Dump SkyTV and get NowTV?

PaulCa · 15 Sep 2018 at 14:45

So I'm currently paying around £56 a month for SkyTV. That's the HD and OnDemand pack with the Entertainment pack.

The thing is the quality of the content has gone down hill over the past few years with the "non-fictional" channels which attracted me to Sky now being filled with non-sense pantomime reality shows and "Mega Shark" BS. There is very little worth watching.

It's basically not worth £56 a month to me when there is much better non-fictional content available through YouTube.

The sticking point however is SkyF1. Because this was bundled as a FREE channel originally and I have no changed my package since I still have it for FREE. If I change any of the my sky subscription I will lose it and have to pay for the Football in order to watch F1.

I looked briefly into NowTV but I left a bit confused about what is available and what isn't.

For example I very seldom sit down to watch Live TV anymore. I record most things with SkyPlus and then watch them when I want. That includes the F1. However some support forum messages on nowtv community suggests that buying a day pass for Sky Sports does not give you access to the OnDemand, so I might not be able to buy a day pass and watch the Qualifying and Race.

Similarly I'd like to buy the Entertainments pass once in a while and binge watch some space documentaries or similar.

Anyone any experience with NowTV can advise the pros and cons?

andicole0 · 15 Sep 2018 at 14:57

What! you can't have any other sport without football!! That's terrible.
Andi.

DJ85 · 15 Sep 2018 at 18:10

I think now tv is pretty good, I still have my sky but buy weekend passes for the f1 from eBay for when I’m home and not away with work.

Also picked up 6 months of movies for £10 off gumtree.

Find cheap passes everywhere.

Slam62 · 15 Sep 2018 at 18:10

I've phoned the police don't worry

You can't record now tv and sport isn't available on catchup

varkanoid · 16 Sep 2018 at 17:14

Switched from Sky to NowTV a few years ago and never looked back. Dont miss Sky at all. Can just watch the Sky sports footy etc when I want, can get cheap 6 month entertainment passers for when TWD, Westworld etc is on. Just a pity you cant watch the red button Sport streams.

Jonnybmac · 16 Sep 2018 at 17:44

Doesn't the f1 online portal offer catch up streaming? Or live in the us (vpn?)

Psycho Sonny · 16 Sep 2018 at 21:14

Now TV is very basic. 720p. Also for sports it's stupidly expensive. Like £10 for a day pass.

It's good for movies if you get a good deal now and again.

stoofa · 17 Sep 2018 at 13:09

If Now offered 1080 I'd make the jump in a heartbeat. I tried it last year and whereas 720p looked acceptable, I really would miss that higher resolution. I could have sworn I read Now were moving to 1080 soon?

MissChief · 17 Sep 2018 at 13:27

stoofa said:
If Now offered 1080 I'd make the jump in a heartbeat. I tried it last year and whereas 720p looked acceptable, I really would miss that higher resolution. I could have sworn I read Now were moving to 1080 soon?

1080 next year apparently.

varkanoid · 17 Sep 2018 at 18:22

Psycho Sonny said:
Now TV is very basic. 720p. Also for sports it's stupidly expensive. Like £10 for a day pass.

It's good for movies if you get a good deal now and again.

The price is all relative, its currently £7.99 for a day pass, cheaper if you know where to look. Also monthly passes can be got for £25 or less and you can also do the cancel shuffle for an offer too.
We might watch one or two football matches a month. So £15 if we had the day pass. However if we watch more than two then we just go for the month pass which is still cheapert anyway. Going on Sky's website now for Sky Entertainment, Sky Sports, in HD its £40 a month which is an offer so end of term it will be £58 or more and then you do the cancel shuffle. So why pay £25 extra for something I`m not going to watch and the content I do watch I get free for elsewhere anyway. The picture with a Smart NowTV box is not that bad.

Its always going to seem slightly more expensive as Sky own both they dont want people flooding to NowTV as there main Sky TV service is their biggest earner. Thats fine if you want to pay Sky they offer a good service but I dont think its value for money when you can have so wildly different offers floating around if you are prepared to get them.

For instance as a new subscriber £199 is ridiculous for a box you dont own.

Captain · 17 Sep 2018 at 18:47

Psycho Sonny said:
Now TV is very basic. 720p. Also for sports it's stupidly expensive. Like £10 for a day pass.

It's good for movies if you get a good deal now and again.

It may be 720p but the picture on my KS7000 HDR tv is very good when watching sports and movies. Perfectly acceptable for the low cost. It's also £7.99 for a day pass, not £10.

pastymuncher · 17 Sep 2018 at 19:33

Despite all the doom and gloom earlier in the year about F1 only being on Sky from 2019 it now turns out that C4 will be showing highlights of all races plus the British GP live next year. No need to pay for Sky to watch F1. We need a thumbs up smiley on here.

