Sky vs NOW

With low prices and flexible contracts, NOW is a very tempting offer, especially compared to Sky's 24-month contracts. However, there are some important differences between the two that might make one provider more suited to your needs.

We’re taking a look at the differences between Sky Q and NOW TV services in terms of their services, channels, on-demand content, contracts, prices, hardware, multiscreen and picture quality to help you make the right choice between the two.

Sky vs NOW: Services offered

Although primarily known as a streaming service, NOW Broadband is also a triple-play provider, meaning you can take your broadband, landline and TV services with them in one monthly bill.

Both Sky and NOW Broadband offer different broadband speed options. Sky's connections start at 59Mbps and reach up to 900Mbps for those who can access its full fibre deals. NOW has three speeds available - 11Mbps, 38Mbps or 63Mbps. While they don't reach as fast as Sky's, many households still have plenty of internet speed.

Both also offer a number of different call plans, such as Sky Pay As You Talk, Sky Talk Evenings & Weekends Extra, Sky Talk Anytime Extra, and Sky Talk International Extra. Going one step beyond triple-play, Sky is a well-established quad-play provider, so you can also bundle your mobile with them, too.

The biggest differentiator between the two providers is their respective TV services, so that's what this guide will focus on.

Sky TV channels vs NOW TV channels

With every TV provider, the package you sign up for determines which channels you get. The big difference between Sky TV and NOW is that you're able to be much more selective of which channels you have with NOW.

There are five different NOW TV memberships for you to choose from, each with a different selection of NOW TV channels included. You can choose to subscribe to all five, just one, or any combination in between on a month-by-month basis.

The NOW TV Entertainment pass gives you access to great pay TV content across 15 pay TV channels, including Sky Atlantic (which is only available on Sky or NOW).

You can watch all 11 Sky Cinema channels with the Sky Cinema pass. Meanwhile, the Sky Sports pass lets you watch all the greatest sports events across Sky’s 11 Sky Sports channels.

In terms of channel numbers, Sky TV dwarfs NOW. While NOW gives you access to around 45 channels if you sign up for every pass, Sky TV packages come with over 300 channels, not including add-ons like Sky Cinema, Sky Sports and access to box sets.

Every Sky TV bundle comes with premium TV channels, including Sky Atlantic, Sky Max, E!, FOX, and MTV. You can also add the 31-day Kids add-on, which includes more kids’ channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

On-demand content on Sky vs NOW

Sky and NOW have three main types of on-demand content: catch-up TV, box sets and on-demand purchases.

Catch-up TV refers to series, episodes or other programmes from the past 30 days, while box sets are older series or programmes that aired outside of the 30-day window of catch-up TV. On-demand purchases are rentals or purchases of the latest films or live events.

With NOW you can watch both catch-up TV and box sets of shows and events that are included in your NOW TV pass. For example, if you sign up for an Entertainment pass, you can watch every episode of Game of Thrones as it aired on Sky Atlantic. However, you won’t be able to watch films on demand, either for free or when purchasing them individually.

Sky has an extensive catch-up TV service, but access to box sets is a bit more limited. Unless you sign up for the Box Sets upgrade, you won’t be able to watch any older box sets for free, but you can buy them on the Sky Store individually. In contrast, if you had NOW TV, you would only have to buy an entire Entertainment pass to do so.

Sky vs NOW contract length

NOW has very flexible contracts no matter which service you take. Every NOW TV membership is available on a rolling monthly basis, and Sky Sports is even more flexible, allowing you to take out a day or month Sky Sports pass on NOW.

This flexibility means you can dip in and out whenever you want to without paying any cancellation fees.

Do you only have time to watch Succession? Sign up for a NOW TV membership, binge the latest series and cancel it once it's finished. Or do you need to keep your kids entertained during the holidays? Buy a NOW Kids membership or NOW Cinema membership for a few months.

Even if you get your broadband and phone services from NOW Broadband, you can still sign up for either an annual or monthly contract, depending on your needs.

Sky, on the other hand, has typically been less flexible. If you sign up for Sky Q, you'll need to sign a 24-month contract. However, the new Sky Stream service is available on a rolling month-by-month contract with a slightly higher monthly rate for your channels.

Sky vs NOW TV cost

Since you only pay for the channels you want, NOW has flexible pricing, as you might expect.

