Sky’s NOW has just dropped its Entertainment membership to one of its lowest prices ever – and with HBO Max launching on March 26, the timing is unlikely to be a coincidence.
Just a few weeks ago, NOW was offering Entertainment bundled with Boost for £4.99/month. Now the price has gone even lower – £2.99/month, but the Boost bundle has disappeared (see the full deals roundup below).
The cynical read is that Sky wants as many people as possible locked into NOW subscriptions before HBO Max arrives – because the more subscribers they have when the big launch happens, the more likely those people are to think of NOW (and Sky) as the natural home of HBO content, rather than the standalone HBO Max app.
Either way, £2.99/month is a tempting price. But as always with NOW, the headline figure doesn’t tell the whole story.
And first, the usual warning applies: NOW’s pricing has been all over the place in recent weeks, with deals appearing and vanishing sometimes within days.
Everything below is live as of today – but don’t be surprised if things look different tomorrow (furthermore, people on different devices – such as mobile vs desktop – sometimes see different deals and prices on NOW).
What Is NOW?
For those new to the service, NOW (formerly NOW TV) is Sky’s standalone streaming platform – no dish, no engineer, no specialist hardware required. It runs through apps on Smart TVs, streaming sticks, phones and tablets, making it one of the most flexible ways to access Sky’s content.
There are three main memberships. Entertainment (normally £9.99/month) gives you Sky’s TV channels – Sky Atlantic, Sky Comedy, Sky Crime, and more – alongside Sky Originals, exclusive US shows, and the renewed Sky One.
Cinema (normally £9.99/month) covers Sky Cinema’s film channels, with new blockbusters and a back catalogue.
Sports (normally £34.99/month) gets you all Sky Sports channels plus Sky Sports+.
On top of those, two optional Boost tiers change the experience considerably. Without either, you’re stuck at 720p video quality, stereo sound, one stream at a time, and adverts on on-demand content.
Boost (£6/month) upgrades you to Full HD 1080p, Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, ad-free on-demand viewing, and two simultaneous streams.
Ultra Boost (£9/month) goes further still with up to 4K Ultra HD HDR, Dolby Atmos, and three simultaneous streams. Both Boost tiers stay on flexible monthly contracts – no minimum term required.
What’s About To Change With HBO Max
After years of waiting, HBO Max – Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service – is finally launching in the UK on March 26, just over three weeks away.
It brings HBO’s full prestige drama back catalogue (Game of Thrones, Succession, The Sopranos, The Wire), Warner Bros. films, new productions like the award-winning The Pitt, and TNT Sports (moving over from Discovery+).
The relationship between HBO Max and Sky in the UK is a complicated one. HBO content has been the backbone of Sky Atlantic for years – Euphoria, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones all had their UK premieres there.
And despite HBO Max now launching as its own standalone service, that relationship isn’t going away entirely.
Upcoming seasons of those established HBO shows will continue to air on Sky Atlantic simultaneously with HBO Max – so if you’re a NOW subscriber, you’ll still watch new episodes of The Last of Us or House of the Dragon directly through NOW, just as you do today.
It’s worth noting that this dynamic extends beyond NOW. From April 1, Sky Atlantic is also arriving on Virgin Media at no extra cost for eligible customers – though Virgin subscribers won’t get HBO Max bundled in the way NOW and Sky customers will, and will need to subscribe separately if they want it.
From March 26, all existing NOW Entertainment members will automatically be upgraded to a new NOW Entertainment & HBO Max membership at no extra cost.
That means anyone signing up to the deals below today will find HBO Max’s TV shows included in their subscription from next month, without lifting a finger.
That’s good news. But it’s worth being clear about what you’re actually getting – because the version of HBO Max on NOW is more limited than a direct subscription.
What NOW Subscribers Get (And Don’t Get) From HBO Max
The HBO Max content integrated into NOW covers TV shows only. HBO Max’s own Basic with Ads tier at £4.99/month direct includes Warner Bros. films as well – but those won’t be part of the NOW Entertainment & HBO Max membership.
Films on NOW remain the territory of the Cinema membership, and it’s not yet fully confirmed how the film library available through NOW Cinema will compare to what direct HBO Max subscribers get.
Everything is integrated within the NOW app itself, so HBO shows will sit alongside Sky content in one place, creating a seamless experience.
There’s also a quality consideration worth flagging. Sky confirmed to us that Boost and Ultra Boost benefits will apply to HBO Max content viewed through the NOW app, just as they do with everything else.
So Boost subscribers get Full HD and ad-free on-demand, while Ultra Boost subscribers get 4K and Dolby Atmos.