TALON1973 · 17 Sep 2018 at 20:24

PaulCa said:
However some support forum messages on nowtv community suggests that buying a day pass for Sky Sports does not give you access to the On Demand.

Anyone any experience with NowTV can advise the pros and cons?

There is no on demand with the sports... Even on a month pass. You basically either catch a rerun or your stuffed.

xs2man · 17 Sep 2018 at 23:43

The F1 is my biggest bug bear with Now TV.

I have recently considered going back to regular sky so I can watch stuff in HD. You get live Sky channels in HD, so like movies and entertainment. Or the on demand stuff, but I have the smart box and don't get any of the free to air channels in HD through it. So I have been thinking about coming back. But as said, all that initial investment to rent a box is just absurd.

Whenever they start asking for full price for the passes, I just go and cancel them, and end up with them half price. So somewhere around £8 a month for Movies & Entertainment. Can't really grumble at that price. They give you that for about 4 months at a time, so set an alarm on your calander and do the dance every 4 months or so.

*** Don't hint at piracy ***

Psycho Sonny · 18 Sep 2018 at 11:13

varkanoid said:
The price is all relative, its currently £7.99 for a day pass, cheaper if you know where to look. Also monthly passes can be got for £25 or less and you can also do the cancel shuffle for an offer too.
We might watch one or two football matches a month. So £15 if we had the day pass. However if we watch more than two then we just go for the month pass which is still cheapert anyway. Going on Sky's website now for Sky Entertainment, Sky Sports, in HD its £40 a month which is an offer so end of term it will be £58 or more and then you do the cancel shuffle. So why pay £25 extra for something I`m not going to watch and the content I do watch I get free for elsewhere anyway. The picture with a Smart NowTV box is not that bad.

Its always going to seem slightly more expensive as Sky own both they dont want people flooding to NowTV as there main Sky TV service is their biggest earner. Thats fine if you want to pay Sky they offer a good service but I dont think its value for money when you can have so wildly different offers floating around if you are prepared to get them.

For instance as a new subscriber £199 is ridiculous for a box you dont own.

Normal sky offers recording, etc. You get so much more for the extra £15

xs2man · 18 Sep 2018 at 11:40

Psycho Sonny said:
Normal sky offers recording, etc. You get so much more for the extra £15

You say etc... But the only thing I see there that is worth having (for him, as well as me) IS recording. Neither of us watch the football. I certainly don't watch ANY other sports channels (I had sports last time I had Sky as it was the ONLY way to get F1, and the ONLY sports I watched on it was F1. All the other motor racing worth watching was on BT or some other sports channels).

So it's £25 per month to record the F1 so you can watch it when you want to watch it. Or nothing to watch the highlights on demand on All4 when you want to watch it. £25 is a bit much just to watch 20-30 mins more racing in HD. Well, it is to me. Actually just had a look on Sky's shop there. £18 a month just for the F1 channel. Plus an extra £6 if you want it in HD. Man that's a LOT for a couple hours racing every other Sunday.

MikeTheNative · 18 Sep 2018 at 11:41

Pricing doesn't make sense either. Now TV monthly pass is £34 which is more than the cost of my Sky TV + Sport package. I'm not tied into a contract either.

MikeTheNative · 18 Sep 2018 at 11:43

xs2man said:
You say etc... But the only thing I see there that is worth having (for him, as well as me) IS recording. Neither of us watch the football. I certainly don't watch ANY other sports channels (I had sports last time I had Sky as it was the ONLY way to get F1, and the ONLY sports I watched on it was F1. All the other motor racing worth watching was on BT or some other sports channels).

So it's £25 per month to record the F1 so you can watch it when you want to watch it. Or nothing to watch the highlights on demand on All4 when you want to watch it. £25 is a bit much just to watch 20-30 mins more racing in HD. Well, it is to me. Actually just had a look on Sky's shop there. £18 a month just for the F1 channel. Plus an extra £6 if you want it in HD. Man that's a LOT for a couple hours racing every other Sunday.

Sky is like Dominoes, if you are paying full price you are doing it wrong. They offer loads of deals all time. I've paid around £17 for full sport package last few years.

glenimp617 · 18 Sep 2018 at 11:50

Just moved to Now TV

Fibre Internet, Landline, Entertainment, Movies £27 a month

Sports £20 offer, but declined for the minute as waiting for black friday

jpaul · 18 Sep 2018 at 12:49

TheOracle said:
Just moved to Now TV
Fibre Internet, Landline, Entertainment, Movies £27 a month
Sports £20 offer, but declined for the minute as waiting for black friday

sounds a good deal .. where did you find Fibre with Ent+movies combined ? all i can see on hotuk is
Fab Fibre Broadband (Up to 40 Mbps) & Line Rental for £20 a month (£240 a year) @ NowTV

[ ... you can typically do nowtv Ent-only @£3p/m with online purchase of vouchers but all in £27's good. ]