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  9. Byford, Sam (21 March 2012). "Now TV: stream movies, sports, and other Sky TV content on demand from this summer". The Verge.
  10. Barnett, Emma (16 July 2012). "Now TV: Sky takes on Netflix and Lovefilm" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  11. "Sky Austria launches streaming offering Sky X". Digital TV Europe. 5 March 2019.
  12. "Sky Deutschland launches OTT platform". Broadband TV News. 30 October 2014.
  13. "Sky Deutschland launches new OTT platform". Broadband TV News. 26 August 2016.
  14. Slattery, Laura. "Sky brings Now TV on-demand service to Ireland". The Irish Times.
  15. "Sky launches Spanish streaming service". Broadband TV News. 11 September 2017.
  16. "Now TV launches contract-free broadband and TV". broadbandchoices.co.uk. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  17. "Sky Say Goodbye to NOW TV Combo and Hello NOW Broadband - ISPreview UK". ISPreview. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  18. "Pay-as-you-go Sky Sports comes to NOW TV". Corporate.sky.com. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  19. Skipworth, Hunter (29 October 2013). "New Sky Now TV package brings Sky 1 access and more". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  20. "Sky announces details of NowTV internet TV service". BBC News Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  21. "What channels are on NOW TV?". Uswitch.
  22. Jones 2020-04-23T13:18:07Z, Robert. "Disney+ is now available on Now TV. Here's how to start watching". T3.
  23. "Best Smart TV Sticks to buy | Amazon Fire v NOW TV v Roku v Google Chromecast". Radio Times.
  24. "Sky launches new packages with BT Sport". Digital TV Europe. 21 February 2020.
  25. (PDF). Now TV http://web.static.nowtv.com/images/docs/apps-on-the-now-tv-box-stick-uk-apr-20.pdf. Retrieved 23 April 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. "NOW TV Boost is the Full HD upgrade we've been waiting for". Pocket-lint. 21 November 2019.
  27. Lawler, Richard. "Sky's Now TV box is a £9.99 Roku clone that streams iPlayer and more". Engadget.com. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  28. "Now TV Box (2015) vs Now TV Box vs Roku 2: What's the difference?". Pocket-lint. 5 August 2015.
  29. "Sky NowTV Smart Box". Stuff.
  30. Burgess, Matt (25 January 2018). "Now TV's Smart Stick has voice control and costs just £15" – via www.wired.co.uk.
  31. Jones 2018-01-25T06:59:27.240Z, Robert. "The Now TV Smart Stick somehow costs only £14.99: offers Full HD streaming suite powered by Roku". T3.
  32. Nield 2018-01-31T10:00:28.300Z, David. "Now TV Smart Stick vs Amazon Fire TV Stick". T3.
  33. "NOW TV Launch New Smart Box with 4K UltraHD and Voice Search - ISPreview UK". www.ispreview.co.uk.
  34. "NOW TV Smart Stick: All You Need To Know". Recombu. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  35. "Smart TV Stick - Stream Movies, TV & Sports Instantly". @NOWTV. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  36. Jackson, Mark. "NOW TV Launch New Smart Box with 4K UltraHD and Voice Search - ISPreview UK". www.ispreview.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  37. "In the UK, Netflix and Amazon beat Sky Now TV". Broadband TV News. 8 August 2019.
  38. Halliday, Josh; Sweney, Mark (2 November 2012). "BSkyB wins high court trademark battle over Now TV name" – via www.theguardian.com.
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