NOW often runs promotions, but standard pricing for TV memberships is still less than a Sky Q package. A NOW Entertainment membership is usually £9.99 a month, as is NOW Cinema. NOW Sports memberships are £14.99 for a day pass and £34.99 for a month pass.

Sky Stream — its standalone TV service, not including broadband and calls — starts around £26 per month and can go up to £37 per month, depending upon which add-ons you choose. Adding Sky Sports or Sky Cinema to your package can set you back another £18 to £27.50 per month, depending on which package(s) you choose.

If you opt for Sky Stream, the price is similar for 24-month contracts and a little more if you choose the month-by-month option.

Devices and set-top boxes

You can watch NOW on up to four compatible devices, including the older generation NOW TV Stick, NOW TV Box, and NOW TV Smart Box.

All of the NOW devices let you stream NOW TV memberships as well as other apps, including catch-up services like Netflix, BBC iPlayer and All 4 – but not Freeview channels, unfortunately.

Although you don’t need a NOW streaming stick to watch NOW, it’s worth remembering that not every device compatible with NOW will let you watch on your TV. Some devices have restrictions on watching live channels on your TV. Read more about how to watch NOW TV on TV in our guide.

Sky Q requires a satellite dish, and you have to watch Sky TV through the Sky Q set-top box. The Sky Q is a top-of-the-line set-top box. You can use it to stream on-demand content or watch, pause, rewind and record live TV. You can either get a box with a 1TB hard drive or a 2TB hard drive to hold even more recordings. The 1TB version lets you record three shows while watching a fourth live, and the 2TB box can record four shows while watching a fifth live.

Read our full Sky Q review

Alternatively, the Sky Stream puck has the standard Sky TV interface, as well as access to additional apps, all delivered via a simple streaming box. There's little to no storage as all content is streamed rather than recorded or downloaded.

Multi-room viewing on Sky and NOW

Both NOW and Sky support multi-room viewing on up to two devices simultaneously. But there are ways to add more screens on both services.

With NOW, although you can register up to four devices on your account, only two can watch TV at the same time. That being said, there’s nothing to stop you from signing up for another account, buying the same NOW TV memberships, and getting a further two devices to watch up to four screens at the same time.

For an extra monthly fee (and potentially a setup fee, depending upon when you sign up for multi-room viewing), Sky will loan you a Sky Q Mini box to let you watch programmes on two TVs at the same time — or three, if you have the 2TB Sky Q box. You can connect up to four boxes in total, but the viewing restrictions will still be the same.

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Streaming on mobile devices

Each NOW account lets you register up to four streaming devices, and you can watch two simultaneously. This is done at the account level, not the TV pass level.

So if you use your mobile to check Sky Sports while you’re running errands with your kids — who are watching Peppa Pig through NOW on their tablet — no one else will be able to watch Sky Atlantic back at home through that same account since two devices are already streaming, even though you’re all watching things through different TV memberships.

Similar to expanding multi-room capabilities, nothing stops you from signing up for a second (or third) account to separate TV memberships. But if more than two people want to watch shows from the same NOW TV membership at the same time, you’ll need to get another account or pass, which adds up.

Learn more in our guide to watching NOW.

Sky Go is free for all Sky customers. It lets you register up to two devices, and you can watch them simultaneously. It supports both live and on-demand TV, including any extra content you pay for, like Sky Cinema or Sky Sports.

Watching through Sky Go does not count toward your multi-room limits, so between Sky Go and Sky Q Mini, you can watch TV on four devices at the same time for free.

Sign up for Sky Go Extra, which is free for multi-room customers, and you can watch on up to four devices (so six simultaneous screens, including the two Sky Q Mini boxes if you’re on multi-room) at the same time. You can also download programmes to watch when you’re not connected to the internet.

Our Sky Go guide provides more information on Sky Go, including what channels are available and which devices are compatible.

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Picture quality

Nowadays, HD is practically standard for content makers, and UHD/4K programming is on the rise, too.

Picture quality on NOW depends on your internet connection and what device you use.

Sky is one of the leaders when it comes to picture quality: Both Sky Q boxes support HD quality, and the 2TB Sky Q supports UHD/4K quality video. Sky actively produces UHD content, particularly for sports and films.

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