NOW TV is worth it if you want Sky shows or movies. It is also recommended for live Sky Sports without signing up for a traditional Sky TV package.
The catch is that NOW is not really one subscription. Different memberships cover different content, and the cheapest advertised prices often come with minimum terms. Picture quality and simultaneous streaming also depend on whether you pay extra for Boost or Ultra Boost.
So, whether NOW is good value depends heavily on what you actually want to watch. Here are five things worth knowing before you subscribe.
1. There is no single NOW subscription that includes everything
NOW separates its main content into Entertainment, Cinema, and Sports memberships.
Entertainment costs £7.99 on the flexible plan and includes Sky Originals, exclusive US shows, live entertainment channels, and major returning HBO series. If you want access to every HBO Max series, you need Entertainment & HBO Max instead, which costs £9.99 and includes HBO Max Basic with Ads.
Cinema is another £9.99, while Sports costs £34.99. Buying several memberships can therefore make NOW considerably more expensive than the attractive entry price suggests.
2. The cheapest prices lock you in for months
NOW still promotes itself as a flexible streaming service, but you need to look closely at the plan before paying.
Its fully flexible memberships can be cancelled monthly. NOW also sells cheaper Saver plans that require a minimum commitment. Current advertised prices start from £4.99 for Entertainment and £6.99 for Entertainment & HBO Max, generally with six-month minimum terms. Sports Saver can drop the price to £27.99 a month but requires a 12-month minimum term.
If you only want NOW for one series or a few months of football, the flexible price may make more sense even though it costs more each month.
A Saver plan is better suited to someone who already knows they will keep the service throughout the minimum period.
3. The basic streaming quality has some noticeable limits
A standard NOW membership streams at up to 720p and allows only one person to watch at a time.
Boost costs £6 extra per month. It raises supported content to 1080p. It also adds Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, allows two simultaneous streams, and removes ads from on-demand shows, movies, and sports. Ads still appear on live channels and live sport.
Ultra Boost costs £9 per month and raises the limit to three simultaneous streams. Selected content can play in 4K Ultra HD HDR with Dolby Atmos on compatible devices.
4. Sports is expensive, but it is cheaper than getting Sky TV
NOW Sports is one of the service’s biggest reasons to subscribe.
The £34.99 flexible Month Membership gives you all 12 Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+ streams. There is also a £14.99 Sports Day Membership if you only need access for 24 hours.
Sky Box Office events are not included, so a Sports membership will not automatically cover every pay-per-view event.
The Day Membership is particularly useful for occasional viewers, while regular sports fans should compare the monthly and Saver prices. F1 fans could also check our guide to streaming Formula 1 live, especially since Sky remains the main UK home of live F1 coverage.
5. NOW is less convincing as your only streaming service
NOW makes the most sense when there is specific Sky content you cannot easily get elsewhere.
But, there are limits. You cannot stream your UK NOW membership while travelling outside the UK, although previously downloaded programmes can still be watched offline abroad.
It is also not a traditional DVR-based television service. If recording live television matters to you, our guide to recording programmes with NOW TV explains the available options.