NOW TV: will it save you money?

Find out if this Sky alternative offers value for money.

I’ve been using NOW since 2014, at first as a complete replacement for Sky TV and more recently as an ad-hoc streaming service alongside the likes of Netflix and Disney+.

Over the years I’m confident it’s saved me thousands of pounds against the cost of long Sky subscriptions. And thanks to deals and tricks I’ve paid a fraction of what it should have cost, saving me even more cash.

But if you don’t take advantage of those extra savings, I worry that it can quickly become another expensive bill, costing you hundreds of pounds more than it needs to.

Here’s everything you need to know about it to help you work out if it’s worth signing up for – or sticking with it.

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What is NOW TV?

NOW (it used to be called NOW TV, but was confusingly rebranded) is an on-demand and live streaming service launched by Sky in 2012. It gives you access to most of the different Sky channels without the need for an aerial or satellite, but you will need decent broadband and an app on your TV or smart stick.

There are four different passes (or ‘memberships’) you can buy: Entertainment, Cinema, Sports and Hayu (I’ve listed the included channels on each membership further down the article).

You can get these individually, or have more than one at the same time (though you’ll only be able to watch the ones you are paying for, even though they’ll all appear as options when you load up the app).

How much is NOW TV?

Here are the full price costs for all the different NOW TV passes. But as I’ll explain you’ll rarely, if ever, need to pay these full rates.

• Entertainment Pass costs £9.99 a month
• The Sky Cinema Pass costs £9.99 a month
• The Hayu pass costs £4.99 a month
• There are three Sky Sports NOW TV passes
  • A Day Pass costs £14.99 for 24 hours
  • A Month Pass is £34.99 a month

What is NOW Boost?

There are also two extra Boost memberships. Both remove adverts, improve picture quality, enhance sound and allow you to watch on more than one device at the same time. Again, it’s possible to reduce the cost of these after the initial month.

Boost

• provides HD (1080p) picture quality
• Dolby Digital 5.1
• two concurrent streams
• £6 a month

Ultra Boost

• 4K Ultra HD
• Dolby Atmos
• three streams at the same time
• £9 a month

Why use NOW

You can ditch Sky and Virgin

For most, it’s simply a way to get Sky channels without signing up to long and expensive contracts with Sky TV or other pay TV services.

This can make it much cheaper than Sky. Even if you have all four passes you’ll pay less than the equivalent full price with Sky or Virgin. And even if you’ve haggled your price down on your Sky subscription, you can find deals to do the same with NOW. So in most instances, you’ll save money.

Here’s more on how it why I think you should cancel Sky and Virgin.

You’re not locked in

Unless you choose to accept longer-term membership, each pass runs for 30-days. You can cancel at any time and then pick up your membership again at a later date.

This flexibility can be a huge money saver. For instance, you’ve got the ability to pick and mix which channels you want at any time. Just want Sky Cinema at Christmas? Fine, there’s no minimum 18 months with NOW.

Plus, as I share in my hacks to cut streaming costs, you can play the same swapping game with other streaming services – you really don’t need more than one service at any time.

You can get Sky Atlantic

I know many Virgin subscribers already paying for Sky channels who take out NOW just to get Sky Atlantic. That’s all well and good, but it does mean you’re paying twice for the other channels. So it makes sense to go full NOW.

You get kids channels included

Sky charges £8 a month extra to get the kids channels, but if you buy a NOW Entertainment pass, they’re included at no extra cost.

You can get Sky channels if you can’t have a dish or cable

There will also be some people who’ve wanted Sky for years but haven’t been able to add a satellite dish or get a cable connection. Though the Sky Stream and Sky Glass services also provides Sky channels over the internet, I’d still vote for NOW. Here’s my Sky Stream vs NOW comparison.

You can ditch the TV Licence

Though I’m a fan of the BBC, if you only watch NOW content on-demand (so not live), and also don’t watch any other live TV or iPlayer, then you can stop paying the TV Licence. However, I’d urge you to keep paying for it as it funds much more than just TV.

NOW TV pros and cons

What’s good about NOW

I’ve covered most of the benefits above, but here are the main ones to consider:

• 30-day rolling contract
• Cancel when you want
• Flexibility to choose the passes you want
• Cheaper per pass than Sky
• Loads of deals to bring the price down
• Get Sky Atlantic without signing up to Sky
• No need for a satellite dish or cable
• Available on most smart sticks and some smart TVs

What’s bad about NOW

Now isn’t perfect though. If you do end up paying full price for all the passes and Ultra Boost, that’s a huge £79 each month. It might not even be better value than Sky (those same channels would cost £124 a month at full price but you get Netflix included),

And the addition of adverts is a right pain. I think most people will want to pay for Boost each month for its extra features. At £6 to £9 that’s a rip-off, and really adds to the cost. But if you get the price down, as you can with all the passes, it’s not so bad.

Plus, I feel there’s been less to watch over recent years. For example, the rise of Disney+ has meant Marvel, Star Wars, Disney and Fox content (eg The Walking Dead) left Sky. A good reason to not pay every month.

And over the last three or four years there have been fewer hacks and freebies which previously helped me really cut what I pay. More recently some welcome and existing customer offers have introduced minimum terms between six and 12 months, taking away the flexibility that helps keep NOW cheaper.

