Embrace freedom, flexibility, and entertainment with NOW, Sky's celebrated streaming service. With packages customisable to each viewer's unique preferences —— find your ideal membership. This guide will help you discover what could be right for you.
From HBO shows to movies to sports and reality TV – NOW is revolutionising the streaming subscription model. Its commitment to flexibility empowers customers to dive in and out of services as they wish, with no long-term tie-ups.
NOW, formerly known as Now TV, is a highly acclaimed streaming service in the UK owned and operated by Sky. Offering a wide range of bespoke packages, from entertainment and movie bundles to sports and kids’ programming, NOW enables viewers to tailor their subscriptions to best align with their viewing preferences.
Let’s delve into the specifics of this intriguing service, including its free trials, available packages, and more.
The most enticing trait of NOW is, without a doubt, its commitment to flexibility. Unlike traditional television subscription services, which often require long-term commitment, NOW’s services are spun around monthly membership passes.
This means that customers can join or leave the service when they wish, without the commitment of a long-term contract.
NOW membership types
Drawing its content from Sky’s vast library, NOW offers a host of packages, referred to as “memberships” formerly known as passes.
The Entertainment Membership incorporates an array of popular channels such as Sky One, Sky Atlantic (home to HBO in the UK), and Comedy Central, granting access to a buffet of superb series. It is currently £9.99 per month for Entertainment,
Movie lovers can enjoy the Sky Cinema Membership, which boasts a new premiere every day, coupled with over a thousand films on demand. It is also £9.99 per month.
Image: Sky
For fans of the more thrilling side of life, the Sports Membership offers both a day pass and a monthly pass to Sky Sports channels, fit for catching live events. It is currently £34.99 per month, but includes all the major sports events in the year broadcast on Sky. Or if you have one big game in mind, then you can buy a 24 hour pass for £14.99 — which seems quite expensive when you could just go to the pub!
Alternatively, the Hayu Membership carries the latest American reality TV shows for £4.99 per month. It’s worth noting that these passes can be grouped together or subscribed to independently, providing flexibility to subscribers, but it might get expensive to have all of them at once.
NOW’s service is not confined to your home cinema or living room TV, it can stream on over 60 types of devices including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and game consoles, which adds to its value proposition by providing a seamless viewing experience on-the-go.
NOW free trial?
As for free trials, NOW has evolved its strategy over time. Until 2019, NOW offered a 14-day free trial to provide new subscribers an opportunity to gauge the quality of their services. However, as of today, NOW seems to have phased out the free trial tactic.
Image: Sky
Instead, it regularly advertises discounted introductory offers, allowing new customers to experience their service at a reduced rate.
NOW does occasionally offer free trials for its memberships, but they are included in the introductory offers. For example, a 6-Month Saver of Entertainment Membership may get a 7-day trial of a Cinema Membership. But standalone trials are a thing of the past.
Despite the absence of a free trial, NOW’s proposition of month-to-month, cancel-anytime membership plans somewhat compensates for this.
Any introductory offers?
However, NOW does offer six-month minimum contracts for less, granting new subscribers a chance to save money whilst showcasing the confidence NOW has in its products.
Image: Sky
Entertainment Membership: You can get Entertainment for £6.99 per month for six months (saves £3 per month compared to standard monthly price) after that it goes back up to £9.99 per month. You can also get a 7-day trial of Cinema Pass and NOW Boost with this option.
Cinema Membership: Get a 6-month saver for £6.99 per month, which is then £9.99 after the minimum term. Plus you can watch in Full HD on 3 devices at once with a 7 day free trial of NOW Boost (£6 per month afterwards).
Entertainment & Cinema Membership: Both together is £13.99 a month for six months, which is a minimum agreement. It is then £19.98 per month afterwards (this is the normal price). You also get a free 7-day NOW Boost pass.
Sports Membership: A 6-month Saver Membership is £26 per month and then afterwards it goes back to £34.99 per month. You get 12 Sky Sports channels and a one month trial to NOW Boost.
Hayu Membership: Free for 7 days, then £4.99 per month.
NOW Boost Membership: Free for 7 days, then £6 per month.
Although the model of subscription may vary than the norm with no free trials, NOW still emerges as a hefty competitor in the TV subscription service market due to its flexible packages, amount of content, usability across multiple devices, and discounted introductory offers.
It effectively reshapes the traditional concept of a TV subscription service, offering an alternative for viewers seeking a non-binding, flexible, and diverse streaming service.
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Peter Carr
I'm Peter Carr, editor for the hotukdeals Magazine. I first played computer games on my dad's ZX Spectrum and have had most major consoles since. Growing up gaming has given me decades of entertainment, I want to share that with you.