What are the differences between NOW TV and Sky TV?

In the 20th century, there was a clear delineation between television and internet services.

However, the advent of high-speed home broadband and streaming platforms has blurred these boundaries.

Today, there are numerous companies providing a blend of live and on-demand content for subscribers. Some are direct competitors, while others are closely related.

The streaming media market is undoubtedly saturated, and there’s a surprising degree of crossover and shared content.

It would require a fairly complex diagram to outline the degree of overlap between the BBC iPlayer and BritBox, for instance.

Things are no less complicated when you consider the relationship between NOW TV and Sky TV, especially in light of services like Sky Glass and Sky Go.

There’s no point subscribing to both NOW TV and Sky TV, so which of these two related platforms offers the best value and range of programming?

A bit dishy

It’s exactly three years since Sky Glass launched, offering a broadband-based service which eliminated the reliance on satellite dishes for the first time in the company’s 32-year history.

Available through proprietary television sets, as reviewed in this article, Sky Glass was an extension of the Sky Go app that already offered live and catch-up broadcasting.

Sky insiders say Glass has been a huge success since its launch, but it has further blurred the boundaries between live broadcasting and streaming services.

That’s a particular problem for NOW TV, a streaming platform which derives most of its content directly from Sky.

Visit the NOW TV homepage, and featured shows are all broadcast on Sky channels like Max or Atlantic.

Its Cinema Membership package unlocks Sky Original films, while its Entertainment Membership offers live Sky streaming and its Sports pack unlocks Sky Sports channels.

Even the related NOW Broadband service is powered by Sky, whose own ISP platform is one of the UK’s biggest and best-known.

Which platform should I choose?

To help determine the differences between NOW TV and Sky TV, it’s important to consider their respective strengths.

If you’re able to commission the installation of a satellite dish on your property (or already have one), Sky offers far more content.

As well as its proprietary entertainment, film and sport channels, it hosts hundreds of other third-party stations, many from overseas broadcasters or covering niche interests.

You can watch Sky if your broadband goes down, though any outage will knock out mini-boxes in other rooms and could render on-demand content temporarily unavailable.

You can also enjoy Sky even if your internet connection is a sluggish ADSL service, whereas streaming (particularly in HD or 4K) is difficult without a full fibre connection.

However, installing a dish or signing up to a minimum 12-month contract may not suit some consumers.

NOW offers subscriptions on a rolling monthly or six-month contract basis.

It’s also possible to buy one-day passes for all 12 Sky Sports channels, if you can’t bear to miss a particular EFL match, F1 race or cricket ODI.

While NOW’s basic package prices include adverts, it’s possible to upgrade your subscription to cut adverts out of non-live broadcasts for £6 extra per month.

You can also pay more to add 4K Ultra HD on compatible devices, stream on up to three machines simultaneously, and benefit from Dolby Atmos surround sound.

By this point, prices will be nudging those of a Sky subscription, but you can get NOW in a rented flat with no communal dish, or a conservation area without needing planning approval.

Sky Glass involves expensive proprietary televisions, which are tactile and pin-sharp but offer limited specifications and may require the replacement of a perfectly functional TV.

On the upside, any Sky package incorporates the full roster of Freeview channels, whereas a NOW subscription won’t enable you to watch BBC or ITV stations.

The choice between these two overlapping services will ultimately depend on your existing home hardware, internet connection speeds and levels of interest in different types of content.