NowTV_Logo

Last year Sky launched Now TV, a pay as you go service which allows users to pay for individual movies or subscribe to a package drawn from the Sky Movies channels. This placed the service, at a slightly higher cost, in the same arena as Netflix and Lovefilm services and with the launch of the Now TV box last week they have stepped up the pace on their rivals.

The box is priced at £10 and as well as allowing access to the Now TV services there is access to numerous other streaming and catch-up services. The box is compact and simple to set up, you’ll need an account (but not a subscription to the channel package) to begin and within minutes you’ll be installing new channels. There are a few omissions at launch, 4OD and itv player are absent but it’s assumed these will join the service soon as the iPlayer and Demand5 apps are present and correct.

NOW TV Box and Remote 01

The sweet spot of £10 is clearly the big sell here. The service is an excellent option for people who want the Sky Movie channels without the contract and their choice of films will always be ahead of their rivals. The device itself, a Roku box at heart, is small and works well straight from the box. As the Now Tv offering has broadened to incident day passes for Sky Sports and pay per view, so the future will see the Entertainment channels come on board. This should mean that those in the UK envious of HBO and not ready to commit to a full SKy contract will be interested when Sky Atlantic joins the service, as it is expected to do later this year.

The UI is very simple and the overall experience is a straightforward one, we’ll be looking more in depth at what Now TV have to offer in the coming months, but it’s a strong step forward for the service. Now TV’s ace is the range of films on offer, with many films appearing long before they make their way to the other options. This comes at a cost, of course but if you rent a lot of your films through other streaming offerings then you might be tempted by this new box, and at just under a tenner it seems to be a good time to widen your viewing options.