Here’s a list of the main issues to be aware of:

• Not full HD or 4K or surround sound unless you pay for NOW Boost
• Adverts if you don’t add a NOW Boost membership
• Can only stream on device at a time without NOW Boost
• Multiple pass costs can add up
• Fewer offers than there used to be
• Some offers require a six to 12 months commitment
• Content library is getting smaller as other services take back rights (eg Disney+)
• You can’t record

Getting NOW TV for less

Though there are fewer special offers than there used to be, it’s still possible to pay less than full price most of the time.

I write about the best offers on my NOW TV deals page and regularly update it when I spot new promotions and savings, but here are a few places to look.

First time NOW TV deals

New customers can often get up to 50% off Entertainment and Cinema passes, often for more than one month. Though watch out for long minimum terms. You might be better off paying full price for one month and then trying the next hack to reduce the price for futher months. Sadly there’s no longer a 7-day free trial.

Cancelling for deals

When you go to cancel your memberships you’ll usually be offered a discount for changing your mind. These can vary according to individual customers and the time of year, but I’ve almost always been offered some form of discount.

This has worked for me on the Boost memberships too. Here’s more on how to cancel NOW.

Checking your emails

NOW will often email you a discounted or even free pass – though only if you aren’t already signed up to that membership. Another reason to hit cancel!

Only paying when you need it

If you are paying for other streaming services at the same time there’s no way you can get your money’s worth from each one. Take advantage of the ability to cancel and rejoin later but focusing on one streaming service at a time.

Will NOW save you money?

It really depends on what you are currently paying!

If you are signed up for the likes of Sky TV or Virgin Media then I think you will almost certainly save money switching to NOW.

Not only is it cheaper each month for each tier/pass, but you have the flexibility to mix up the passes without having to pay for the basic channels.

But if you’ve already ditched Sky and only have streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, you might find NOW works out more expensive. If you end up adding NOW to your subscriptions without cancelling one of the others then you will obviously spend more money.

However, if you only sign up to NOW when you want to watch it and / or when there are special offers (and there frequently are), then you will be paying far less.

How do you watch NOW TV?

You need a decent internet connection to stream programmes via NOW. If you can do this already with iPlayer then you’ll be ok for NOW.

Lots of smart TVs and smart sticks will have a NOW TV app built-in, and this is the easiest way to watch NOW TV. Alternatively NOW TV can be streamed via your computer, phone or tablet (and downloaded to the latter two).

If you don’t have the app then it’s worth buying a smart stick to plug into your telly. These don’t have to cost much, with deals often running to get then for as little as £22. They also have apps to let you watch Netflix, iPlayer and other on-demand services.

You can register your account on an unlimited number of devices though you can only watch on one at a time unless you pay for one of the Boost memberships.

I watch on my Samsung TV in the lounge, or via a Roku stick connected to the bedroom TV. You can also get the app on devices and TV such as LG, Amazon Fire Sticks, Xbox X or S, Playstation 4 or 5 and more. Here’s the latest list of supported devices.

What channels can you watch on NOW TV?

Here’s more detail on all the different NOW TV passes and the channels available on each one.

The Entertainment Pass

With this pass you get access to all the main Sky TV channels including streaming of Sky Atlantic, Sky Max and more, plus full box sets of new shows and classic series such as Game of Thrones, The Sopranos and West World (the exact titles do come and go throughout the year). It’s also the only way to get Sky Atlantic if you don’t have full Sky TV.

There used to be a separate Kids Pass, but that was merged with the Entertainment Pass in 2021.

The NOW TV Entertainment Pass gives you access to 15 Sky channels and six kids channels.

• Sky Showcase (live only)
• Sky Max
• Sky Atlantic
• Sky Witness
• Sky Arts
• Sky Crime
• Sky Nature
• Sky Documentaries
• Sky Comedy
• Sky History
• Comedy Central
• U&Alibi
• MTV
• U&Gold
• SyFy
• Boomerang
• Cartoonito
• Cartoon Network
• Nickelodeon
• Nick Jr
• Nick Toons

The Sky Cinema Pass

This movie package has all the films on Sky Cinema (formerly Sky Movies) channels. The films are generally more recent movies than those on Netflix and Amazon, along with plenty of classics.

• Sky Cinema Premiere
• Sky Cinema Hits
• Sky Cinema Action
• Sky Cinema Animation
• Sky Cinema Family
• Sky Cinema Comedy
• Sky Cinema Sci-fi Horror
• Sky CInema Thriller
• Sky Cinema Greats
• Sky Cinema Drama
• Sky Cinema seasonal (eg Christmas)

The Sky Sports pass

The NOW TV Sky Sports Pass gives you all 9 Sky Sports channels plus Sky Sports news

• Sky Sports Main Event
• Sky Sports Premier League
• Sky Sports Football
• Sky Sports Cricket
• Sky Sports Tennis
• Sky Sports Golf
• Sky Sports F1
• Sky Sports +
• Sky Sports Action
• Sky Sports News

The Hayu Pass

The NOW TV Hayu Pass features shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians and the Real Housewives of Atlanta.