But without any Boost, you’ll be watching HBO Max content in 720p – which is actually a lower resolution than you’d get subscribing directly to HBO Max, where even the cheapest Basic with Ads tier (£4.99/month) streams in Full HD 1080p.
The New NOW Deals
NOW has overhauled its pricing again this week – and while the headline price is lower than ever, the structure has changed in ways that are worth understanding carefully.
As with all of NOW’s discounted deals, the history here matters. When NOW launched in 2012, it was specifically positioned as the contract-free streaming alternative – start and stop whenever you like, no commitment.
Minimum-term deals crept in from 2023, initially at 6 months. They’re now firmly 12 months for any meaningful discount, and the gap between flexible and contract pricing continues to widen.
Just a couple of weeks ago, NOW was offering Entertainment plus Boost bundled together for £4.99/month on a 12-month term – arguably a better overall deal for those who want or need Boost. But that deal is gone… for now (pun intended).
Entertainment Deals
Entertainment Saver – £2.99/month: NOW’s lowest price in recent memory for the Entertainment membership – less than a third of the regular £9.99/month flexible rate (they sometimes offer even lower prices for subscribers who try to cancel, or those who were subscribed in the past – but £2.99/month as a public offer open to anyone – that’s new).
However, this comes without Boost, so you’re looking at 720p, ads on on-demand content, and one stream at a time. 12-month minimum term, then £9.99/month unless you cancel.
Flexible Entertainment – £5.99/month: An unusual one – a discounted flexible plan at £5.99/month for up to 12 months, with no minimum term and the ability to cancel anytime.
The catch is that if you do cancel, you’ll be back to whatever deal is available at the time if you want to return – so you can’t count on getting £5.99 again. For those who value flexibility over rock-bottom pricing, this is worth considering.
For both deals, Boost and Ultra Boost can be added on top at their regular prices – with new Boost customers getting a free one-month trial before the £6/month or £9/month charge kicks in.
Given that HBO Max content on NOW will be in 720p without Boost, anyone taking the £2.99/month deal should factor in the cost of Boost if picture quality matters to them.
With Boost added, the total rises to £8.99/month after the free trial – still a saving versus the £15.99/month normal combined price, but a different proposition to the headline figure.
Cinema Deals
Cinema deals have temporarily disappeared from NOW’s website at the time of writing. We’d expect new offers to appear as the month progresses – particularly with HBO Max launching at the end of March – so it’s worth keeping an eye out.
It’s also worth noting that the Cinema membership covers Warner Bros. theatrical releases through Sky Cinema, which is particularly relevant now that HBO Max is arriving – the Entertainment & HBO Max membership won’t include any Warner Bros. films, so Cinema remains the route to those on NOW.
Sports Deals
Sports 12-Month Saver – £27.99/month: All Sky Sports channels at 20% off the regular rate. 12-month minimum term, then £34.99/month.
Entertainment & Sports Bundle – £30.98/month: Both Sports and Entertainment memberships together on a 12-month minimum term. No Boost included.
Fully Flexible Sports – £34.99/month: No contract, cancel anytime.
There’s also a trick worth knowing about for Sports. Go to NOW’s Sports page, select the Temporary Access tab, choose Day Membership, and you may be presented with a no-contract offer of £19.99/month for the first 6 months, reverting to £34.99/month after that. No commitment required.
Is £2.99/month Good Value?
On paper, £2.99/month for Sky’s TV channels plus HBO Max content from March 26 is a remarkable price. Over the 12-month term you’ll pay just £35.88 in total.
But the value calculation shifts depending on how much Boost matters to you. Without it, you’re getting a noticeably limited experience – 720p picture quality, ads on everything on-demand, and a single stream.
The HBO Max content specifically will look worse than if you subscribed to HBO Max directly for £4.99/month.
With Boost added (£6/month after the free trial), the total rises to £8.99/month – still good value for Sky channels plus HBO shows in Full HD, but a different proposition, especially when you have to sign up for 12 months.
If you’re confident you’ll want the service for a full year and you either don’t mind the 720p picture or you’re planning to add Boost anyway, the £2.99/month deal is hard to argue with.
If flexibility matters more than savings, the £5.99/month no-contract option is worth considering instead – it costs more, but you’re not locked in.
And as always, if you’re an existing NOW subscriber, it’s worth trying the cancellation flow before committing to anything – NOW has a habit of presenting retention offers that don’t require any minimum term at all.
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I have my NOW + BOOST subscription via my EE (ex BT) TV package and use my NOW sticks on my TVs that don’t have the app available and so far all works well. Will my price paid to SKY/NOW reduce as a result of the latest price update?