One year after the last increase, Sky is raising prices for two of NOW TV’s “passes” – the Entertainment Pass, which has popular TV programmes from around the world, and the “hayu” pass, which specialises in American reality TV programmes.
NOW TV is Sky’s answer to Netflix and cord cutters – a cheap TV service that doesn’t require a lengthy contract and gives you flexible packages (“passes”) of content and can be watched on a variety of devices and streaming devices.
The passes include the Entertainment Pass for TV shows, the Cinema Pass for movies, the Kids Pass for children’s content, the Sky Sports Pass, and hayu, which is a standalone service for reality TV. (See our full NOW TV review here).
The increase will come into effect on September 1, 2020 – which is exactly one year after the previous increase of the Entertainment Pass’ price.
Currently, NOW TV’s Entertainment Pass costs £8.99/month. From September 1, the cost will go up to £9.99/month.
NOW TV’s Entertainment Pass offers a combination of box-sets and catch-up episodes, and is consisted mainly of new American (and some UK) shows, such as The Walking Dead, Billions and The Blacklist.
The cost of the hayu pass is currently £3.99/month, and from September 1 will increase to £4.99/month.
Hayu, which specialises in shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules can also be subscribed to independently of NOW TV – see our full hayu review and guide here.
New subscribers can get free trials for both the Entertainment Pass and hayu – and before September 1, your renewal will come at the cheaper price.
After September 1, every renewal will come at the updated price. (There are additional ways to get NOW TV for cheaper prices – see our guide).
This increase comes shortly after NOW TV cancelled their cheap Sky Sports Mobile Pass, as well as their removal of the Sky Sports Weekly Pass, leaving only a Day Pass and a Month Pass.
A NOW TV spokesperson told Cord Busters: “We don’t comment on speculation. Our customers will always be the first to be notified of any changes to the cost of their Passes.”
Is NOW TV Still Worth It?
Once NOW TV’s prices go up next September, their major competitors, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, will be considerably cheaper. A Netflix mid-tier subscription (with HD streaming) costs £8.99 per month, and Amazon Prime Video is £5.99/month (or less if you pay for an annual Amazon Prime subscription).
A comparable package from NOW TV, of the Entertainment, Cinema and Kids passes (without including sports, which Netflix and Amazon don’t have a lot of), will cost – starting September 1 – £25.97/month.
Then, also keep in mind that the regular NOW TV subscription only gives you a video quality of 720p. If you want Full HD, which all the other services already offer (and even 4K on the regular Prime Video package, and if you pay more for Netflix’ highest tier), on NOW TV, you would need to pay for the “NOW TV Boost”, which is an additional £3.99/month.
That being said, NOW TV’s programming is a bit different, in that it focuses on newer programmes from the US and the latest blockbusters from Hollywood – which is not something you often find on Netflix and Amazon (unless you consider their own original productions).