NOW TV launches new Smart Stick with Sky Sports offer
David Farnor | On 24, Feb 2018
NOW launches its new Smart Stick this weekend – and it’s kicking it into stores with a new Sky Sports offer.
The device, which is the smaller cousin to its NOW Box, is the UK’s cheapest streaming stick, priced at £14.99. While that price cut requires the sacrifice of not having Netflix available on the box, the portable media device includes all Freeview catch-up apps (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5), in addition to YouTube, Sky Store (for buying and renting movies) and the newly added UKTV Play app, which hosts shows from UKTV channels Dave, Yesterday, Really and Drama.
It also offers, of course, NOW, which comes with several different subscriptions: an Entertainment Membership, which gives contract-free access to 11 pay-TV channels and over 300 box sets for £7.99 a month; NOW Cinema Membership, which offers on-demand access to Sky Cinema’s library of 1,000+ films, for £9.99 a month; and Sky Sports Pass, offering contract-free access to Sky Sports’ 10 channels on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
The NOW Smart Stick also comes with Voice Search, so you can quickly get to the TV you want by searching for your favourite show, film, actor or director. Live Pause is also available on NOW’s premium channels, including Sky Sports, FOX, Comedy Central and Sky Atlantic.
Bundles are available when purchasing the stick, including a two-month Entertainment Membership for £19.99, a one-month NOW Cinema Membership for £19.99, or a one-month Sky Sports Pass for £29.99. These can be found in high street retailers when buying the stick, or at www.nowtv.com/smart-tv-stick from Monday 26th February.
To kick off the new stick, NOW is also offering a standalone offer for Sky Sports streaming for one weekend only. Usually £33.99 a month, NOW is now offering two months of sports access for £20 a month (a total of £40, versus £67.98). That arrives just in time for the Arsenal v Man City Carabao Cup final, plus Liverpool making a trip to Old Trafford, and Spurs and Chelsea colliding on April Fool’s Day. The Masters Tournament at Augusta is also included, plus 3 FORMULA 1 races, starting with the 2018 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX on 25th March. The offer is available to new NOW customers, or existing NOW customers without a Sky Sports Pass. It expires at midnight on 25th February. For more information, click here.
NOW launches NOW Smart Stick
26th January 2018
NOW is thinking small for its latest bit of kit, as it takes on Amazon’s Fire TV with a new streaming stick.
The NOW Smart Stick, which launches next month, is the continuation of its existing line of streaming devices, which are powered by Roku. The NOW Box has become a popular option for those seeking an easy way to boot up NOW on their television, primarily because of its low price point; while the box does not include Netflix, it does include all the major Freeview catch-up services (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5) and over 50 apps in total (including YouTube, Sky Store and Vevo) for £14.99. For £39.99, you can also get a NOW Box with a Freeview tuner and the ability to pause and rewind live TV.
Now, all that is being condensed into a plug-and-play stick. Also boasting the higher end NOW Box’s ability to pause live TV, it comes with Roku’s built-in Voice Search technology, all for £14.99. For £19.99, meanwhile, you can also bundle the NOW Smart Stick with a two-month NOW Entertainment Membership (usually £7.99 a month) for access to 11 premium channels, including FOX (The Walking Dead), Comedy Central and Sky Atlantic (Big Little Lies, Game of Thrones), and over 300 Box Sets. For the same £19.99 price tag, you can also get a bundle including a half-price NOW Cinema Membership (usually £9.99 a month). A one-month Sky Sports Pass bundle is available for £29.99 (pass usually £33.99 a month).
Commenting on the announcements, Gidon Katz, Managing Director, NOW, says: “If you’re looking for a flexible way to stream great TV, contract free, our plug-and-play NOW Smart Stick is the cheapest in the UK. Just add one of our content passes to stream premium live sports, binge over 300 Box Sets, watch a new movie premiere every day, or keep the family entertained with thousands of kids episodes.”
The packaging for the NOW Smart Stick has been produced without any single use plastic in line with Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign. It arrives as NOW looks to step up its streaming game to become more competitive with its rivals. NOW will be rolling out downloads to its NOW mobile apps this spring, and, by the end of 2018, it will finally introduce full HD live-streaming of NOW’s premium channels and sports, as well as full HD on-demand streaming.
The NOW Smart Stick will be available from next month. For more information, click here.