For people who want Sky’s programming but without the ‘optimistic’ subscription costs that the company insists on charging, Now TV is a great solution. There are no contracts, you just pay for a Now TV Pass in the area you want to watch, and then stream to your heart’s content.
But which Now TV pass is best? Here’s a quick guide to help you figure out which ones you need.
Which Now TV pass is best?
Entertainment Pass – £8.99 per month (free seven-day trial available)
This is probably the best all-round Now TV pass, purely because you get a whole lot of content that simply isn’t available anywhere else. Where certain movies can be rented or streamed elsewhere, and football matches can be absorbed at the pub, it’s impossible to stream top HBO shows like Succession, Curb Your Enthusiasm or Game of Thrones anywhere else.
You need to watch out, of course, because shows are only on Now TV for a set amount of time. So do time your subscription to get the most out of it.
Sky Cinema – £11.99 per month (free seven-day trial available)
If you like movies, this one is for you, but for me it loses points on two counts. Firstly, many of the movies streamed on the channel – especially older ones – are available on other streaming platforms (at the time of writing The Breakfast Club is on both Now TV and Netflix, for example, while The Wolf of Wall Street is duplicated on Amazon Prime.) Add to this the fact that Now TV only streams in 720p without an extra paid upgrade (more on this later), and this feels weaker value overall.
That said, for new releases it’s pretty hard to beat. Make sure you consult Just Watch before signing up, though, to ensure the movies you want aren’t available anywhere else.
Sky Sports – £9.99 per day / £14.99 per week / £33.99 per month
You can tell where Sky spends most of its money: the rights to show live sports are expensive, and that’s fully passed on to you, the consumer. Still, if you want the Premier League, you don’t have too much choice.
Side note: you can get a Sky Sports mobile pass for a very reasonable £5.99 per month. It only has five Sky Sports channels instead of 11, and it can only be used on smartphones, but it’s hard to argue with the saving, assuming your phone screen isn’t tiny.
Kids Pass – £3.99 per month (free seven-day trial available)
This one is a bit of a no brainer if you have kids – or are an adult who really loves Spongebob Squarepants. At £3.99 per month it’s pretty good value, given it adds six channels not available via Freeview: Boomerang, Cartoonito, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, NickJr and NickToons.
Hayu – £3.99 per month (free seven-day trial available)
I can’t say this Now TV pass appeals to me in the slightest, but don’t let me yuck your yum. Hayu is packed full of American reality TV shows like Million Dollar Listing, Project Runway and Keeping up with the Kardashians. At £3.99 per month, it’s pretty decent value if you like that sort of thing.
What is Now TV Boost?
For an extra £3 per month, you can get Now TV Boost which is a worthwhile upgrade, but feels incredibly stingy considering said extras come with other streaming services as standard.
For your money, you get an upgrade to 1080p HD, Dolby 5.1 surround sound and an increase in your screen cap (you can watch simultaneously on three screens, rather than the usual two.)
Worth paying for, but certainly worth grumbling about while you do.
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