Sky launches pay-as-you-go Now TV streaming movie service
updated 12:30 pm EDT, Mon July 16, 2012
Now TV to compete with Netflix, Lovefilm despite high prices
UK-based broadcaster Sky is set to launch a pay-per-view video streaming service. Now TV will offer movies and TV shows from the company's "Sky original and bought content" catalog, with options for both individual purchases and a monthly subscription. The service will be available to the general public, complementing the existing Sky Go offering already used by satellite television subscribers.
Individual films from the 1,000-movie collection will start at £1 ($1.50) for a single-play rental of classic titles, up to £3.50 ($5.50) for more recent films. A subscription service called the Sky Movies Pass lets users choose from over 600 movies for £15 ($23) per month. Although this is considerably more expensive than existing competitors Netflix and Lovefilm, the movie selection is seen by Sky as worth the price difference. Before the end of the year, the service will introduce a Sky Sports package with live sports coverage. An additional package with popular Sky channels will be introduced shortly afterwards.
The service will launch on PC and Mac initially, with Android apps due later this week and an iOS version next month. Versions for YouView, Roku, the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3 will also become available. Sky TV subscribers already have access to Sky Go, streaming the same content viewable on TV, however they will be able to perform individual movie rentals through the Now TV service without upgrading their existing packages. [via Pocket-Lint]
