MediaGuardian reports: BSkyB is to launch its internet service Now TV on Tuesday, with the aim of taking on rivals such as Netflix and LoveFilm, offering movies for £15 a month or up to £3.49 per view.Netflix is currently £5.99 a month and LoveFilm pricing starts at £4.99 a month, so it does make you wonder who will be attracted to a service costing considerably more at £15 a month. It will get streaming movies ahead of other services but surely if people want that they will already have Sky Movies. Maybe when it adds the Sky channels and sports it may make a little more sense for those looking to supplement their Freeview, but that's likely to cost even more, and for now it looks a poor proposition compared with the alternatives.
The service, which will launch this week on PC, Mac and some Android smartphones, will initially only offer Sky Movies content at launch with access to 600 films and 11 channels.
However a typically aggressive rollout plan will see Sky Sports content including Premier League, cricket, rugby and golf before the end of the year, as well as channels including Sky1, Sky Arts and Sky Atlantic.
Now TV will be priced at £15 a month for customers who want to access Sky Movies content, with a "pay and play" option of selecting individual films from 99p to £3.49.
July 16, 2012
Sky launches Now TV
Prepare to be underwhelmed...
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8 comments:
Hi Virgin Media Customers.
Just a quick one.
new channels will be launching on the platform soon.
i have been told about 12 new channels.
(7 - 8) of them should be hd.
any idea what channels
re the new channels, check Media Boy's update...
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/11/33688518-coming-soon-virgin-tv-2012-vol.html
Re the underwhelming Sky service...
wait till TivoBuddy... if the rumours are true. eg (http://www.techradar.com/news/television/virgin-media-unveils-tivo-ipad-app-1019063)
then the app will be awesome and allow for streaming...
to quote... You'll be able to brose the EPG and set recordings on your iPad, as well as catching up on programmes stored in the service's on demand library, even if the TiVo box itself is showing something else at the same time.
According to Sky, only the games consoles will offer HD content, with the focus more on consistency of service than high definition quality on other devices.
"They are working up 720[p] for Xbox, so there will be some high quality experience," a spokesman told TechRadar.
"For the big screen experiences with consoles that's the intention, but with other devices the focus is on uninterrupted viewing."
This would mean that the Xbox, for instance, carries a big proportion of the on-demand content that is available for YouView – including Channel 4, Five and the BBC – along with an HD version of Sky's Now TV and offerings from Blinkbox and Lovefilm.
Considering an Xbox retails for £140 – significantly cheaper than the £300 for the first standalone YouView boxes – it could ask another question of potential buyers.
Interesting they'll be doing 720p on the Xbox. I didn't expect them to offer any HD at all.
Still, at £15 a month, three times more than LoveFilm or Netflix, and with a tiny fraction of the library, they'll need much, much more than 720p to gain any traction.
What are the chances the library is exclusively brainless Hollywood rubbish? I expect to see lots of men in skin tight super hero outfits topping the Sky line-up. I think I'll stick to Netflix and LoveFilm's line-up of high-end Korean and Nordic cinema...
Incidentally I read Sky are doing a Roku version of this too. The Roku is a nice little box which is sadly devoid of UK specific content, just offering iPlayer and Netflix UK.
The rest of their line-up is an eclectic mix of Z list rubbish and ultra extreme US religious sewage. They're desperately in need of gate keeper.
maybe its just me but still ask the question... but why?
If I want sky, why dont i buy a sky service on satelite?
If I have to have an xbox, a high speed BB service which I share with the HD service from sky to deliver its on demand, am I not in the situation where I end up paying almost as much for an inferior service?
I think Now TV exists for a couple of reasons.
Firstly to compete with Netflix and LoveFilm. Netflix is dominant in the US and Sky will naturally be afraid of a similar rise here. However Now TV's £15 a month fee vs Netflix's £6 seems like a huge mis-step.
Secondly it exists to give paywall Sky content to non-subscribers, no matter which platform they use. (ultimately of course, the current list of supported devices is pathetic) With no monthly subscription, and no contract, people can pay for an individual piece of content, or subscribe for a short amount of time, should they choose to.
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